Company description

Mountain Oven is an organic bakery and millhouse devoted to supporting local food systems.

Local sourcing is of the utmost importance to us and has grown into a mission to build local grain economy in Western Colorado. Creation at Mountain Oven reflects what is in our hearts transmuted through the work of our hands: care for the land, community, and human spirit.

We provide sourdough breads, pastries, and fresh milled flour through in-house events, farmers markets, and regional wholesale distribution.

We bake with intention and care using stone-ground flours freshly milled in-house and natural leaveners for optimal nutrition and flavor. We understand health holistically: our soil, spirits, bodies, sustenance, and community are all inextricably linked. Our work aims to honor this philosophy.

Job description

Mountain Oven is looking for an experienced baker to join our team. We’re focused on fresh-milled flour, naturally leavened bread, and grain forward products. We are a wholesale bakery, and host a pop-up once a week to open our space to the local community. We make a broad array of products in the bread department, alongside a full pastry department that produces viennoiserie and other baked goods. We'd love to bring on a baker for a year-round position, but we're also open to a summer-time seasonal position that would help support us during the farmers market season running from late-may to early-October.

Our bread program works exclusively with fresh-milled flour, and we mill a diverse array of whole grain flours and sifted bread flour. Bread bakers work to make pan-style breads baked in rack ovens, hearth loaves baked in a deck oven, and various additional products like bagels, challah, buns, and more. Production is focused on our central product line with weekly seasonally-driven specials. We run 4-5 bake days a week, baking 200-350 Kilos of dough on a given bake day. We are serious about our craft, but also like to keep things relaxed, enjoy ourselves throughout the work, and eat really great food.

We’re looking for a baker with experience working with sourdough/naturally leavened products and fresh-milled flour, and with experience milling or a desire to learn the craft. Candidates should be excited to work in a community-focused environment, with an emphasis on local, diverse grains, and high-level artisanship. Bakers have the opportunity to help craft our weekly specials and take initiative in developing new products or refining processes and formulas.

Bakers should expect to spend shifts as a mixer, shaper, and baker, as well as shifts milling flour, doing prep work and mise en place, and doing regular cleaning/maintenance of the bread and flour production spaces. Bakers have 4-day work weeks with 8-10 hour shifts. No shift starts before 4 AM, with shift starts staggered between 4 and 8 AM.

Interested candidates should be excited to live in a rural environment, in a small town on the western slope of the rocky mountains. Independent housing on land with other bakery staff/owners is available to support relocation, and can be negotiated as part of compensation.

Candidates should have:

2+ years professional bread production experience, emphasis on naturally leavened processes

Experience working with fresh milled flour and whole grain flour, priority for those with experience milling

Attention to detail and a focused and diligent work ethic in order to carry out techniques and recipes with precision and efficiency

Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with an ability to lead a team of bakers and collaborate with the management team

The ability to commit to the summer farmer's market season (through October), with priority given to folks interested in a longer-term position

Starting at $17.50 - $22 including tips and DOE. FT, approx. 30-40 hr/week, free bread and shift food/drink, bakery discount, and potential healthcare assistance with extended employment

Compensation

this position is: hourly, varies DOE, $17.00 - $22.00

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline