Most of us bake alone. Some of us bake with friends. But what an experience, to bake with a whole group of friends. Hands in dough, mixers whirring, sugar and flour and butter and vanilla and chocolate at your fingertips, lots of oven space…

That’s the Baking Education Center (BEC) at King Arthur Flour here in Norwich, Vermont. (more…)

So, you think you want to come work in the King Arthur test kitchen, huh? Where everything we bake comes out perfect on the very first try.

NOT.

We have a “three strikes” rule here in the test kitchen. Try a recipe. If it fails the first time, strike one. Flops the second time, strike two. Still no good on the third attempt — “Yer out!” Ditch it, baby, life’s too short.

(Though we all confess, like mothers with a problem child, to allowing four, five, sometimes even six strikes for certain favorite recipes that we just KNOW will be successful if we simply don’t give up on them…)

We know all of you have made mistakes. Burned cookies. Doorstop bread.  Muffins that are for the birds—literally. And we, the King Arthur test bakers—Sue, Susan, Andrea, MaryJane, and me, PJ—are here to tell you: we’re with you. We feel your pain. (more…)

Once upon a time, Brinna Sands and PJ Hamel were working together at King Arthur, trying to inspire Americans to bake. They knew that bakers are a sociable, intelligent, creative bunch, and realized that nothing gets people more excited about baking than a good recipe, and a good story to go with it.
How to reach these fine people? They bought a mailing list (128 names) for a newsletter called “The Baking Sheet,” and that’s how this particular story begins. (more…)

On the line—packing, packing, packing…

During this crazy holiday shopping season, Susan Reid (my fellow blogger) and I keep the warehouse folks supplied with daily treats, in order to keep both energy and spirits up. Our fulfillment folks (has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?) put in extra-long, hard days filling orders, packing boxes, mixing mixes, and generally moving at top speed for weeks at a time to get people’s holiday baking products on their way as quickly as possible. (more…)

True to King Arthur Flour’s identity, we’ve given Arthurian names to all of our buildings. The retail store is housed in Camelot, the Baking Education Center in Caerleon, and our warehouse/fulfillment building is called Avalon.

We work hard to tempt you with our roster of quality ingredients and fabulous baking toys (er, tools). Luckily for us, you’re happy to have a trustworthy company to buy these things from. We’re heading into our busiest season, and we thought you might be interested in a behind-the-scenes peek at what happens when you order from us. (more…)

A message from Tom Payne, King Arthur Flour marketing director:

As we all nervously watch for signs of light at the end of a dark economic tunnel, the news doesn’t look good. Some predict the financial crisis will dampen our economy well into 2009. Particularly hard hit will be organizations that rely on donations and fund-raising, including schools, youth groups and charities.

With many school-funding initiatives around the country at risk, how will our nation’s schools cope with lack of funds for their programs? With Americans wondering how they will hold on to their own savings and make ends meet, how will nonprofits encourage people to give? (more…)

Earlier this week, King Arthur Flour was named one of the Top Small Workplaces in North America by the Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces. This is a real honor for our company, a wonderful indication that we’re on the right track with the open and supportive corporate culture we strive to foster here.

As an employee-owner, I have the pleasure of coming to work in a place where I feel respected, where my contribution is valued, and where I see caring demonstrated every day in interactions with customers and employees alike. So you know what? Honored as we all feel, I’m not really surprised to find out that King Arthur Flour ranks so highly. (more…)

Twenty years ago, King Arthur Flour was a regional flour company. Beloved by New Englanders, we weren’t known outside the Northeast.

These days, King Arthur Flour can be found on supermarket shelves in all 50 states. We’re the top-selling organic flour in the country, as well as #1 in sales for whole wheat flour and bread flour. And our unbleached all-purpose? Well, we’re #2 to Gold Medal, but we’re gaining ground fast. And you know what they say about being #2—we try harder! (more…)

It’s not often these days manufacturers get a chance to announce good news about food prices. I’d like to share with you a letter from Michael Bittel, our senior VP and general manager of the Flour division at King Arthur Flour, announcing an immediate price decrease on flour. By carefully watching the wheat market and making some very smart buys, we have been able to secure a supply of high-quality wheat at better than expected prices. This means we can mill the flour at better than expected cost and pass the savings on to our direct customers, the retailers from whom you buy your groceries. (more…)

Once upon a time, there was a Baker’s Store in Norwich, Vermont. Now, this store had a rug on the floor that had been there since the building was built many years ago. And, like the rug in your family room, years of food spills, muddy shoes, and the day-to-day traffic of life and commerce had stained it, wrinkled it, and worn it threadbare. It was time for the rug to go—but how could The Store close for an extended period in the middle of summer, when all of the bakers from far and wide come to visit? The answer was—it couldn’t. (more…)