Bread Alone Bakery: A Family-Owned Bakery Empire in the Catskill Mountains
There’s nothing quite like that first tear into a baguette, that first cut through ciabatta, that first waft of sourdough as the bakery bag slowly unfolds. Simple pleasures like these are at the heart of Bread Alone, the family-owned, values-driven bakery that has operated out of a growing number of Catskills locations since 1983. Committed to “simple life and living grounded in nature, community, and simple and honest breads and foods,” Dan and Sharon Leader have spent over thirty years continually setting and raising the bar for artisan baking across the country. Sourcing their ingredients from the local farms, fields, and orchards that are spread out along the Hudson Valley, the Leaders have become the ultimate model for creating traditional, honest products for communities across all walks of life, from cities to suburbs, from Hannaford to Whole Foods.
“Dan and Sharon raised a family of four children while operating and growing a bakery,” says Nels Leader, the couple’s eldest son whose birth inspired Dan, many years ago, to forgo a chef’s life in New York City for the country baker’s life in Boiceville, NY. “Entrepreneurs face incredible pressure, but Dan and Sharon have always managed to keep that pressure at bay thanks to their overriding passion and commitment to their business and craft. I wish there were a secret to replicate what they’ve done, but in truth I think that entrepreneurs like them have unique qualities that can’t be translated. In that way, I guess the secret is hidden deep in their bodies and souls.”
Photos by Natalie Chitwood, Words by Sylvie Morgan Brown