Flour delivery delay trims the morning bake at Ember and Grain
A broken wheel left the bakery short for several hours, but a borrowed wagon got the town’s flour where it needed to go.
Ember and Grain opened on Thursday with fewer loaves than usual after a grain cart from the farms came in with a cracked wheel rim and one badly rattled axle. The cart had made it as far as the lane by the stream before Bram Lye, who was hauling the sacks, judged it sensible to stop rather than try to nurse it over the rest of the way.
Mara Fen, who keeps the ovens moving before most of the town has found its second thought, said she would rather sell out early than promise bread she could not bake. She put out what flour she had for morning buns and two trays of plain loaves, then sent word to the mill yard that she needed another wagon if anyone had one spare. “I can stretch a dough,” she said, “but I cannot stretch a sack.” Bram, standing by the wheel with a chisel and a look of stubborn apology, said the rut had taken the rim by surprise and left him unwilling to risk a spill in the middle of town.
By late morning a borrowed wagon from the milling work had been backed into place, the sacks were shifted over, and the kitchen door at Ember and Grain was open again to the day’s proper business. The bakery still missed its early rush, and two standing orders were delayed until afternoon, but the damage was smaller than it might have been. Bram said he would have the wheel mended before Friday’s run, and Mara said the next deliveries would be split into shorter loads rather than trusted to one cart and a hopeful prayer.
For now the ovens are full again, though the morning’s inconvenience has left both baker and hauler with an extra errand apiece and a more careful eye on the road after rain.
PINNED TO THE NOTICEBOARD
High Communion clothing collection
Clean coats, sturdy shoes, and plain winter wraps will be received at the gathering hall beside the square on Saturday morning. Items should be folded if possible and not tied in knots that only their owner can undo.
Library return shelf cleared
The library has emptied the overdue shelf and returned a stack of books to circulation. Readers are asked to check between pages for notes, receipts, and the occasional recipe that wandered in from the bakery district.
Barrel & Oak music tonight
A small set of tunes will be played after supper at Barrel & Oak. Tables near the wall are likely to fill first, while those near the door should prepare for passing elbows and a good deal of harmless apology.
Published in the world of The Forever Endeavor. Stories and weather from an imagined town.