The Jewish High Holiday of Rosh Hashanah arrives in just over two weeks, and bakeries around the country are preparing in their own special ways.
In New York City, Breads Bakery is going above and beyond to sweeten its products. The bakery has installed hives on its Manhattan rooftop to create its own honey that will be used in its baked goods.
It’s part of a sustainability initiative from Breads Bakery. “Local sourcing and zero waste has been on our minds, so we started a project to make Breads more sustainable several months ago,” says Breads co-founder Gadi Peleg. “Maybe the impetus is that I now have two children, and I want to leave them a planet that’s habitable.”
Peleg says that the bakery harvesting its own honey feels more in line with the spirit of Rosh Hashanah. “It’s nothing short of a miracle how these bees work together, communicate, defend their hive, and survive through difficult times. To me, it’s much closer to what the tradition is and what it means,” Peleg says.
Andrew’s Honey in New York City helped to install the hives and train staffers in beekeeping. Breads Bakery expects that each hive could produce 60kg of honey over the season, providing a new level of authenticity to a variety of products.