Clair Malina (left), Jill Schroeder, and Tim Semler in the kitchen.
PHOTOS: (LEFT) JENNY NELSON; (TOP) TODD NELSON; (BOTTOM) JENNY NELSON
Jill Schroeder places bread in the oven at Tinder Hearth bakery.
Tim Semler, Lydia Moffett and their son Kieran.
Hill, Ellsworth, Bangor and Bucksport. In winter, for 250 croissants a week, there are eight employees. Pastries are lucrative, and help leverage the real passion: bread. Semler talks bread with a poet’s fervor and the granular knowledge of a biologist who understands baguettes at the molecular level. “The lactic acid in sourdough protects the dough from burning in the high heat,” he said. “Due to long fermentation, without yeast, all the grain gets fully saturated. Every molecule of starch unfurls like a fern and has water on all sides.” This achieves a prized hydration rate. “Then it becomes ‘a different food.’” That said, sourdough is “not a formula,” said Semler. “It’s living, moody organisms. We open up the lid and say, ‘Talk to me!’” What about gluten intolerance? “People tell me, ‘I can’t eat any wheat—but I can eat your pizza.’ We use the highest gluten flour available, but it’s sour dough, and full of water.” Are Semler and Moffet satisfied? Yes, provided they get to keep their hands in the dough. “We’ve achieved sustainability. It’s working. Two kids, a new Honda, and remodeling the house. This year we’ve also started shipping bread to New York and Philadelphia.” Tinder Hearth is a bread terroir—living Maine water, air and organisms infiltrating the “big city.” www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 21