Eating Out The most complete guide to
in Port Chester
A Supplement to the
and Rye Brook
The Kneaded Bread makes lots of dough
By Deborah Young Four times a year, Jennifer Kohn sends out a newsletter to the 4,000 or so customers who pick up their daily staples and special treats at The Kneaded Bread bakery on the corner of Mill and North Main streets in Port Chester. With a kids’ art contest, a tongue-in-cheek “Kneaded Bread pop quiz,” and recipes in lettering that looks like what you’d copy down with the phone pressed to your shoulder and mom on the line, the neighborly communiqué is very much in keeping with the spirit of the bakery Jennifer and her husband, Jeffrey, opened in June of 1998. Of the 4,000 people who receive the newsletter, they probably know 3,996, Jeff, 31, said with a chuckle as he greeted customers from a stool at the bakery’s front-window lunch counter. “I’d feel terrible if I forgot somebody’s name,” said Jennifer, 33. The Kneaded Bread has the cozy, homespun attitude of a ma and pa corner shop. But there’s nothing backwoods about the place. The pastries and 21 plus varieties of specialty breads represent the best recipes culled from the Kohns’ European culinary tours, and the Kohns approach everything that goes on inside their bakery with the panache of true epicureans. Locals have responded positively to the Kohns’ unique mixture of hospitality and sophistication. They make repeat visits to the slice of bread heaven in their midst, bringing home loaves of provolone, rosemary olive, sunflower, chocolate, crusty country, pecan cranberry, and The Kneaded Bread’s other exotic takes on the daily staple. Over the almost four years since it opened, business at The Kneaded Bread has grown steadily. In September, they began the construction to expand into the empty storefront next door, keeping the bakery open throughout the remodeling. Six weeks ago, The Kneaded Bread resettled into its larger digs. Now the staff no longer has to do-si-do by each other in the tiny area behind the counter. There’s a substantial marble-topped island for workers to wrap up purchases and space enough for three highbacked booths where customers can relax with coffee and pastries or a sandwich.
The Kohns began offering a rotating selection of fresh sandwiches to showcase the different types of bread six months after the bakery opened. Every morning Jeff gets up and goes to the market for the ingredients, Jennifer said. Albacore tuna on thick slices of multigrain bread is the most popular and sells out early, but on any given day, the shelf in the selfserve refrigerator might also be stocked with such sandwiches as mozzarella, roasted red peppers and tapenade (black olive paste) on ciabatta bread, Genoa salami with provolone cheese, or French brie with Grannie Smith apples on hearty walnut bread. Just two weeks ago, pastry chef Amy Buchoff, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has worked as a counter person at The Kneaded Bread, started making cakes at the bakery. Her ballerina-pink and ivory frosted domes lined up along the countertop resemble something out of a Wayne Thiebaud painting. “Expansion has been very positive,” said Jeff. “Jen and I move at our own pace. We do everything
The Kneaded Bread is located at 181 North Main St. when we feel comfortable.” Working for yourself means having to answer only to your own meticulous standards, Jeff said. “From the time you open, it has to be just right.” Before they ever welcomed their first customer, the Kohns took all the time they needed to make sure The Kneaded Bread would be just that. Jeff, who grew up on Churchill Road in Rye Brook and graduated from Blind Brook High School in 1988, had known from the time he was in college that food would be in his future. He took a year off from Syracuse University to study in France. While there, he enrolled in a cooking class.
Owners Jennifer and Jeffrey Kohn work behind the counter in their Port Chester bakery. “I knew it was something I wanted to pursue,” he said. Jennifer, meanwhile, had finished her degree in Art History from Syracuse University. Though the two met while they were both students, they didn’t become romantically involved until after Jennifer had started working in Manhattan as a publicist for a record company and Jeff had continued his education at the Culinary Institute of America. Jennifer picked up her knowledge about food working restaurant jobs, she said. Despite her lack of formal training, she’s an absolute natural, Jeff said. “She has a very refined palate,” he said. “I just helped her access it.” Jennifer also brought her innate business sense to the table. Her parents still own the same Manhattan antiques store they had while she was growing up in Woodcliff, N.J., and she knows all about the joys and challenges of running a family business. “Antiques became part of my life,” she said. “I remember a Sunday outing would be going to see Dorothy’s ruby slippers at Christie’s.” She and Jeff both knew they would need capital, planning, and commitment to get their business off the ground. But, most importantly, the bakery would need fabulous recipes. They worked seven days a week in a Manhattan restaurant to squirrel away enough money to tour Europe and learn everything possible about bread. The year before the bakery
opened, they spent five months in France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal chatting up artisans in small village boulangeries and panaderias and hobnobbing with world famous pastry chefs in the big cities. They kept a journal, and of course, detailed recipes. “While we were there, we came up with the name for the place, everything,” said Jeff. When they returned, they settled on the Port Chester location, moved into the old Life Savers building across the street, and got down to business. “We probably were ready to open one month before we did,” said Jeff. But, true to form, they waited to be certain that all was perfectly in place. Since The Kneaded Bread opened, Jeff and Jennifer have worked six days a week, 15 hours a day, they said. Even after hiring five counter people and more bakers to accommodate the surge in business, their
work schedule hasn’t lightened one bit, said Jeff. “It’s been four years and it hasn’t gotten any easier,” he said, partially because they continue to grow and soon will add panini (pressed sandwiches), espresso and soup to the Kneaded Bread fare. “We’re both here constantly,” said Jennifer, still comfortable with a schedule where boundaries between life and work merge. “There’s no downtime.” The bakery feels like a second home, said Fernando Bastida, who has worked with the Kohns for 14 months and now manages the bakery. “It’s just been so great,” he said with a huge smile. “I really love it.” Bastida said he first visited the Kneaded Bread on a field trip with his ESL class. “We were learning how to have a small business,” he said. “After I tried the bread, I couldn’t stop coming in. I came in twice a week.” Bastida, whose father used to have a bakery in Mexico, soon joined on. “The people here are very friendly,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot.” For the Kohns, the Kneaded Bread is a continuing education in the art of baking and the finesse of running a business. And they’re thrilled to provide residents of Port Chester and the surrounding communities with the bread they need. “We think it’s a great town for a small business,” said Jeff. “If you offer a good product, you’re going to be successful.” The Kneaded Bread is open Tuesday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The bakery is closed Monday.
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