It started with one good loaf and a cat named Nancy Bean.
Black Cat Baking Company is a small micro-bakery in Upton, Massachusetts. Here's how it came to be.
How this started.
I started baking sourdough at home, during a weekend that turned into a weekend habit, that turned into a thing I couldn't stop thinking about. Five years and a few hundred loaves later, my kitchen had been quietly taken over by levain jars and bench scrapers.
Black Cat Baking Company is the result. A small micro-bakery built around two things I think about more than I should: slow-fermented sourdough and oversized, slightly indulgent cookies.
Everything is made in small batches, by hand, in our home kitchen. The menu rotates every week so I can experiment, follow what's in season, and try things that wouldn't make sense at scale. If you order a loaf this week, I shaped it. If you order a cookie, I scooped it.
About Nancy Bean
Sixteen years ago, we adopted a small black cat from a local shelter. She came home, decided she lived here now, and has been quietly running the household ever since. Her name is Nancy Bean.
Nancy Bean is excellent at a number of things: sleeping in sun patches, judging visitors, and (relevantly) kneading. She would, if permitted, knead the bread dough. She is not permitted. But the spirit is there.
So: Black Cat Baking Company is for her, in a way. And for everyone who knows that having a small, opinionated animal in your home makes the whole operation feel a little more meaningful.
Three things we don't compromise on
A small bakery has the luxury of doing things the slow way. We try to live up to that.
Slow fermentation
All our sourdough goes through a slow, cold ferment. It's more flavorful and easier on your digestion than commercial bread.
Real ingredients
We use high-quality flour, butter, dairy, and chocolate. We read every label on every bag to know exactly what's going into everything we bake.
Small batches
We bake to order, in batches small enough that everything comes out of the oven within a few hours of pickup. No day-old bread, no clearance shelf.
A note on allergens. Our kitchen handles wheat, dairy, eggs, and nuts. We can't currently offer gluten-free or nut-free production lines. Every product page lists allergens in detail.
Pickup at Petal & Crumb.
For now, every order is picked up at Petal & Crumb, a wonderful florist and boutique in downtown Upton. They host us every week we bake, and we couldn't be more grateful. Go say hi, and maybe leave with a houseplant.
1 Milford St.
Upton, MA 01568
Pickup days
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Hours vary — check Facebook for today's hours ↗
Now go eat some bread.
The menu rotates every Monday at noon. If something on this week's lineup sounds good, grab it before its pickup day's cutoff.