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Heather's Hearth
Heather's Hearth
Handmade Organic Sourdough Bread in the Upper Ottawa Valley
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  • Workshops
    • In Person
  • About
  • Order Bread
  • Contact Us
    • Where to Purchase

Our spring building projects! The first three photos are of the timber frame structure we built to shelter the future bread oven. The oven is now our highest priority. The foundation is going to be built in the next few days. The last photo is our in-progress chicken/turkey brooder. All it needs are walls, a door and some electrical wiring.

Barley: Canada’s latest ancient grain gaining recognition
Rock foundation for Cob Oven #1

heathershearth

Heather M - Sourdough Baker
I've been on a break from baking! Much needed, but I've been on a break from baking! Much needed, but I'll be back at it next week after 3 weeks off. Bread will be baked for @ottawavalleycoffee , @ottawavalleycoffee.arnprior & @grandmaspantry plus if you want to do farm pick up ordering is open now! Farm Pick up is Thursday January 26th between 4:30-7pm Varieties are a bit limited for next week but most of the regulars are there! Deadline to order is Monday January 23rd at 7pm. Ottawa home deliveries coming up in a couple weeks! Link in bio to order bread and to sign up for the email list to be the first to know when I'm baking! Photo credit: @hopewell.media
I love coming together in person to teach others! I love coming together in person to teach others! So it's with great excitement that I announce a new sourdough workshop held in the town of Renfrew! Sunday March 12th join me for Sourdough Bread 101 at the Ma-Te-Way Activity Centre in Renfrew from 1-4:30pm. You can come alone or BRING A FRIEND to this workshop and come at a reduced price. That worked out so well in December I'm doing it again 🙂 In this workshop you get to mix your own loaf to take home to bake, watch a demo of scoring and baking and cinnamon bun rolling. Plus you'll get an ebook with loads of info, sourdough method and recipe and your very own healthy sourdough starter. People who come together share a bowl and the mixing tasks, folks who come alone get that task to themselves, but everyone gets what I described in the above paragraph! Link is in my bio for info and registration! If you have any questions at all, send me a message!
These hands, these arms, this body- we all have th These hands, these arms, this body- we all have them. We all use them everyday, some more than others. Baking is a physical job- it's kept me strong but has also broken me in many ways. While some muscles build, others are pulled out of balance by repetition and improper posture. The hours are long- standing, lifting, dividing dough, shaping dough, loading the oven, unloading the oven. Over and over and over again. Over the last ten years of baking bread (plus having a baby, farming, gardening, cooking etc!)I have had to tend to myself in many ways. I didn't used to "take conscious care" of myself. I was younger, I did whatever I wanted, I wasn't connected to my body and how it felt. I studied Human Kinetics in University, so I have an education that taught me the mechanics of how we work, but even so that didn't help me understand what it really means to embody or be really in my body. The body has so many ways of communicating with us...it whispers at first and then it will start screaming if we don't listen. I really didn't listen for a long time. I'm sure many of you have done the same? I'm learning now- I rest more. I say no to more things. I spend more time outside of work building strength in weaker parts of my body so I can spend less time in pain. I've learned about circadian rhythm and biology to support myself. I go outside more on purpose (especially in the winter). I eat deeply nourishing foods- animals we have raised, vegetables we have grown. I see the deep connection of my physical being with my emotions, soul and spirit and that helps me take care of myself better. How do you take care of yourself? #bakerlife #wellness #ottawavalley #handmade #skilledtradeswomen #sourdoughbreadbaker
Gluten free bread is out there in the stores- I've Gluten free bread is out there in the stores- I've tried it! It's white and kind of fluffy and tastes kind of sweet and reminiscent of wonder bread. Wonder bread doesn't really "rise". It's beaten like crazy to incorporate air, but you can ball it up in your hand and create this gross gummy dough ball. Gluten free bread doesn't really rise in the same way as regular wheat breads either, hence why I think that the store bought bread reminds me of it...what do you think? Anyhow- I have also eaten some very flavourful, but very dense GF bread. I think that most folks who choose not to eat gluten for whatever reason would prefer something in between, am I right?! I've strived to develop a gluten free sourdough bread that falls in the middle- flavourful, but not too dense. Something you can slice and that holds (doesn't fall apart in your hands) but that isn't completely full of gummy starch. This is the bread I sell to customers, but it is also the bread you can learn to make at my Gluten Free Sourdough 101 workshop in Killaloe, ON on Sunday February 5th! Half the spots are already taken- 5 spots remain! I am honouring my holiday sale price until the end of this coming weekend (Sunday January 15th). So go grab your spot if you want to learn how to bake this bread, how to take care of a GF sourdough culture and how to swap out different flours etc. Follow the link in my bio for more details and registration! #glutenfreesourdoughbread #learntobakeglutenfreesourdough #glutenfreesourdoughbreadworkshop #ottawavalley #renfrewcouty
Calling out for two more people who want to learn Calling out for two more people who want to learn sourdough baking in just over a week! There are two spots left for Sunday January 15th's workshop here at the farm. I want to offer one of these spots at a seriously reduced price for some help at the end with dishes 😊 Putting on these workshops is so fulfilling for me, but I have to admit the dishes at the end are exhausting and always more fun and easy when I have some help! If you are interested in this and feel like the cost of the workshops is too much for you ($240+HST) please reach out in a DM and we can chat! This workshop offers loads of hands on instruction, time to ask questions and discuss problems, troubleshooting plus I feed you an amazingly delicious homemade lunch 😃 If you are ready to sign up for a regular priced spot the link is in my bio! Hope to see you there! #sourdoughbread #learntobakesourdough #sourdoughworkshop #renfrewcounty #OttawaValley #comewander @ottawavalleytravel
Hand skills, trades and crafts seem like a lost an Hand skills, trades and crafts seem like a lost and forgotten art in this modern world. Seems like the most many people do with their hands is text, type and game. This isn't meant to judge- here I am in front of my computer with my phone by my side- it's what we do to survive in this world I suppose. Have you ever tried to learn something new that requires strength, accuracy or intricate movement with your hands? Was it difficult? Did it make your hands sore, or get you frustrated? Did you have the best feeling of satisfaction when you were done?! I have been there through all of it before. I have now witnessed many people create a handmade loaf of bread with their own hands for the first time. It is a magical transformation! I have also watched people, unsure of their ability wondering if they are doing something wrong with their dough. I've also seen some frustration during the shaping step of sourdough bread for the first time. I don't think though that anyone who has walked out of my workshops has felt anything but proud of the first loaf they bake that they made with their own hands. It is a feeling of fulfillment like no other to create something and bring it into the world. And those fresh hands that might not have the practice and repetition of someone well versed in a skill may feel clumsy and unsure and perhaps uncomfortable during the process, but the reward is great, especially as someone builds on that first time and continues to practice! I have two workshops coming up soon in 2023. And more to come! If you have been wanting to learn a new skill (that gives you something delicious to eat too), then now is the time to come. They are on sale until December 31st. You know where to find the info- see my profile link. #sourdoughbread #learntobakesourdoughbread #sourdougbreadworkshop #OttawaValley #RenfrewCounty #Ottawa #OttawaValleyTravel
Get your hands right into it! I've been on and off Get your hands right into it! I've been on and off sick for 3 weeks and baking lots in between so I've gotten behind announcing some new workshops scheduled for 2023. The December workshop in Killaloe was a great success- so much fun getting folks together to learn and laugh together. I have two more workshops scheduled for January and February and more to come: Sunday January 15th 2023- The original Sourdough Simplified workshop here in my home kitchen. This workshop is longer than the one I just ran, includes a delicious lunch and small ratio of students to teacher (me). There is lots of time to ask questions and delve into anything that might need tending to depending on the group. Sunday February 4th 2023 (in Killaloe again!)- Gluten Free Sourdough 101! This is a new in person workshop. Learn to make your own GF sourdough loaf. Take home a gluten free sourdough starter, a loaf to bake and learn how to swap in/out flours to suit your own dietary needs. Workshops are on sale until December 31st- 15% off! Might be a perfect last minute gift for a loved one or a deserved gift to yourself 😊 Info and registration is in the link in my bio and will wandering around my stories over the next while! Thanks Tammy @opeongosoaps for the photos! #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbreadworkshop #learntobakesourdough #RenfrewCounty #OttawaValley #ComeWander @ottawavalleytravel
Despite some sickness in the family early this wee Despite some sickness in the family early this week to a minor mixer breakdown yesterday, there is bread on the way to @carpfarmersmarket with Patrick!! Hooray 🙌 😀🤪 Shown is the elusive chocolate chunk and cherry sourdough- only limited quantities as my source for cherries didn't have much! Lots of your favourite varieties available as well. The Christmas market is on today from 3-8pm and tomorrow from 8am-2pm. Find us right inside the main entrance to the Ag hall! ❄️🎄🎅❄️🎄🎅🎄❄️🎅🎄🎅❄️ #woodfiredbread #sourdoughbread #homebakery #renfrewcounty #Ottawa #ottawvalley #carpchristmasmarket
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We do not have a farm/bakery stand open at this time so please arrange a visit ahead of time if you want to come to the farm. 1646 Mine View Road, Cobden, Ontario, Canada | K0J 1K0 | heather@heathershearth.ca | 613-281-8524
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