Raleigh’s Boulted Bread makes the cut in 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die
Attention, Raleigh bread enthusiasts! If you’ve never met a carb you didn’t like, then the new book 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die by Colorado-based writer Allyson Reedy (releasing Aug. 20) is a must-knead (get it?). And this isn’t just any old bread book—but a flour-dusted dream come true for anyone who’s ever locked eyes longingly with a baguette and wondered how to conjure up one at home.
Loaded with recipes from bakers who’ve spent countless hours kneading dough into life, this book transforms the intimidating art of bread-making into something as easy as, well, pie.
To add to the excitement, the City of Oaks’ very own Boulted Bread’s Smoked Oat Sourdough recipe is featured, which bakery co-owner Joshua Bellamy says plays well with several different flavor combinations.
“From way out here in Colorado I’d heard that Boulted’s bread was amazing, and I knew I had to include one of its recipes in the book,” says Reedy, who also notes that Bellamy’s passion was clear, and he wanted the recipe to reflect the bakery’s craft. “So, if you make the Smoked Oat Sourdough from the cookbook, you’re making his bread. It’s super hearty with the oats mixed into it, which means this bread almost acts as a meal—which is the best kind of meal I can think of.”
Bellamy adds that the loaf is “an exercise in adding flavor without adding ingredients,” ensuring your carb wits will be put to the test. “By smoking the oat porridge, the loaf takes on a completely distinct identity… you get the round mouthfeel of the oats with a slight campfire vibe,” he adds.
Bellamy also recommends toasting the slices to help “wake up” the smokiness of the oats. And, of course, he emphasizes investing in a digital scale for precision—because baking is all about precise measurements (and you don’t want to learn that the hard way).
So whether you’re a bread newbie or a seasoned baker, 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die guides you step-by-step to making all the carbs your heart desires—and we’re so (b)ready for it.
Brave the cold for a good cause via the OBX Polar Plunge.
Who says you can’t have a great time at the beach during the winter?! It might just come with a sidebar of “Ice, Ice Baby”—literally. … Enter the OBX Polar Plunge for Special Olympics North Carolina. Plunging into reality at Nags Head Saturday, March 9, this finite freeze fest involves willingly bounding into freezing-cold water—during wintertime. Yes, really. But, hey, anything for a good cause!
“For the first time, Special Olympics North Carolina and Special Olympics Dare County will partner to offer this opportunity to plunge into the freezing ocean in support of Special Olympics athletes,” says SONC Director of Communications Madeline Safrit. So, essentially, giving the chilly challenge a new aura of warmth (!).
“Every dollar raised by participants—whether $100, $300 or $1,000—makes a difference in the lives of nearly 40,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities right here in North Carolina,” elaborates Safrit. Contributions help fund year-round statewide services—from sports training to health services for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
Ready to take the leap? Brave the cold and register online as an individual for $50, or gather four close friends and sign up as a team—then keep raising money to score swag, from T-shirts and hoodies to totes, beanies and more. And if your fight-or-flight response kicks in at the last minute, rest assured walkup reservations are accepted. Prefer to keep your land legs? Donations (and spectators) are accepted sans the dunk.
“We are expecting hundreds to participate in the OBX Polar Plunge,” says Safrit. “However, thousands of people will make a splash for the Special Olympics by participating in our Polar Plunges taking place all over North Carolina.” So wherever you’re taking the plunge from, let’s dive in!
When: Saturday, March 9
10–11am: Registration
11am: Opening ceremony, parade and awards
11:30am: Polar Plunge
Where: Jennette’s Pier 7223 S. Virginia Dare Trail Nags Head, NC
Hot tip for a cold activity: Wear layers and loose-fitting clothes. It’ll help those numb fingers get you out of sopping-wet apparel and into that warm dry ’fit you packed much more quickly!
A new kitchen collective is opening in Downtown Raleigh next month.
For many folks looking to get into the local food and beverage industry, the “secret sauce” is, naturally, a brick-and-mortar. But, sometimes, finding and/or paying for a storefront is the hardest part of the biz to tackle.
Enter The Kitchen Space, a collective of kitchens opening in Downtown Raleigh in July boasting 39 private kitchens and three ghost kitchens. Meeting culinary professionals where they’re at—whether that’s launching a new venture or scaling up an existing business—its mission is to continue to help people grow and expand their concepts into other markets.
“The facility will have anything and everything needed to grow and sustain any type of food business,” explains founder Will Pettis. “Raleigh is an ever-growing city with much demand for commercial kitchen space.”
In addition to establishing a physical space for F&B business owners, The Kitchen Space offers a place for like-minded food entrepreneurs to problem-solve and offer each other support. “I love the challenge of having 40 different businesses coexist under one building and work as a team to help each other grow,” says Pettis.
Born and raised in Durham, Pettis’ experiences in the kitchen started back when he opened his own snack stand as a child living in a foster home. Years later in 2009, he opened his first burger and fry food truck, Will and Pop’s, before the food truck scene really took off. Starting with one truck and ending up with three, he ran them for nine years almost every day of the week. (Talk about blood, sweat and, ahem, grease!)
“When I had my food trucks, I was renting space for a kitchen from a buddy,” Pettis recalls. “I got tired of paying him rent so I rented an old Boston Market building and made it my prep kitchen. A few friends came along and asked if they could use my kitchen for their ‘commissary’ since it’s required in NC.”
The demand Pettis saw propelled him to build his first large kitchen in Durham, serving as a hub for 45 food trucks. They were completely leased before construction finished, which immediately pushed him to search for a new, larger space in Raleigh he could develop. Now, when The Kitchen Space opens it will be the largest commercial kitchen in NC at 20,000 square feet (!).
Ultimately, Pettis hopes that one day the kitchen tenants can transition from ghost kitchens to storefront restaurants. Clearly a recipe for success.
First-time Raleigh homebuyers gain a leg up brick by brick.
Longing to buy a house but sweating the dough you need for a down payment? We hear you. Unless you stumble upon a fortune or inherit a large sum, it can take years to save up for a traditional 20% down payment (*immediately goes to buy lottery tickets*).
Enter Ownify, which recently launched in Raleigh with the goal to bridge the gap of homeownership by introducing a new low-barrier-to-entry option that provides first-time buyers with the opportunity to own a home with as little as a 2% down payment.
Despite the Triangle being one of the most educated areas in the country—with the notion that higher levels of education typically translate to higher salaries—homeownership is still out of reach for many in the area. Regardless of a stable income, saving up a large sum is challenging—yes, even if you skip the guac at Chipotle.
“What we’ve built is effectively an equity-based path to ownership rather than a debt-based path,” says Ownify CEO and co-founder Frank Rohde.
The company challenges the idea of buying 100% of the home with borrowed money and instead supports the idea of living in a home and buying fractions of it at a time.
“Let’s say your house has 10,000 bricks, and on day one you buy 200 bricks,” Rohde explains. “That’s your down payment—so 2%. The way our program works is every month you make a payment that effectively has two pieces: One piece buys more bricks (so on average 13 bricks per month), and the other part of the payment pays rent on the bricks you haven’t bought.”
Since consumers are buying the home “brick by brick,” there’s no negative equity—meaning buyers aren’t ever underwater. … Ownify also places its customers, known as “Ownis,” as cash buyers, making them highly attractive to sellers—ones who oftentimes close in just two weeks.
The ownership model also promises “no surprises” by covering property taxes, insurance and any repairs, which gives homeowners peace of mind that they won’t be slapped with any unexpected costly expenses.
The idea is that at the end of five years, Ownis will have built roughly 10% of the home’s equity, which can then be used as a down payment on a traditional mortgage. If that unexpected inheritance does roll in, users can buy out the remaining equity at any time. Rohde looks at it as “an on-ramp for first-time buyers.” American dream: unlocked.
