I met Jeff Hamelman when he had a bakery in Rutland Vt. He gave me my first ciabatta. His bread book is always close by. He's very special to the artisan bread industry. I'm going out to the pizza expo in a couple of days; I've found that customers complain when bread is priced at $5, but will pay four times that for a pizza. Not that I'm trying to get rich; just have to make payroll and pay the rent. I wil make ciabatta, black bread, etc...Hamelman cast a spell on me. My grandfather was George Reed, born 1872, Newmarket NH. His mother was Native American.

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