killer bread brothers make the city paper

Read on for some of our email responses so far:

Dear Glenn and Dave,

I don't take the Oregonian, but a friend gave me a copy of the article about you in the April 13th issue. Just want you to know that no matter HOW HIGH the cost of wheat, I'll still continue to buy Powerseed Bread. It is the best bread I've ever eaten. Keep up the good work--and may you eventually be out of debt and rich!!

Linda S

Hi Dave,

Was so delighted to read in the Sunday Oregonian business section about your dad starting up the bakery. My father came from Norway in 1920 and working in a bakery, Silver Cup out of NYC, was one of his first jobs. He always insisted on using unbleached flour and taught my mother how to make bread. Like your father he was strict and didn't tolerate too much especially when my brother and I would start laughing at the table at meal time. That was serious business there, eating. We missed his warm side after he passed away. One thing he did instill in us was that grease and sugar was what caused health problems. Sure like my sweets though. Congratulations to you and your family on your move to your new location! May you be as successful as you have always been.

Gwen


Hi.
My name is Tommi Dungan. I live in Northern California and I'm a bread maker. I read an article written about you in the Orgonean today. I came across a link to this article through a website that I frequent called The Fresh Loaf. I suppose I'm emailing you because of the following story: Two summers ago I spent a couple months traveling up and down the Willamette Valley on my bicycle. I worked on a farm, I stayed with family, I camped a lot, I stayed in frightening hotels...anyhoo it was quite fun. At a co op in Corvallis one day I found your bread. The name and the packaging drew me in and I bought it. It was the nuts and grains bread. I was quite impressed with it and decided that I needed to get back into bread making. I had spent my childhood being obsessed with baking, but I was no good at it and gave up in my teenage years. I ate loaves of your bread all summer and when I got back home, I studied up learned how to make bread proper. And now I do it well I think, and often. In fact I'm somewhat obsessed with it again. I've been making bread again now for a couple of years since the end of that summer and I feel that back then your bread sort of sparked something in me to begin thinking about it again. I haven't been back to Oregon since then and I haven't had your bread since then either, so Dave's Killer Bread has become faintly legendary in my mind. Actually for about a year it was called Dan's Rocking Bread in my memory until one day the correct name hit me. At any rate, reading that article brought the thoughts of your bread, which normally live in the back of my mind to the forefront and I wanted to write you and say my thanks. You make great bread. And it brings great joy to me to know of a baker who also seems to be such an interesting person. By the way your cat and dog are beautiful.
Have fun,
Tommi
Arcata, Ca




Dahl brothers,

I read the article in the Oregonian this morning and was smiling from ear to ear. I have fond memories of the little bakery on 123rd and Division Street! Our family bought bread there, the best bread! I so remember my Mom sending me down to buy bread! My friend and I would open the bag before we got to the house and have a piece because it was so yummy and smelled like heaven! Anyway, I can’t tell you the many times we laughed about how we always, and I mean always got the hiccups as we were walking home eating that wonderful bread! That was almost 50 years ago, but some how the smell of that wonderful bakery, your hard working family, and the giggling hiccups from eating that delicious white bread has managed to stay with me. The best part of this story is we discovered your Killer bread, Nuts and Grains, our favorite! My husband has never much cared for bread and certainly never anything but white bread. Well, he raves about the Killer bread! Thank you for reading this memory blast from my past. It’s all about you. Thank you for all the hard work and love you put into your bread baking! Congratulations for your great success and all best wishes for an awesome future which is so well deserved!
Penny J.

Glenn and Dave,

I have a little story to tell you.

I've always been fairly adamant about good nutrition for myself and my family. In the early 70s we lived in the Sandy/Corbett area. As a young Mom with two growing boys (nine and five) I was delighted to "find" the little store in Gresham where I could buy vitamins as well as delicious, nutritious breads (made right on site!).

My Mother was also a loyal customer at the store. It's hard to remember now just how much I spent in that shop on a monthly basis, but I know it was a lot.

I usually was waited on by your Mom, Wanene. We chatted about food, the weather, maybe a bit about our families.

Once in a while I would be waited on by a woman other than Wanene. One day after I gave her the cash for my purchases (which usually totalled more than $60.00) and left the store, I realized I hadn't been given a cash register receipt (just the receipt from an adding machine on the desk beside the register).

I began wondering about how the cash register could balance if this was how the purchases were tallied. I'd worked in a department store office at one time and knew something about balancing cash registers.

The next time I was in the store, your Mom was there. As I paid I noticed she rang up the sale on the cash register. I then casually mentioned I wasn't always given that type of receipt and wondered why. Your Mom absolutely went pale. She caught her breath, asked me a few more questions and, with tears in her eyes told me the story of how the bakery and store were losing money so rapidly they thought they might have to close.

We talked for a long while and I discovered that the woman was a "friend", supposedly helping in the store. She had most likely been stealing money time and time again over a long period of time. Your Mom set up a sort of "sting" operation. Won't go into it now, but I'd be glad to if you want to hear the whole story.

The upshot is that your Mom never ceased to tell me when I came to the store how grateful she was that I'd mentioned the "receipt issue" to her and said that I had literally saved the business. I have no notions of grandeur about that, but I'm certainly thankful I spoke up when I did.

The article in today's Oregonian doesn't say if your Mom is still alive. Please let me know. I'd like to send her my very best wishes.

I buy your "Killer Bread" at New Seasons in Raleigh Hills. Our original family favorite was Surviva. Still one of the best!

Congratulations on the new location and good luck with the business, for now and for decades to come!

Marlene D