Maine bakery built on fresh foundations

February 24, 2010|Elizabeth Bomze, Globe Correspondent

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - “You’ve gotta meet Lulu,’’ says Allison Reid, setting down a 5-gallon bucket of sourdough starter on the workbench. She pries off the lid and plunges an arm into the elastic sponge, which jiggles and quickly resets into a uniform, bubbly mass. The shaggy piece of Lulu we taste is ripe, tangy, and sweeter than Hans. Hans is the pungent, streaky chestnut-colored rye starter she keeps in another container. “I started Lulu in my kitchen and followed her along,’’ Reid explains. “She’s probably eight years old now.’’

Reid relays this introduction to Scratch Baking Co.’s most essential ingredient as she weaves between racks, deck ovens, and several employees on a busy Saturday morning. Reid is entirely self-taught; she and her first business partner, Josh Potocki, “Mickey-Moused it together,’’ as she explains it, to open 158 Pickett St. Cafe in South Portland. When their relationship fizzled, she teamed up with friends Bob Johnson and Sonja Swanberg five years ago to jump-start Scratch a few blocks away in Willard Square.

Today, at Scratch Baking Co., Lulu the starter goes into bagels, country white sourdough, ciabatta, and multigrain breads. Scratch also sells pumpkin cheesecake, carrot cake, cheeses, sandwiches, wines, and more.

When Johnson joined Reid, he became the barista and business manager.

“We came to visit Allison and saw a ‘for sale’ sign,’’ says Johnson, whose resume includes cofounding Magic Hat Brewing Co. in Vermont and making wheels of cheddar at Shelburne Farms, also in Vermont. “I knew I wanted a smaller, community-based business, so we bought the building that weekend. Now my job description is to get up every day and make sure we throw a party.’’

So they turned Scratch into a village bakery with Cheers-like camaraderie. Johnson’s got everyone’s name and morning brews down pat. Baskets of daily breads beckon in the front window, alongside a small spread of “things that go with bread,’’ including Silver Moon Creamery cheeses from Westbrook, Maine, salumi, Johnson’s well-chosen wine collection, and really good butter.

Swanberg and a team make the kinds of cakes and cookies - almond horseshoes, oatmeal two-raisin, brownies, and blondies - that lure schoolchildren in as soon as the afternoon bell rings.