Born to bake

Source: The Detroit News
Gerald Matthes not only provides delicious artisan breads and pastries at the Give Thanks Bakery and Cafe in Rochester, he gives back 10 percent of his profits to caring organizations in the city.

Give Thanks Bakery
Where: 225 S. Main, Rochester.
Hours: 7 a.m.- 6 p.m. Tues.-Sat.
Phone: (248) 601-1542.

ROCHESTER --Loreen Sesock and Linda Hildebrandt have a favorite exercise routine. "We get together a few times a month, and we walk," says Sesock, an automotive trainee from Rochester. "Yeah, and then we end up here for coffee and a reward," laughs Hildebrandt, a massage therapist from Troy, getting ready to stab a piece of fruit tart with a raised fork. "Hey, we walked 2 miles to get here," chimes in Sesock.

The stop that makes their trek worthwhile is the Give Thanks Bakery and Cafe, located in downtown Rochester. More than just a place to grab a bear claw and a cup of joe, Give Thanks is a European-style artisan bakery that goes the extra mile, not only in products but service, too. And for that, we have owner Gerald Matthes to thank.

In addition to the 24 varieties of crusty loaves of bread, both sweet and savory, delicate pastries and an apple strudel that will make you sink to your knees in delight, Matthes, who grew up in Leicestershire, England, also specializes in making British pub pies, pork pies and shepherd's pie, a particular treat, especially for the lunchtime crowd.

Open just two years, the bakery has quickly gained a reputation around Metro Detroit for its high-quality products. Admirers include certified master chef Milos Cihelka, executive chef emeritus of the Golden Mushroom in Southfield, which serves the bakery's bread. Chefs from Paint Creek Country Club in Orion Township, as well as Neiman Marcus in Troy, also buy bread from Give Thanks.

Cihelka says a friend first dropped off a loaf of Matthes' sourdough for him to try. "I thought it was delicious, but I never made the connection when a month or so later I was at a chef's dinner and was served the most amazing sourdough roll," says Cihelka.

"I stood up, waved the roll in my hand and said, 'This is the best roll I've had since I left France!' When I was told it came from Gerald's bakery, I said, 'I have to go and see that place.' "

At a time when chain bakeries are popping up everywhere and even supermarket shelves are bulging with baguettes, focaccias and "artisan-style" dinner rolls, Give Thanks is unique because it is a true artisan bakery. The term artisan in the dictionary refers to a worker in a skilled trade or craftsman, and at Give Thanks, as in all artisan bakeries, the bread is made by hand.

"Our breads are handcrafted with care," says Matthes. "We use artisan flour (it's the closest to flour used in France) and purified water, so that the loaves are chemical-free." The loaves rise in coiled willow baskets, lined with floured Belgian linen (called "en couche,"), and then are shaped and baked in a steam-injected oven.

"I wanted to bake bread the way my ancestors did," says Matthes. "I wanted to do it right, not hurry the process. Good bread is just like good wine; it takes time."   

Born to bake
   Matthes has always known there was baker's blood in his veins, but he never acknowledged that need to knead until 14 years ago.

   "I was peripherally aware that there were bakers in my family throughout Germany and England, but I wasn't interested in doing that even a little bit," says Matthes of Bloomfield Township, who was already quite successful as a marketing executive.

   But then Matthes traveled to Germany and discovered his ancestor's bakery still standing after the beating it took in World War II and years of neglect, and found a tiny prayer book that he took as a sign. He traded in his European three-piece suits for a crisply starched double-breasted baker's jacket and never looked back.

   In 1985, Matthes and his best friend, Walter Hertrich, came upon the building that housed the Matthes family bakery more than 100 years ago in Braunsbach, Germany.  

  "Walter and I were on a business trip in Stuttgart. I brought along a photograph a relative had sent me of the guesthouse and bakery that my great-great-uncle August Matthes had established in Braunsbach," Matthes says. "At Walter's urging, we went off in search of the old building, never thinking we'd actually find it."

   But Matthes was in luck. "It looked just like it did in the picture. I couldn't believe it. The owner, who lived next door, let us in to look around. For the most part, the bakery was still there, even my great-great uncle's cot where he slept was there," he says.

   Matthes made his way up to the attic, and there was a huge hole in the roof from a British bomb. "Rubble was all over the floor, but when I kicked a chunk of plaster, I spied this small black book that had been buried under the debris. I picked it up to discover it was a prayer book, and inside the front cover was written the name Anna Matthes! I was speechless.

   "Even more unbelievable was that the owner told me that in five days the building was going to be gutted and turned into apartments," says Matthes. "The experience awakened something in me."

   "He came home and told me he wanted to open a bakery," says Matthes' wife, Margaret, who teaches kindermusic in Birmingham. "I said, 'what are you talking about? Have you ever even baked a loaf of bread?'" Margaret laughs when she recalls the time the two of them hauled the Joy of Cooking off the shelf and began experimenting.  

  "Our first loaf wasn't very successful," she says.  

  Baking is an art that's mastered only after years of trial and error, and as any good baker knows, it's more than just following a recipe. There are no shortcuts, no conveniences and no inferior products, and tradition plays a major part in how good a loaf you can produce. But Matthes was determined, and he immersed himself in the world of artisan baking.

  Matthes studied under Didier Rosada, director of the National Baking Center in Minneapolis, and trained in breads and pastries. He also attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York and interned in bakeries in New York and Michigan.  

  Finally, at friends' urging, two years ago, Matthes opened Give Thanks Bakery. Joining him in his effort is head baker, Noel Black of Shelby Township, who was the assistant to the chief baking instructor at the National Baking Center. Pastry chef Rick Michels of Troy, who, says Matthes, "rolls out strudel dough so thin you could read a newspaper through it," creates outstanding German pastries, tortes and cakes with the help of Sandy Niezguski of Royal Oak.

    A town favorite
   Rochester is a town with strong European ancestry, and the bakery draws customers as diverse as the bread it sells.   

 People with French, German and English accents come Tuesday through Saturday for the tangy sourdough French levain, the rustic ciabatta and the flax-rye, filled with wheat, rye and flax, that's a true winner. There's the hearty vollkornbrot, a traditional, very dense, whole rye bread that is best sliced thin and served with pate or a fine cheese; a delicate challah; and beautifully shaped fougasse that's perfect for pulling off in hunks to be nibbled while quaffing a fine wine.  

  And if that's not enough, at the counter is Jackie Greer, aka Grandma Cookie, whose pleasant smile and greeting are as sweet as the tortes in the gleaming glass case she stands behind.  

  Chef Milos Cihelka says what he loves about Give Thanks (besides the amazing rolls) is that it's "so uncommercial. They are proud of their product, and it shows in the results. My philosophy has always been that no matter what you do, if you deliver quality, you will have customers beating down your door."

   That is indeed the case at Give Thanks. Even though the bakery's address, 225 S. Main, is on the main drag in Rochester, the entrance is around back on the alley side between Second and Third near Walnut. You can't see the storefront from Main Street, but that doesn't stop customers from finding their way.  

  Customers such as Kathleen Murphy of Rochester, a retired school teacher, says she stops in several times a week. "I'm addicted to the chocolate cherry bread," she says, but points to the pastry case and raves about the contents.  

  "You have to try these," she says pointing to the crispy almond tuilles and madelines just waiting to melt in your mouth.  

  "I believe that a bakery should be a part of the fabric of life," Matthes says. "Give Thanks is about so much more than making profits. I'm happy every time I come in to this town."  

  To illustrate that philosophy, Matthes contributes 10 percent of the bakery's profits to charity organizations in Rochester.  

  "When Christ took bread in his hands, he did three things," says Matthes. "First, he gave thanks, then he broke it, then he shared it with his buddies."
Source: The Detroit News