Earl Young Road
Katie Zukof and Eric Schedler are Bloomington’s premier artisan bread bakers. We purchased 5 acres of undeveloped land in Monroe County in June 2009 and immediately began developing the property. By August 2010, the wood-fired oven was complete and we began baking in the on-farm bakery.
Katie in the field
Katie grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and Guilford, Connecticut. She was an environmental studies major at Oberlin College where she developed an interest in the local foods movement (and also met Eric)! Both of us volunteered at the Oberlin Sustainable Agriculture Project (harvesting and vending) each semester at Oberlin. Eric was raised in southern Illinois and began his baking career at the Neighborhood Co-op in Carbondale. He then studied harpsichord performance, German and mathematics at Oberlin College.
A view of the bakery, greenhouse and garden
We both spent two years teaching high school (Katie taught French and Eric taught mathematics) in the Mississippi Delta with Teach For America upon graduation. In the fall of 2005, we moved to Argentina, learning Spanish and working on two organic farms, Chacra Millalen and Finca el Peregrino, both of which had bakeries.
Leda Ivy Schedler
Inspired by our experience with simple living and self-sufficiency, we decided to make our dreams a reality upon return to the United States. After living in Bloomington, Indiana for two years while Eric completed his master’s degree in mathematics and Katie served as the Assistant Director for the Local Growers Guild, we purchased our farm in June 2009.
On May 11, 2o11, we welcomed the newest addition to our family, Leda Ivy Schedler.
Eric playing accordion with the Cosmic Otters
In addition to his work at the bakery and on the farm, Eric is a professional piano and accordion player who regularly plays for contradances, weddings and special events throughout the United States.
Katie moonlights as a preschool Spanish teacher at the Bloomington Developmental Learning Center. She also served as an editor for the Upper Midwest Local Foods Wheel.
We are currently working on the necessary upgrades to our kitchen to gain a wholesale food license. We will be looking for restaurant and retail outlets for our bread. We would like to work two or three full baking days, and spend the rest of our time improving the property, growing most of our food, and raising our family.