Hello bread friends!

My name is Mika, and I’m a sourdough baker at Downtime Bakery. I get the privilege of mixing, shaping, and baking sourdough bread with my awesome
teammates for you each week.

It’s wild to think that my journey at Downtime began nearly a year ago. It’s been such a pleasure baking for you all and being a part of a community that cares so deeply about supporting our local growers. Before joining the bakery, I was on a different adventure,
one that was tangentially related to bread. For ten months, I lived in the beautiful country of Nepal, researching the cultural food traditions of finger millet.

Crafted with love from my memories and time in Nepal, we will be offering two special finger millet loaves for our Thursday loaf this week!

For those of you who are new to finger millet, I’d like to first introduce you to this special grain. Finger millet is a small-seeded, gluten-free cereal belonging to the grass family. You may have heard of its other cousins such as sorghum, proso millet, and foxtail
millet, which are more commonly eaten here in the US. Finger millet, on the other hand, originated in East Africa but has a longstanding history in India, Nepal, and Tibet. It is nutritionally dense, high in dietary fiber, has a low glycemic index, and contains three
times more calcium than milk!

The first loaf on the menu is similar to our country bread, with 10% finger millet for added flavor, color, and nutrition. The second is a finger millet loaf with toasted walnuts and golden raisins. Both are fermented, uniquely pleasing to the
eye, and delicious, with a nutty, wholesome flavor.

As monsoon season comes to an end in Nepal, it will soon be time for farmers to harvest the finger millet from their fields. However, over these last few months, Nepal has experienced a tragic number of devastating flash floods and landslides brought on by the intensifying impacts of climate change. One of the villages I visited while trekking
was completely swept away.

As I test-baked these loaves, I struggled to quell the conflicting emotions swirling inside me. I felt overwhelming gratitude for the people who
offered food, shelter, and laughter along the way. Fear for the families who have lost their homes, their children, their livelihoods. Grief from hearing stories of courage from the rescuers still looking for those who are missing. Yet, there is light amidst this darkness. Volunteers in Kathmandu have rallied together to provide emergency
supplies, household items, bedding, food, and clothing to those who have lost their
homes.

Each special loaf will be sold together with an 8-oz container of local yogurt and honey. The bread and the yogurt together will be $16. This is inspired by a traditional breakfast in Nepal, where flatbread made from finger millet is drizzled with honey and served with velvety curd. The proceeds from the sale of this finger millet bread will directly be donated to the on-the-ground relief efforts in the districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa in Nepal. Your kindness and generosity will touch the lives of many.

In peace and loving-kindness,
Mika