Kestrel Bakery
Bread from a wood oven in Keene
Sourdough, rye and spelt loaves, baked before dawn in a wood-fired oven and on the shelves by seven, Tuesday to Sunday.
Find us
Visit or call
We're on Ovenbird Lane, two streets west of Main. Come early on Saturdays: the rye goes first.
- Address
- 12 Ovenbird Lane
Keene, NH 03431
United States - Phone
- Call (603) 555-0142
- our email address
What comes out of the oven
Three breads make most of our mornings. The rest is on the menu.
Country sourdough
Wheat and a little whole wheat, two days from starter to shelf.
Dark rye
Mostly rye, dense and sour, best sliced thin and kept a few days.
Spelt and seeds
Spelt flour with sunflower, flax and sesame through the crumb.
The oven
One oven, fired with wood
Our oven is brick, fired with hardwood. We light it at two, rake out the coals at four, and bake on its hot floor as it cools: the loaves first, then the rolls, then anything sweet.
From the bakery's notebook
- How we keep our starter
A jar of flour and water, fed twice a day, and every sourdough loaf we bake.
- Baking through a Keene winter
A cold bakery changes how the dough behaves, and how long the oven takes to heat.
- Why we bake so much rye
Rye is harder to work than wheat, and keeps better than anything else we make.
Common questions
Can you keep a loaf for me?
Yes. Call by Thursday at noon and we'll keep it behind the counter until we close on Saturday.
Will you slice it?
Any loaf, at the counter, if you ask. It keeps longer whole.
Do you bake anything without wheat?
No. Our rye has some wheat flour in it too, and flour is in the air of the whole bakery.
Can I bring my own bag?
Please do. Paper bags are on the counter if you forget.
A loaf for the weekend?
Call by Thursday noon and we'll keep one for you.
