Who We Are
Independent Baking Co.
The name says it all. We are a small, local, independent bakery in the heart of the historic Five Points neighborhood in Athens, Georgia. Our mission is simple: to provide our community with healthful, hearth-baked loaves of bread and delicious pastries, just as community bakeries have done for hundreds of years. While we are primarily a retail bakery, you can also find our products at some of Athen’s finest food establishments. We welcome you to stop by to enjoy a coffee, a pastry, or a roll while you watch our hard-working bakers or Five Points life go by.
Kevin Scollo, Owner & Baker
Over the last 10 years, Kevin has worked in restaurants and bakeries in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio. He began his career working at Michael Symon’s Cleveland-based restaurant, Lolita. He then moved to New York City to work for Daniel Humm at The NoMad Hotel, where he first took an interest in baking. After his work there, he moved on to become the Head Baker for Zachary Golper at Bien Cuit’s wholesale division in Brooklyn. While at Bien Cuit, he was named one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30” in NYC. Most recently, Kevin was one of the Head Bakers for Noma co-founder, Claus Meyer’s Great Northern Food Hall in Grand Central Terminal. When Kevin decided to fulfill his dream of owning his own bakery, he knew he wanted to make his way back to Georgia where he was raised. In February of 2020, Kevin was grateful for the opportunity to acquire Independent Baking Company which was founded by well-known and respected baker and miller, Thom Leonard. He intends to maintain the high standard that Thom has set for the bakery and to continue to supply world-class bread and pastries to Athens. Kevin is also a classically trained percussionist, with a music performance degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio.
Ingredients & Method
Flour, water, sea salt, and leavening: four simple ingredients that—when mixed, shaped, fermented, and baked—make one of the most basic foods that has nourished humans for thousands of years. Since such few ingredients are involved, two things set great bread apart: quality ingredients and time.
Bread should taste like the grain used to make it. Wheat, rye, spelt, corn, rice, etc. all have unique flavors, distinct smells, and a variety of nutrients. As consumers, however, we have been conditioned to expect a flavorless powder when buying a bag of flour. Most large, commercial flour companies use milling processes that separate the different parts of the grain, which doesn't allow us to get the entire flavor profile and range of nutrients that the grain has to offer. By using a stone mill, nothing is left behind, and the aroma, flavor, and nutritional integrity of the grain remain intact. Then, through natural, slow fermentation (time), the nutrients in the flour become available for our bodies to absorb, creating bread that is delicious, nutritious, and easier for our guts to digest. This is why all of our bread is made from organic grain, our whole grain flours are stone-ground and milled in house, and most of our bread is naturally fermented with a wild yeast culture.
Our Mills
Whole grain flour for the bakery is milled through either a ring-shaped basalt stone on a Zentrofan mill from Germany or between 26” granite stones on a mill made by New American Stone Mills in Vermont. We mill the flour at our own facility just down the road from the bakery.
Visit Us
Location
1625 S. Lumpkin St.
Athens, GA 30606
hours
Tues-Sat 7am–5pm
Sun 8am–2pm
Closed Monday
Email: info@independentbaking.com
Phone: (706) 850-3550
*For special orders or to reserve bread or pastries, please call us at (706) 850-3550 or talk to a front of house staff member. Advance payment is required.
*For wholesale inquires, please email us at info@independentbaking.com