The uprising of B. Scotti’s Artisan Bread. 

The uprising of B. Scotti’s Artisan Bread. 

There’s nothing like that warm, comforting sensation you get when you bite into the crisp outer shell and soft, chewy center of freshly baked bread. Barbara Jo Scott, owner of B. Scotti’s Artisan Bread, has been a baking enthusiast for most of her life. From her time baking goods as a young child, Barbara’s fondness and skill for baking came to fruition when she seized the opportunity to learn how to bake her own artisan breads — a skill she had been wanting to hone for several years.

“Food has long been one of my love languages,” Barbara says. “Food brings people together, and bread has layers of symbolic meaning: hearth and home, friendship, and communion.” 

Each boule is unique. Barbara, being a creative soul who finds great joy in gardening and hiking as well, finds a lot of her inspiration in nature. Her artisan bread boules include a variety of high-quality flours, a custom blend of fine Himalayan and Italian sea salts, filtered water, and either her home-grown sourdough levain or SAF-Instant yeast. Add-ins for her specialty boules can include bacon, cranberries, toasted walnuts, curried pecans, seeds, nuts, etc.

“Much like clay, working with leavened dough is as much science as art,” Barbara says. “ I keep detailed journals of each bake until I have every recipe just right per season, as everything shifts with the internal temperatures at the old farmhouse. Timing and attention to every detail matter.” 

Barbara has also learned which cuts help each type of boule achieve maximum oven lift and attempts to work within that space while also paying attention to the balance and flow of the form as it opens. Once she’s satisfied with a design, she gently scoops the deflating dough into a 500-degree lidded iron kettle for it to rise in its own steam until it’s perfectly baked. But in her practice for perfection, Barbara was unable to consume hundreds of bread boules herself, as each batch of dough produces two boules. Thankfully, her friends, family, and now the community are willing to help her to clear some counter space.

Breads such as pain de campagne sourdough, cinnamon raisin, herbs de Provence, and many others can be ordered through the B Scotti’s Mid-Mo Artisan Bread Board Facebook page for donations averaging between $10 and $15, depending on the type of bread. Donations go toward Barbara’s baking supplies, equipment, and her graduate school fees and textbooks for clinical mental health counseling at Central Methodist University. Order them as a gift for your family, neighbor, coworker, or client, or bring some to your next event. Breaking bread together has never been so beautiful.