Bread on a mission: SCRATCHbread, Brooklyn
About a year ago, I became infatuated with SCRATCHbread’s brownies. I couldn’t get enough of the fudgy cake sandwiching rich buttercream frosting, dusted with cocoa powder to cut the sweetness. But it wasn’t just the sugar rush that had me feeling good; I loved the positive vibes coming from the owner and staff, whose passion for food exuded from the Brooklyn Flea stand.
SCRATCHbread is a company with a mission: to make simple, wholesome food—from scratch with local ingredients—accessible to the community. Founder Matthew Tilden is so passionate about the concept (he has the company logo tattooed on his forearm for pete’s sake), that he bakes around the clock in his three-oven kitchen in Bed-Stuy, which was partially funded by a community campaign on Kickstarter last year. Before he had his own space, he baked bread in his friends’ and employers’ kitchens in the late nite off hours.
Enjoying life through food is one of my philosophies and goals. I love that after a vacation, it’s often that transcending meal you’ll remember most. That you can understand foreign cultures better through the cuisine. That food is so central in memories—the way grandma’s kitchen smelled during the holidays, or how one bite of your favorite childhood dish instantly transports you back home. Food really does bring people together; it unites families, communities, and strangers.
After listening to Matthew and SCRATCH employees describe a loaf of bread so passionately you’d think they were talking about their own offspring, I had to get involved. Earlier this year I started volunteering for SCRATCHbread at the Brooklyn Flea, and I now work with the company at Smorgasburg (more on this tomorrow). I love being around someone’s passion project, helping to create things that taste good and make people happy, seeing a brand come to life, and building a community of food lovers in New York. Talking with people who appreciate food and watching their faces change when they taste the products—it’s a uniting and empowering feeling.
Please watch this Food.Curated. video to better understand Matthew’s vision.
Get involved: Apprenticeships and volunteering
SCRATCHbread is available at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays, at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg on Saturdays, and at the kitchen’s retail window (1069 Bedford Ave.) on Wednesday evenings.
