If you’ve never had Blue Oven Bakery bread, you are missing out on something truly extraordinary. Sara and Mark Frommeyer own and operate the bakery from their family farm in Williamsburg, Ohio, on the banks of the Little Miami River. Blue Oven breads can be purchased year-round on Saturdays at Findlay Market; at the Farmers Markets in Hyde Park, Fort Thomas and Northside (during their respective seasons); and at Awakenings Café on Hyde Park Square on Sundays, December-May. The bread is baked in, yes, a blue oven. More specifically, it’s a wood-fired oven, and with around 20 breads in the rotation, everyone can find something they love. Sara and Mark have a passion for locally produced food, especially bread, and are working toward a full field to mill. They are even adding a Bread Club, which might offer members the option to pre-order their favorite bread. That will make many Blue Oven devotees very, very happy. You can visit their Web site at
CityBeat: Where did you eat your last great meal and what was it?
Mark Frommeyer: Thanksgiving on our farm. We prepared a standing rib roast from a farm outside Toledo and sautéed Brussels sprouts from Martin Hill Farm with some lovely pancetta from Findlay Market. We caramelized dates from Dean's at Findlay Market with red pepper flakes and that lovely pancetta and served a sweet corn soufflé from Bergefurd Farm. Candied sweet potatoes came from Hazelfield Farm and sweet potato pie came from Nay Nay at Findlay Market. We made apple pie made with apples from Backyard Orchards and baked it in our wood-fired oven. We also had Graeter's ice cream and wine from Harmony Hill, Kinkead Ridge and Burnet Ridge. It was awesome! Sara and I don’t get out much anymore, but the last great meals out we had were at Boca and ForkHeartKnife.
CB: What's the most important thing to keep in mind when baking bread?
MF: In the bakery the two things we freak out about on a daily basis are time and temperature. We are dealing with around seven different temperature zones every time we bake. Wood that burns at different BTUs creates uneven heat and multiple temperature zones in the oven creating bread with height issues or bread that is a little off-color. Water temperatures and multiple temperature zones in the bakery and the oven room, including outdoor temperatures, lead to proofing issues.
