Bake September/October 2021 - 16

" This is the first
time in 28 years
that we can sell
more bread than
we can bake. "
Josh Allen, founder of Companion in St Louis
option. We also see if any local restaurants might be
getting rid of equipment. This is our first instinct, and
it typically saves a lot of money. Lately, if it absolutely
burns us out and an old yet reliable piece of equipment
can help us a lot we begin chatting about it in the mix
room. Purchases are hard emotionally and on the wallet,
so we usually try and make it count.
BAKE: What are your target food cost percentages, and
how do you manage production costs and efficiencies?
LODGE BREAD: We like to keep our target food cost
between 20-30%, and some items are higher than others.
We make those more expensive decisions for food cost
on-the-fly and based on ingredient availability. We're
not such a huge business yet that we need to purchase
things months in advance, so we make purchases as
needed and do our best to stick to a budget. We've
also raised prices to account for increased operation
and food cost margins constantly evolving.
A passion project
BAKE: Please share the history of your shop - how you
got started and how you have responded to change in
the past couple years.
LODGE BREAD: Lodge Bread Co. first started as a
passion project for us. After stints in acclaimed restaurants
across the country and around the world, we met
through the high-end restaurant industry in Los Angeles
in 2014. We quickly realized our baking styles and dreams
were complementary, and we set out to open a restaurant
and café committed to whole grain flour and sourdough
bread. Lodge Bread quickly gained an excited fanbase,
and critics praised Lodge for its consistency, innovation,
commitment to high-quality flour and careful attention
16 < SEP-OCT 2021 | bakemag.com
to detail. We were 2017 and 2018 James Beard semifinalists
for Outstanding Baker, and we've subsequently
opened a kosher hummus restaurant, Hasiba. Our naturally
leavened New York-style pizza concept, Full Proof
Pizza, will open in Los Angeles in 2021.
In terms of how we've responded to changes, we've
had to stay nimble throughout the pandemic and as we
source new locations. We ended up selling many items
to-go, which helped our business and proved popular,
including our house-made shakshuka, our house-made
almond butter, and at-home baking kits for bread and
pizza. We also made the leap and sold our menu items
on popular delivery apps, making sure people across
Los Angeles could have access to our food and brand.
BAKE: What is your expertise (and your individual
backgrounds in baking)?
LODGE BREAD: We have quite different background
stories. We met while working together at Goldie's,
a California-inspired restaurant in Los Angeles, and
we noticed we shared a common interest in making
amazing bread. We started adding more items to the
menu, offering people many types of sourdough bread.
Once people received it super well, we decided to go
into business together.
As for myself (Or), I come from a Moroccan and Israeli
background and gained a passion for cooking at a young
age. I later lived in Israel and served in the military, then
attended Le Cordon Bleu to expand my knowledge,
which led to high-profile gigs as a private chef in Los
Angeles. Though I had no formal baking training per se,
I quickly learned the ins and outs alongside family and
through many restaurant positions.
My co-founder, Alex Phaneuf, worked his way up in
LODGE BREAD
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Bake September/October 2021

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