Gail Cutting, owner of Grandma’s House Bakery and Gardens in Mexico, has found the perfect combination of self-fulfillment – half baker, half farmer.

As an active member of the River Valley Farmers Market, which meets once a week from June through mid-October, she has cultivated a following of customers — both for vegetables and baked goods.

Last summer, she brought 30 loaves of fresh-baked bread to the market each time, usually selling out before noon. In order to make her baked goods available year-round, she decided to open her home bakery, and is now open on Fridays, also selling an assortment of desserts, jams, jellies and relishes.

One of her favorite items to bake and sell is Challah bread (pronounced hah-lah). It’s a bread she became quite familiar with as a child, growing up in the Boston area. She said the traditional Jewish egg bread has a firm texture and because of the way it is braided she called it “a pull-apart” bread.

“It has a wonderful flavor — and it’s great for sandwiches and French toast!” Cutting considers it her “signature item,” saying customers really seem to like it. She demonstrates her techniques in making the dough and creating the braid at www.sunjournal.com. “I hope folks do try (to make it) and that the mystery is taken out of the four-strand braiding when they see it online,” she said.

Other types of bread she makes, from quite a long list, include dill cottage round, Polynesian, 12 grain, anadama and Lithuanian potato. She also bakes rolls, deep-dish pies, muffins and scones.

Soon after Cutting and her husband, Carl — both of whom have gardening backgrounds — moved to Mexico, they built their first 1,000-square-foot high-tunnel hoop house in 2010. Ready to expand in 2011, they built their second one. “The hoop houses extend our growing season,” she said. “They give us the opportunity to harvest both early and late into the season.”

Unlike greenhouses, which use glass, hoop houses are covered in plastic, which still creates a warmer, enclosed environment for growing.. The Cuttings use theirs to primarily grow early and late greens, peas, cucumbers and tomatoes. “The beauty of it,” she said, “is we have a North Carolina climate in there.” They’ll be able to harvest peas a full month early.

Cutting picked her last crop of baby spinach and lettuce — grown in those hoop houses — in December, when the temperatures dropped. She’ll resume growing them when the days lengthen to 10 hours in February. “At that time, we should see robust growth begin again, and I’ll have greens soon after that.”

In the interim, Cutting focuses her efforts on microgreens.

“Here’s an easy way to improve your diet,” she said. “Add microgreens! We do so ourselves and want everyone to know how great they are!”

Different from sprouts (which are grown in the dark in a jar or sprouter), microgreens are grown under grow lights, in soil and in trays. Microgreens are seedlings (young plants) between seven and 10 days old that have sprouted from seed, but don’t yet have true leaves. Cutting said they are nutrient-dense, tasty and give a nice crunch to salads and sandwiches. She shared a recipe for a salad using her microgreens that she said “should introduce them to readers nicely.”

Cutting said microgreens provide more nutrients ounce-for-ounce than any other natural food known. These super-food seedlings are naturally high in quality protein, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes and anti-oxidants, have few calories and no cholesterol.

My first experience with microgreens — a variety grown from buckwheat seeds — included mixing them with a few baby spinach leaves along with some Backyard Farms tomatoes, kalamara olives and fresh mozzarella cheese, topped off with a bit of balsamic vinaigrette. It was excellent!

Delivered to me in a plastic bag and refrigerated overnight, they were still fresh and crispy the next day. I used the leftovers on sandwiches over the next couple of days. “The microgreens last at least one week,” Cutting said. “I don’t rinse them (they don’t need it), so they stay fresh longer.”

Cutting said, “I’ll have my microgreens available until sometime in May.”  She grows sunflower, buckwheat, cruciferous (a kale-kohlrabi-cabbage mix, which happens to be her most popular), radish, pea shoots and periodically other varieties. The buckwheat ones I tried were quite mild and had a spinach-like flavor.

Customers can order microgreens (three ounces for $2.29) from Cutting, and they are be available for pick-up in Lewiston at the Lewiston Winter Farmers Market at the Clay Hill Farms booth. The market is held on the third Thursday of each month at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine. For more information, to place an order or to request an order form, call her at 364-3424 or email [email protected].

Recipes:

The delicious, delicate freshness of the greens and the heady flavor of basil make this small, simple salad a real winner! Enjoy!

Gail Cutting’s Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Microgreens

2 large tomatoes, preferably heirloom, sliced

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced into discs

2 large handfuls microgreens

1 small handful basil leaves, sliced thinly

Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Balsamic vinegar, to taste

Sea salt (preferably flaky)

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Toss the greens with the basil, then arrange on two plates.

2. Top with the tomatoes and mozzarella. Drizzle in olive oil and vinegar to taste — less is more.

3. Season with salt, especially on the mozzarella, and top with black pepper.

Challah Bread

(A traditional Jewish egg bread, one of Gail Cutting’s favorites)

3/4 cup (110 degrees) water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 + 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, egg and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1-1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.

2. Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long rope about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle and pinching ends together. Grease a baking tray and place finished braid or round on it. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Beat an egg and brush over the loaf. Sprinkle with seeds if desired.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Grandma’s House Bakery & Gardens

309 Roxbury Road

Mexico, ME 04257

207-364-3424

[email protected]