Festin Bakery at Davidson Farmers Market

Food for Thought

Matt Baum’s Festin Bakery Rises in Davidson

by John Buckner photography by Renee Roberson

Top: The mouth-watering babka from Festin Bakery. Below: Matt Baum and his wife settled into Davidson from New York.

I found chocolate babka at the Davidson Farmers Market and knew I had to talk to the baker. Matt Baum baked the babka at his Festin Bakery (Festin means “feast” in French), flooding me with memories of Zabar’s on the West side of Manhattan. If you don’t know, a babka is a sweet, braided bread or cake which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. I had a Pavlovian response with my taste buds tingling when I saw the babka. Food creates conversations. We want to know who made it and where they are from.

Baum’s baking repertoire stems from being raised among the bakeries of New York. His father is Jewish. His mother is Italian. If you have been into the neighborhoods in the boroughs of New York City, or Long Island, where Baum grew up, you will notice family-owned bakeries on every block. The Jewish bakeries will have Challah bread (which is routinely purchased on Fridays prior to the Saturday Sabbath), sour-dough bagels and onion rolls, and of course, my favorite, babka bread. Italian bakeries have long cylinder-shaped Italian loaves, ready for dipping in olive oil, plus varieties of Italian tarts, cakes, and cookies. Baum grew up with these traditions.

It was when Baum visited France as a home stay international student that his baking ethics took shape. He was a French major at St. John’s University (along with Political Science) and got around easily. The bakeries in Paris fresh-baked their items by hand every day with local ingredients, using a slower fermentation process to naturally leaven the bread. All of a sudden, Baum’s gluten sensitivity evaporated. He became convinced that natural leavening versus using commercial yeast was friendlier on the stomach and his health in general. After graduating from college, Baum tucked away everything he was learning and set it aside to work in a non-profit in New York City, but the baking bug wouldn’t leave him. After a few years, he got an Apprentice Baker’s job at Breads (www.breadsbakery. com), the noted NYC Bakery with a cult-like following. “At Breads, I learned the craft,” Baum says. “They have the facilities, the training, and the kind of loyal clientele that really molded me. I got a culinary education on the job.” Breads was a terrific place, but New York can be hard, and during the midst of the pandemic, he knew it was time to leave.

He and his wife came south, settling in Davidson. The Davidson Farmers Market has proven to be more than just an effective test market for Matt’s Festin Bakery. “We have sold out every week since February 2021. I am taking the time to get to know people. The community has really bought in to my style and we believe in this community,” says Baum.

Davidson Farmers Market Holiday Market Located next to Town Hall between Main & Jackson Streets in Davidson Dec. 11 and 18 | 9 a.m.-noon www.davidsonfarmersmarket.org