Brickhouse Bakery: Family makes artisan bread with flavors, ingredients local to Alexandria

The secret to keeping bread starter alive is to name it, said Lauren Thompson of Dry Prong.

She and her husband Jacob purchased a 100-year-old starter from New England that she says has managed to make bread each week.

"Valjean is our starter," said Lauren as she laughed. "It's actually the main character in 'Les Miserables,' the musical. He went to prison for stealing bread so we named it Valjean."

"He was stealing bread to feed his sister's family, who were starving," added Jacob.

He says he's not much of a talker, but he's the talent behind Brickhouse Bakery making all the artisan breads, cakes and pastries that the Dry Prong family sells each week at the Cabrini Farmers Market on East Texas Avenue.

"He got the talent. I got the words," said Lauren.

They also have seven children who sometimes sing and play musical instruments for market visitors while mom and dad sell the goods.

"We were told initially that nobody would be interested in organic bread," said Lauren. "It's just floofy, boujie bread. That sourdough is kind of weird. But we found that a lot of people appreciate artisan bread. And it's bread — not like our grandmothers' but like our great-great-grandmothers made. It is a totally yeast-free bread."

"Their products are always fresh," said customer Lisa Hendrix, of Alexandria. "I never had anything there that wasn't delicious."

She likes that she can look at their Facebook page to see what they have ahead of time and pre-order.

And, she added, she thinks the Thompson kids are really cute.

More: 'It's fun to visit with folks': Farmers markets value social experience as well as business

Jacob had always been interested in baking but it wasn't until five years ago that he began to get into it.

"We had just had our sixth baby," said Lauren. And they sent their other five children to Texas to stay with her parents.

Since Jacob was off, he decided to take the opportunity to learn a new skill.

"He made some choux pastry," said Lauren. "And it was the first pastry he had ever made. They were like tiny pancakes."

Unfortunately, it was a horrible flop the first time around, said Lauren. But Jacob was undeterred.

So he tried again. And the second time around?

"They were amazing," said Lauren. "They're actually called religieuse or nuns. So that's what started it. And he really enjoyed baking."

Jacob began to ramp up the baking. After he came home from work, Lauren said they would make something fun together and sit by the oven to watch the puff pastries puff.

Later on, they visited the Paris Bakery in Paris, Texas, where Lauren is from. The owner gave them a list of books and told them if they wanted to learn more, they would need those guides.

At the time, baking was just a hobby but they invested purchasing in a couple of the suggested books.

That's when they began to get serious.

"I asked him to make me almond croissants on my birthday. And he did. And it was the most amazing thing," said Lauren.

They started baking for their friends who owned As the Crow Flies coffee shop in Pineville.

"They were super helpful — just so happy to let us sell our stuff there," she said. "And, the rest is history."

In 2019, they started selling their baked goods at the Alexandria Farmers Market. Even though Lauren said it was an amazing market, selling on Tuesdays didn't work for their schedule. So they started working at the Cabrini Farmers Market on Saturdays.

The Thompsons  never expected the business to take off like it did.

More: Vendors keep Cabrini Farmers Market open for business in Alexandria

"We couldn't believe that so many people were interested in organic artisan bread," said Lauren. "These are breads that we make with our hands with local ingredients.We try to use as many local products as possible to support the local economy."

They use Ruston peaches, local blueberries and milk from Flowing Hills Creamery.

If they make a coffee filling, they'll get it from Khmericano Coffee. She doesn't want to shop at big box stores for ingredients.

"We try really hard to just bring home... food sustainability," she said. "That really is the best description because it's our people. It's our food. We have a really awesome community here."

Since they've been running Brickhouse Bakery, they've been pleasantly surprised by how many people are interested in supporting local economies and small businesses.

"We're just a cottage bakery," said Lauren. "We bake out of our home."

Online

Check out their Facebook page Brickhouse Bakery.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Family makes artisan bread at home with local flavors, ingredients