This story is part of Michigan Public's series "Mornings in Michigan," which features morning moments from across the state.
Mornings can be hectic, especially at a local bakery. I recently met a busy baker who’s still a firm believer that slower is better.
An auspicious holiday
It’s Saturday morning at Rich Grains Bakery in Milan. The big bank of windows at the front of the building illuminates a long counter with a sumptuous display of breads and pastries. Baker and business owner Kyle Purcell and several others are hustling behind the counter.
@michiganpublic It’s Saturday morning at Rich Grains Bakery in Milan. The big bank of windows at the front of the building illuminates a long counter with a sumptuous display of breads and pastries. Baker and business owner Kyle Purcell and several others are hustling behind the counter. Hear the story at michiganpublic.org
♬ original sound - Michigan Public
I meet customer Karen Souders in line. She lives down the street.
"This is my fourth trip and I'm really happy to see the growth," Souders said. "They're awesome. I love it. I love it, I love it."
Today the bakery is not just hopping... it’s twisting. And shouting.
"Today is National Pretzel Day so to celebrate it, Kyle's making an assortment of pretzels."
That’s Abbie Purcell, baker Kyle Purcell’s wife. She’s working a booth set up outside the storefront, and kids and adults alike are dancing to the music.
"We decided to have a fun kids' event where if they come up and twist and shout for National Pretzels Day, they can get a free pretzel or a mini cheesecake bite."
A dream in the making
The bakery just opened its doors in February. A busy Saturday morning isn’t a great time for an interview, so I swung by earlier in the week to see how Kyle Purcell starts his day.
It’s five a.m. on a Thursday. He’s already been at work for two hours and right now he’s laying out parchment paper on baking trays. Today he’s rolling out nearly 150 pretzels by hand.
"I mean on Friday and Saturday I'm here at 1 o' clock in the mornings to get the stuff done," Purcell said. "When someone picks up a loaf and they're like, wow, this is still warm. It's like, that's what you want, you know?"
"You love baking. How did you learn that about yourself?" I asked him.
"From an early age, my father was always making Christmas cookies," Purcell said. "So that memory sticks in my head pretty vividly."
He says when his dad retires, he wants to come sell cookies at the shop.
"I was like, absolutely, let's do it. I mean, what better thing than working with your dad, right?"
Purcell is now 32. He got his start as a professional baker at the Busch's in Clinton at 16. He also completed the two year culinary program at Saline High School and later got his associates degree in baking and pastry at Washtenaw Community College.
Purcell said most of his breads, and even his croissants, go through a slow fermentation process. Today’s pretzels were refrigerated overnight. That allowed them to ferment slowly, which makes them more digestible.
"I think a lot of folks are just like, you know. Quick, quick, with pretzels," Purcell said, "but the more time, the development of crust on the skin, that's where you kind of get a lot of that good pretzel flavor, texture, crust."
Right now Purcell has a handful of part time helpers, but he said he’d love to hire more staff. Being a small operation means he has to do some things more slowly.
A creative crossroads
Rich Grains isn’t the only tenant here. Purcell shares the space with Eric Kinsler-Holloway of EK’s Cheesecakes. The two met working at Zingerman’s Bakehouse. Kinsler-Holloway says both entrepreneurs started selling their own baked goods wholesale before leaving Zingerman’s.
"The managing partner kind of sat us both down and were like, 'hey, you guys cannot do what you're doing on the side and work here'," Kinsler-Holloway said. "So we kind of had to choose one and we chose ourselves."
They still supply several restaurants in Milan, Ann Arbor, and Saline. Purcell eventually found the kitchen they now share through a family connection.
"I actually traded bread for rent for the first six months or something like that, which was really awesome," Purcell said.
The two businesses share a 1,500 square foot space.
"We're roommates essentially, right?"
And like all roommates, Purcell said, they’ve had to adjust to each other’s habits and rhythms and… smells.
"It's funny, like, I come in to work, I open up my sourdough starter and I'm like, I didn't fart, I swear. It's my sour dough starter," Purcell said. "And they still don't believe me, that's fine."
The two bakers also share a passion. And there’s an appetite for their baking that makes all the time and hard work worth it. People lining up at the door before they even open.
"It's crazy, it's surreal, it is awesome," Purcell said. "I mean, you do something you love and you finally like, oh, like, is that gonna ever work out? And then you see that line, you're like, yeah, this is working out."
Rich Grains Bakery is open on Fridays and Saturdays.
I recommend the chocolate croissant.
