Specialization can be a good thing. There are those who bake, for instance, and those who eat what the first group bakes. But some of us live in the gray area in between the two. For us, we want, perhaps even need, lots of things. Inspiration. Motivation. Equipment. Knowledge.
The search for those provides a great excuse for a vacation in a lovely part of the country. Near the Connecticut River dividing Vermont and New Hampshire is the Norwich, Vermont, campus of King Arthur Flour, sometimes called The Baker’s Store. Right across the river is Hanover, New Hampshire – can you persuade a young family member they should make a campus visit to Dartmouth College, perhaps?
The low, modern wood building features a store, a bakery-cafe, windows to watch the bakers, and two classrooms, where they offer hands-on instruction for everyone from kids to professional bakers. It seems to be a mecca for people throughout the area, whether it’s locals coming for lunch or breakfast, folks from a little farther away who make a day of it, or those who settle in to one of the area’s interesting bed and breakfasts for the purpose of taking a class. (I met two women, living about 300 miles apart, who meet there every year or so. This time they were taking a class on making croissants.)
The store is large, with everything from large bags of flour to plenty of examples of how King Arthur has risen to the gluten-free challenge.
Lots of equipment, some of it delightfully esoteric, kitchen linens and t-shirts are some of the non-edibles found. Ingredients? Oh, yes, way beyond flour. Chocolate, of course. Six kinds of vanilla? Right here.
High-quality extracts and lots of things like sprinkles. And mixes. You might think a place like this would look down its collective nose at something so plebeian as cake mixes. Oh, no. They understand things like the time crunch in contemporary households and, uh, well, let’s be honest, the intimidation factor. I bought some Lemon Magic Cake Mix for the Lemonses in our Washington Bureau, and two boxes of mix for Liege waffles, which they were making in one corner of the big salesroom and handing out as samples. (Liege waffles are Belgian waffles that have coarse sugar in them, which keep their crunch.)
The building, which is shaped rather like two arms reaching out in an embrace, has positioned the bakery-cafe in the middle. They offer light-ish breakfasts and lunches, sandwiches, salads, soups, and in the morning, egg sandwiches, granola parfaits and two kinds of hot cereal – and of course those pastries. Cases with local cheese, frozen pizza and pizza dough, and other goodies hold items for retail sale.
The northern wing, where the bakery and classrooms are, has a hall paneled with wainscoting from a barn originally built in 1753 (“only 37 years before King Arthur Flour began”, as a small sign points out.) A bench is near a sideboard with cookbooks for perusing and some handsome bread specimens for admiring. The class schedule is online.
Most non-baking partners of shoppers seemed to be taking advantage of the cafe or tagging along in the store making hopeful suggestions. In nice weather, there’s plenty of outdoor seating, both for dining and just being thoughtful. It’s definitely a spot worth a detour.
The Baker’s Store
King Arthur Flour
135 US Route 5 South, Norwich, VT
802-649-3361
Open daily except holidays
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Excellent
Smoking: No
Open daily except holidays
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Excellent
Smoking: No