With the opening of his new bakery in Avon, Kevin Masse of Small State Provisions now has more than 10 times the space to produce his sourdough breads.
"We went from 200 square feet to 2,200," he said, referring to the bakery's original space, a stall at West Hartford's GastroPark.
Small State Provisions' new space opened July 20 on Old Farms Road next door to Hopmeadow Brewing Company, offering several types of freshly baked sourdough breads, a full coffee program and other sweet and savory baked goods like muffins, scones and cookies.
Masse originally started the business from his home in 2019, crafting sourdough and a signature olive oil-maple granola. He learned to make bread from Connecticut-based cookbook author Terry Walters, who became his close friend and mentor.
"I still use her [sourdough] starter to this day," he said.
In July 2021, he opened his first brick-and-mortar shop at GastroPark, the food truck park in West Hartford's Elmwood neighborhood, quickly growing a following for his sourdough loaves and sweet treats like chocolate babka, cookies, banana bread, cakes and cinnamon rolls. Out of the tiny stall with two small ovens, he and his team also produced croissants, sweet and savory tarts and a special grandma-style sourdough pizza, available by the slice at monthly pop-ups.
It wasn't long before Masse realized he would need to expand, and he signed a lease for the Avon bakery in July 2022. But the GastroPark outpost remains open, and most of the production and baking for both locations will now happen in Avon, he said, thanks to the increased space.
"We're still doing all of our great stuff there. We're still tied into that community. The GastroPark will always have a very, very special place in my heart, because that's where we got started," he said.
The core of Small State's business is its bread, made with organic flour and naturally-leavened sourdough with no commercial yeast. Each batch takes about two days to produce, as the dough proofs and ferments for long stretches of time before baking. Fresh loaves baked on a recent Wednesday morning started out as dough on Monday morning, Masse said.
Regulars from West Hartford have made the trip to Avon, Masse said, but he's also seen lots of new faces. All are intrigued by the new bakery's open concept, he said, where visitors can see fresh loaves coming out of the oven and employees mixing more dough in the production space.
"I'm really trying to bring bread to this community that's reminiscent of what people will get on the West Coast, where there's a really nice bread scene, or Europe," he said.
In its first week, the Avon location has been selling sourdough boules and baguettes, along with rosemary focaccia and Japanese milk bread, also made with the sourdough starter. The Japanese milk bread got its start in West Hartford after Masse made it for Ashley Flagg, the executive chef at Millwright's, who was looking for a sliceable sandwich bread for menu items at the Simsbury restaurant.
Small State also supplies other local eateries with breads, including Present Company in Simsbury, Blue Plate Kitchen in West Hartford and Terreno, Gather 55 and Hartford Flavor Company in Hartford. Masse is also on the board of directors at Healing Meals Community Project in Simsbury, which prepares and delivers organic meals for individuals and families dealing with a health crisis, according to its website.
For heartier appetites, Small State offers breakfast sandwiches on its rosemary focaccia, featuring a baked egg patty and arugula with a spicy aioli. At lunchtime, the sandwiches are built on half-baguettes, one with sharp cheddar, tomato chutney and arugula and another with fully plant-based ingredients: curry-roasted cauliflower, pickled carrots and onions, cilantro and jalapeño, topped with a spicy plant-based aioli.
Small State's coffee program, with hot and iced drip coffee, cold brew and espresso beverages, uses products from Alvarium Roasting Co., which also has a stall at GastroPark. That partnership was a natural fit, Masse said, as Small State also provides pastries for Alvarium's New Britain coffeehouse.
In the next several months, Masse said the bakery will offer more seasonal and special breads as he and his team settle into the new space, and they'll take the same approach with the sweet items.
"We want to make sure we're doing everything we know how to do really well, before we start to diversify what we're making," he said.
In a July 23 Instagram post, three days after the bakery's debut, Masse shared his emotions with Small State's nearly 10,000 followers.
"Yesterday morning I sat doing some work on my computer and I looked up, with tears in my eyes at this beautiful, insanely unique thing we have created," he wrote. "The music was just right, everyone knew what they needed to get done, the energy was amazing —and then, we got to welcome all of you into our new home in Avon."
Small State Provisions, at 205 Old Farms Road in Avon, is open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Information: smallstateprovisions.com; facebook.com/smallstate, @smallstate.
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