Artisan Bread Maker Mike Briley Bakes for the Love of It
Sourdough boule made by Mike Briley. Photo by Mike Briley
Michelle McAfee - CRR Staff
Mike Briley is a chef. He worked professionally in kitchens for over 20 years, then discovered a passion for baking sourdough bread when he moved to Valdez. You can’t go to a store or a restaurant to buy his bread, because Briley bakes for the love of it and gives the bread away.
When he was five years old, his mother, Michele Briley, gave him a chef’s hat because he would always help her in the kitchen. He learned by watching her cook.
“She was an amazing cook. You name it, she could cook it, and it was the most amazing food ever. She let me help in the kitchen, and by the time I was nine or 10 years old, I was burning stuff, and she was cleaning it up. If it wasn’t for her totally embracing the messes I made in the kitchen, I don’t know what I would be doing,” said Briley.
Briley’s dad, also named Mike Briley, sometimes worked two jobs, so his mother did most of the cooking. But without the support of both of his parents, Briley said, it would have been impossible to follow his dream. Cooking with his mom is one of Briley’s favorite childhood memories, aside from learning how to ice skate and play hockey, and...going to Bill’s Bakery in Ojai, California, where he is from.
Briley’s voice lit up when he said, “Bill’s Bakery had the best sourdough on the planet. I’ve traveled extensively and had sourdough in different places like San Francisco, but Bill’s sourdough was the best. We’d go there on a Friday afternoon after school and get bread, and mom would make BLTs, french toast, and all sorts of things with it.”
Briley pursued a career in Culinary Arts and, at age 25, became the executive chef at the upscale restaurant California Cuisine in San Diego. He learned from his mentor, Chris Walsh, who Briley describes as a masterful artist and amazing human being who taught him a lot about culinary arts.
One year at California Cuisine, the pastry chef left. Briley took over those responsibilities because no one else could do the job.
“I became obsessed. I baked two cheesecakes every day because they needed to ferment for a couple of days before they would really ripen. I made flans, tarts, and ice creams but never had the opportunity to bake bread until I moved to Alaska,” said Briley.
After leaving California Cuisine several years ago, Briley posted a resume online. Someone contacted him and asked if he would be interested in moving to Alaska to help them open a restaurant. Due to lifestyle differences, the restaurant owners and Briley parted ways fairly quickly. “But it brought me to Alaska,” he said, “and now I can’t imagine living any other place.”
In Valdez, Briley had time to experiment with baking bread and became fascinated with sourdough’s art and science.
Boule is a French word meaning “ball” and is the traditional shape of French bread. A boule has a small round shape or dome-like top and can be made using any flour. Mike Briley’s passion is sourdough, and he says building a good starter is the secret to success.
“You get [the starter] established and going in a couple of weeks, but it doesn’t get sour very quickly. It takes a solid year or two to build it up to where you’re really confident in it,” said Briley, who talked in detail about the science behind building a good starter.
Once the starter is established, you feed it one part water, one part flour, and one part starter, so a third of the starter always goes back in to keep from diluting the main batch with too much flour and water. Briley recommends learning with small batches and creating your first starter with one cup of flour and one cup of water.
Briley has two containers of starter - a large half-gallon and a smaller 8-10 cup container. He said getting a half-gallon of starter to double in size takes a significant amount of time, and if something happens to your only starter, you’re back to square one. So, Briley keeps the larger starter in the fridge, feeds it, and bakes from the smaller starter container.
“I start my dough at noon, make the dough, mix it, work the dough, then a few hours later work the dough again. I let it proof overnight on the counter and use a 10- inch proofing basket dusted with rice flour. When I wake up in the morning, it should have doubled in size - that is the benchmark you need for the bread to proof and ferment properly, for the right crumb development inside the bread,” said Briley.
The dough is worked several times, shaped, then placed in the refrigerator. When Briley wants to bake bread, he takes the dough out, scores it with a razor or bread lame, and puts it directly into the dutch oven, where it will bake at 550 degrees for about 20- 25 minutes, depending on the moisture content of the dough.
Sometimes he makes large batches with ten pounds of flour, splits the dough into thirds, and makes different bread flavors. He described making toasted garlic and cheese sourdough, but the cheese he adds to the dough must be half-inch cubes, not shredded. Shredded cheese cooks into the crumb of the dough and makes the bread wet and gummy. He said cubed cheese doesn’t inhibit the rise and cooks up nicely. Details like this make the difference between good bread and artisan bread.
“No two loaves are cosmetically and aesthetically perfect, so there’s always a perpetual challenge, making more and more bread because you want it to come out perfect every time. I would bake 10 loaves a day if I could and be happy doing it,” said Briley.
Sometimes Mike Briley makes a few extra loaves. In the afternoon, when he picks up his five-year-old daughter Adeline from school, he hands out fresh-baked bread to random people.
Briley said, “It makes their day. It’s the coolest thing to see that look on their face when you hand them a freshly baked loaf of bread from a total stranger. You end up connecting with that person and realize you have ten other people in common. Alaska is a really small place like that. People connect well with bread. I don’t know what it is. There is something comforting about it.”
When the farmer’s market was set up at the Senior Center, Briley sold sourdough boules to raise money for senior citizens. Otherwise, he doesn’t sell his bread. He gives it away and makes it for family and friends and for the sheer love, challenge, and passion of the process.
“Adeline and I will eat a loaf of bread for dinner sometimes, with honey butter, garlic butter, or something like that. Not always, mind you, but she smells it when she gets home and says I want bread for dinner.” Briley laughed and said, “I’m a single dad, so I’m like, ‘If that’s what you want for dinner, then that’s what you can have.’”
Adeline Briley making sourdough in her kitchen. Photo by Mike Briley
Adeline is very hands-on with making bread and loves to be in the kitchen cooking things with her dad. Briley said it’s a neat process because he feels like he’s passing down bits and pieces of who he is to his daughter. She’s intrigued with cooking and bakes miniature loaves of bread. Building memories is important to Mike Briley, who feels he is raising the future. He said his daughter is at an age when she is very receptive to learning and having new experiences, and what she does now will carry her throughout her life.
Mike Briley’s infectious laugh bubbled up when he said, “You see your kid making leaps and bounds, and yeah, there’s all the stuff that drives you crazy sometimes, but it pays off. It’s just one day at a time. Life wouldn’t be fun if it were easy.”
When Adeline Briley is a few years older, her father might entertain the idea of opening a restaurant in Valdez. When he dreams about it, he envisions creating a social gathering place where people will eat great food, hang out with friends and family, catch up, and stay connected. A place where Sunday breakfast is a thing. Where you can get sourdough french toast and BLTs like his mom, Michele Briley used to make. Or maybe a great steak with demi-glace sauce and toasted garlic and cheese sourdough bread. And if Valdez is lucky, he will sell fresh sourdough boules daily. Any restaurant Mike Briley opens will hinge on his artisan bread.
“I’d someday like to create a social environment where people get excited about going out to eat with friends and family. It’s something this town really needs.”
Mike Briley and his daughter Adeline making bread in their kitchen. Photo by Mike Briley