Rise Up! The Baker Podcast with Mark Dyck Mark Dyck: Baker and lover of bakeries

One farm, one bakery and a well fed community.  That's the Wide Awake Bakery story.  In this episode, Mark learns about the magical meeting when Stefan's neighbour Thor Oechsner suggested baking with wheat from Thor's farm, how they followed the CSA model for getting their bread to the people, and how, over the years, Stefan continues to explore new ways to use his bread for the greater good.   It's a wonderful chat with an inspirational baker.

Brooke Hanes is a self-taught bread baker making the good stuff for the people in her small town in rural Pennsylvania. She recently opened a retail shop and slowly growing her bakery, while keeping things manageable for a solo operation.

In this episode, Mark and Brooke talk about her early travels in Colombia, returning to Pennsylvania, the regeneration of Brookville, finding other bakers and the joys and challenges of staying solo.

Kevin Scollo worked in restaurants through college until succumbing to the baking bug.  After several years working in restaurants and bakeries in New York and Ohio, he moved back to Georgia and took over Independent Baking Co. in February, 2020, just before everything turned upside down.

In this episode, Mark and Kevin talk about his early days in music and food, taking over from the legendary Thom Leonard, working through the pandemic, and how he is slowly putting his own stamp on the bakery.

John Gerlach's family owned a bakery but John was convinced he would not be following in his dad's footsteps.  But eventually, he found his way back to the dough, first as a bagel baker and more recently baking his own bread on days off for a growing list of happy customers.

In this episode, Mark and John dig into New York bagels in Pennsylvania, coming back to baking after early resistance, his plans for Hemlock Bread once his new oven arrives and the opportunities to collaborate on his own street.

When Tara Black started Origin Bakery, she wanted her gluten free products look and taste as great as their wheat based counterparts and her bakery to be warm and welcoming to all.  Her hard work has paid off as the Origin is thriving and they've recently opened a second location.

In this episode, Mark and Tara talk about how Origin's began and how she has slowly and systematically removed herself from daily production so she can focus on building a great team and taking on new projects in her business.

Over his long and illustrious baking career, Thom Leonard has helped hundreds of bakers understand the mysteries of grain and flour.  He's owned bakeries in Kansas and Georgia, has been a leader and teacher via the Bread Bakers Guild of America and helped Heartland Mill create flour suited for artisan bakers across the country.


In this episode, Mark sits down with Thom to get a fuller story of the life and career of one of his true baking heroes.