A Bakery for Bethlehem: The Flour Shop

http://www.flourshopbaking.com

This past Thursday, on the last Bethlehem Farmer's Market day of the year, I was excited for a perfect opportunity to pick up lunch from the Market. I typically only shop for groceries, but this week had the biting chill of early fall and a generous dose of wind, so I was uninterested in purchasing anything but soup.

I had an idea of where to look.
The Flour Shop has appeared every week at the Farmers' Market, always generating lines of people buying breads, paninis, baked goods, etcetera. This week, they had a bread and hummus sample, an enticing windowed display as always, and fortunately for me, soups.

The woman behind the counter, Mary, let me sample the two soups they had available: a Curried Acorn Squash and Pear Bisque and a Bacon Minestrone.

I was completely impressed with the imagination it must have taken to put curry, squash, and pears together as well as the resulting flavor, and purchased a small container of the Squash and Pear Bisque, which came with a piece of their sunflower-seed semolina. All for a grand total of $5.

Mary told me their soups change week-to-week depending on what in-season vegetables they purchase. The Flour Shop buys almost all of their vegetables from "Chuck," who she pointed out over her shoulder, a local farmer whose produce is chemical-free. The soups they make and bring to the weekly Farmers' Market are available both warm and ready to serve, as well as cold for people to buy in bulk and take home.

It's also important to note that I only tried their soups and a small piece of bread while principally, The Flour Shop is a baker of artisan breads and cakes. Check out their website for more details!

So the Farmers' Market has ended. Now what? The Flour Shop is still making soups at their permanent location on 2980 Linden Street in North Bethlehem.
Gather your bearings on the map from their website: http://www.flourshopbaking.com/map.htm