Ray Schofield’s first motivational spark to bake bread came as a result from attending the Kneading Conference in 2007/2008. At that time, he was living in Rhode Island where he had built a wood-fired oven and had begun experimenting with bread baking. He and his wife, Cindy, started baking bread for a small, local farmer’s market and sold out everything they baked (a whole 30 loaves)!
In 2011, his family made a decision to move to Maine. They had been attending the Common Ground Fair since its inception and focused their search in the Waldo county area. They visited a number of bread bakeries to gauge what would be required to start a business and in 2013, after a 2 year search, they found the perfect property for their baking needs in Montville, ME. It took about a year to build out the bakehouse space in their 19th century post and beam barn.
After surveying the local bread scene in the midcoast area, the Schofields saw that the organic bread offering was almost non-existent. They began sourcing organic flour and organic ingredients for their sourdough bread products. They made their first commercial sale in April 2015, and will be celebrating 10 years of business very shortly! They have sold their bread at farmer’s markets, bread fairs, cheese festivals and restaurants, but today concentrate solely on wholesaling to health food stores.
From the beginning, Ray and Cindy wanted to keep the business small enough for their family to operate. Ray bakes the bread and Cindy and their daughter, Elisha, assist in the cutting and shaping of dough, as well as doing store deliveries. Ray’s grandson, Elijah, is in charge of bag labeling, prepping twist ties and assisting with deliveries.
Ray Schofield will be 70 this year and is looking to hang up his peel in the near future. They have a loyal following so are looking for the right person to carry on the torch. Until then, look for Back 40 bread every Friday at the Blue Hill Coop!
Varieties:
- St. Albans Seeded Sourdough Loaf
- Rockport Deli Rye Loaf
- Searsmont Sourdough Loaf
- Montville Multigrain Loaf
- Megunticook Maple Cinnamon Raisin Loaf
- Freedom Farmhouse Rustic Loaf
- Scarborough Toasted Sesame Loaf
- Little Liberty Country Loaf
- China Ciabatta Loaf
