There is a visceral feeling that comes about when holding something in your hands that was made in your community — perhaps by a neighbour, a friend, or a friend-of-a-friend. As Toronto continues to refine its voice as a global cultural force, we look inwards at the individuals quietly working away, creating careful objects of beauty with their hands. It is this entrepreneurial gusto and cultural vision that we believe makes Toronto special. Our Made In Toronto series is intended to serve as a looking glass into the minds and workplaces of these creative spirits, all with a unified love for craft, who believe in hard-work and creating something meaningful for their neighbours. Here, we present once again: Made In Toronto at Woodlot with Jeff Connell.

Jeff Connell finds his Zen-place in a batch of sourdough just before daybreak. Connell’s the head baker and co-proprietor of Woodlot, a restaurant-bakery famed for its humungous wood-fired stove and cozy European atmosphere. When we arrived at 6AM to film, Connell was working up a sweat listening to Vivaldi and clearing hot embers from the fire he’d set at midnight. Connell is philosophical about his life’s work–making bread. What he loves is the simplicity of the baker’s art–it’s about mixing flour and water, and giving the mixture life by adding yeast (or not so with his sour dough). Yet in this simplicity is a world of variations that can take a lifetime to master. Watch as Connell guides us through the process of hand-firing, hand-mixing and hand-shaping the daily bread we eat. Woodlot is located at 293 Palmerston, just south of College Street. Reservations should be made at least a week in advance. More information at www.woodlotrestaurant.com. Our Made in Toronto series won ‘Best Video or Multimedia Feature’ at the COPA. View our other videos here.