Episode 79: Intention, Bread, and the Hungry Ghost with Jonathan Stevens

What does it mean to devote your life to one thing and do it with care, humility, and soul?

In this episode of The Call to Farms, Sophie sits down with Jonathan Stevens, baker and author of Hungry Ghost Bread, the award-winning book that is part recipe collection, part meditation, and part poetic devotion to sourdough. Jonathan is the founder of Hungry Ghost Bread in Northampton, Massachusetts, where for over two decades he has shaped hundreds of loaves by hand, fired a wood fueled oven daily, and fed a living sourdough culture that quite literally sets the rhythm of his life.

This conversation is not about scaling, optimization, or hustle. It is about intention.

Jonathan shares what it means to be a wild yeast farmer, why he does not count loaves, how regional grain and living fermentation shape both bread and community, and why real food work resists shortcuts, technological or otherwise.

Together, Sophie and Jonathan explore hungry ghost mythology, cultural memory, poetry, economics, and the quiet spiritual discipline of feeding people well.

They also discuss:

• Why bread made with care still matters for culture and health

• The humility required when working with living systems

• What modern food has lost and what local bakeries can restore

• Poetry as a form of nourishment

• Why every town needs a bakery

Whether you are a baker, farmer, fermenter, or simply someone longing to live with greater alignment, this episode is a reminder that how we do something matters and that meaning is often found in the most ordinary acts.

Flour, fire, time, and trust.

Step into the fire and meet Jonathan Stevens.

Hungry Ghost Bread

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