Crooked Tree Breadworks

Aug. 2, 2006

Greg Carpenter knows bread.  If you live in Northern Michigan, especially Petoskey, chances are you’ve tasted his range of chewy, tasteful breads that are sold in his own bakery and used in restaurants, delis and coffeeshops around the region. 
The Detroit native, who grew up in Petoskey, founded the locally-famed Crooked Tree Breadworks in 1996 with, as he puts it, “nothing but a big oven and an ‘86 Subaru” - and what a long way he’s come since then.
Carpenter, who still lives in Petoskey with his wife Dawn and children Ivy (10) and Eli (5), graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English and wound up washing dishes in a coffeeshop in Tucson, Arizona.  Instead of taking a traditional job, Carpenter chose instead to continue in the foodservice industry so that he could travel the country, although summers always found him returning to Petoskey. 
At the end of one pivotal summer, the draw of beautiful Northern Michigan was too great, so Carpenter, along with Dawn, who was his girlfriend at the time, decided to stay for the winter, with Carpenter getting a job at American Spoon Foods (a local producer of fruit spreads and specialty foods). 
“I took a liking to the company, and by the following summer, I was a production supervisor,” Carpenter says, “from there, I was able to talk my way into the research & development kitchen, where I worked with company chef Chris Chickering.”

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Little did Carpenter know that Spoon Foods was where his bread-baking experience was going to begin. 
“Chef Chickering and I were given the opportunity to learn how to bake breads that would complement the company’s high-quality products,” Carpenter explains,  “since artisan bread education was hard to come by in the USA at that time, we designed a series of baking tests, changing one variable at a time, to teach ourselves how to bake artisan breads and sourdoughs. 
“Some of those batches were pretty wretched,” he laughs, “but by the end of that process we were baking exceptional bread.  I gained a hands-on understanding of the entire process of creating sourdough bread and found I had a knack for it. I became obsessed.”
Later in 1996, Carpenter left American Spoon Foods and opened the doors of his own bakery (“yes, I’m the insomniac who founded it,” he chuckles), keeping a good relationship with Spoon Foods to the point where he still bakes many products for them today.  He also took other opportunities to study advanced baking methods. 
“I took my theoretical knowledge of baking to a higher level in 1998, when I studied advanced sourdough baking under Didier Rosada at The National Baking Center,” Carpenter says, “Didier, who coached two world champion Coupe du Monde baking teams, is perhaps the foremost authority on sourdough baking in the States. His training helped me to understand production methods and theory well enough to teach them to my staff.  And I studied laminated doughs (croissant, danish and puff pastry) under Philippe LeCorre in 2001, also at the National Baking Center.”

BREADMAKING PHILOSOPHY
Through all of these experiences, Carpenter refined his own philosophies on breadmaking, and applied them to his own business. 
“At Crooked Tree Breadworks, we know that pure ingredients, careful technique and creative interpretation are the elements of flavorful baked goods.  We don’t take the production shortcuts that you will find in most commercial bakeries.  Our sourdough bread takes three days to make,” he emphasizes, “we use bakers more than we use bakery equipment.  The products that we make require trained senses and hands; they cannot be duplicated by pre-made mixes or automated bread plants.” 
Carpenter’s breads are made using traditional methods that date back centuries.  The breads (with all of the recipes being created in-house by both Carpenter and his team of bakers) are fermented (or “risen”) over a long period of time in order to develop more interesting flavors and textures, and the products are shaped by hand and baked in a stone hearth, steam-injected oven.
American Spoon Foods continues to be an inspiration to Carpenter, as does Zingerman’s, an Ann Arbor delicatessen that he used to frequent (“whenever I could afford it,” he says) during his days at U of M.  “Just walking in the door of that place is an education in quality foods,” he enthuses.  
Carpenter’s own company has proved to be an additional education. “Starting a business on a shoestring, particularly an artisan bakery, is a time-intensive endeavor,” he says. “The biggest challenge was making time to grow the foundations of my family while building the foundations of Crooked Tree Breadworks.  I quickly realized that I could not do that without the help of my understanding wife and exceptional staff.  It can’t be done alone unless you want to end up alone.”
HOPPING & POPPING
“Alone” is something Carpenter rarely is at Crooked Tree.  The busy bakery is generally hopping at all hours of the day with people popping in to grab something tasty for breakfast or lunch, picking up a bread order, or trying something new in the world of bread.
“I have been surprised at how willing people are to experience new tastes,” Carpenter says,  “at the time I opened my doors there was very little scratch baked bread available in Petoskey, most people were raised on soft white bread from the supermarket.   One of my greatest thrills is seeing a skeptical customer taste our breads for the first time.  We have converted many people into bread aficionados.”
And for good reason.  Crooked Tree Breadworks’ specialities are crusty, artisan breads, all made with organic flours.  Some of their most popular items include their Italian Style Bread (a mild, white sourdough), their Cherry Pecan Bread, and their addictive Pepper Parmesan Rolls. Carpenter’s own bread favorites “change frequently,” as he says; lately he’s been taking a lot of their Sourdough Boule home, as well as their Seeded Rustic Baguettes.  “And nobody makes All Butter Croissants like our pastry bakers,” he says. 
Crooked Tree, which makes 12 to 15 varieties of bread every day, also offers coffee cakes, scones, muffins, cookies, and other assorted treats, with everything being made from scratch, including their new Herb and Asiago Focaccia bread, the new Ciabatta breads that will be available later this summer, and their brand new line of pies. 
“The crusts are made with 100% European style butter, and they have a deep, richly browned flavor that you won’t find anywhere else,” Carpenter says, “the fruit fillings are made to taste of Michigan fruits, not sugar, and we will always have apple and cherry pie as our year-round staples.” 
Will he remain in Northern Michigan?   You bet. 
“I feel very good when I look around Northern Michigan and see how the food scene has changed since I was growing up here,” Carpenter says. “Twenty years ago, a good restaurant that sought out local ingredients was very hard to find.  Now many local chefs are seeking out unique, locally made ingredients and finding new ways to present them.  The customers have grown to expect better quality, and not just at the highest level of cuisine.  Chefs and restaurant owners are responding by giving their guests a taste of the best Northern Michigan has to offer.  And I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Crooked Tree Breadworks is located at 2264 M-119 in Petoskey, Michigan, telephone 888-591-8688.  They may be visited online at www.breadworks.com, where you can also order many of their products.