Electric

Lighthouse
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The baked bread has been a blessing. The aroma,
flavor and warmth of the bread has attracted visitors
Center to the Lighthouse Center Bakery & Cafe in the rural
bakery community of Umpqua. So have the muffins, salad
greens, tomatoes and apples.
& cafe All of these foods and others that are homegrown
.serves up and homemade have helped the Lighthouse Center
homemade Bakery & Cafe connect with the people and com-
munity of central Douglas County.
baked goods "Living a charitable lifestyle is important to us;'
and organic says John Dimof, a staff member. "Starting the bak-
salads ery has been a lot of fun. It's great to see the people
come in and to see that they are enjoying what we
By Craig Reed have to offer. We are very happy and thankful for
the amount of goodwill we've received since the
bakery has opened:'
a
Linda Tipton, a longtime area resident and a reg-
ular visitor to the bakery and cafe, says the business
is a welcomed part of the community.
"Once they integrated into the population here,
everybody has been delighted to have them;' says
Linda. "They are such friendly faces in our com-
munity. They are a joyful group to be around and to
work with. We're absolutely delighted to have them
here:'
Lighthouse Center, a nonprofit organization, is
a meditation retreat and organic farm seven miles
from the bakery. The center's mountainside gardens
and orchards overlook the Umpqua River.
The center's all-volunteer staff has embraced the

4 NOVEMBER 2010
old-fashioned way of baking bread in a brick oven
for the last 15 years, beginning at their farm. For the
past four years, the bread and other baked goods
were sold at local farmers markets.
Two years ago, the Lighthouse Center Bakery &
Cafe was established after the purchase of the old
Umpqua Store. The volunteer staff, with help from
some local contractors, spent one year remodeling
the store into a bakery, cafe and country store.
"We have some quite skilled people and we uti-
lized our own staff to do as much of the work as
we could:' says staff member Michael Tortorice,
explaining that only a large concrete pour, the roof,
and the electrical and plumbing work were con-
tracted out.
The workers turned the old store building into a
brightly colored cafe, inside and out. Seating acco-
modates about 35 inside and about 25 on the out-
side patio.
A new tile floor was laid, the roof over the Above, an organic salad
kitchen area was raised, and several new interior made with homegrown
produce from the
walls, the deli counter and shelves were built. Five Lighthouse Center.
sun tunnels were installed to allow more natural Photo courtesy of the
light into the building's interior. Everything got a Lighthouse Center
new coat of paint.
Left, Michael Tortorice
Included in the remodel was a new brick oven prepares loaves of
for baking. The oven was part of an 800-square- bread fer the wood-
foot extension. The brick oven was eight months in fired oven, where they
will emerge golden
the making from designing to fabricating to build- brown, opposite page.
ing to operating. It sits on a concrete foundation
and is built from several types of concrete, cinder
block and fire brick to insulate it.
The oven is heated by a wood fire. The wood
fire and brick hearth are what give the bread its
old-world look and chewy crust.
The mixing and shaping of dough begins at
4 a.m. daily, except Monday, and baking begins
around 7. Fresh every morning out of the oven are
around 12 to 15 varieties of bread, muffins, sticky
buns, biscotti, cakes, cookies and more. You will find baked goods to local soup kitchens, nonprofits and
people coming in early for a cup of coffee and fresh those in need. The bakery's website states it "was
pastry or to get a loaf of hot bread right out of the founded on the principles of service, compassion,
oven. unity, peace and harmony. Our slogan 'In love, serve
Baked goods also are delivered to local stores and one another' is our daily inspiration to give our cus-
restaurants, and are available for sale at the Saturday tomers the friendliest service and highest quality
farmers market in Roseburg. products possible, as well as play an active part in
The cafe is open for lunch Tuesday through the community that we live in:'
Sunday, serving homemade soups, sandwiches, sal- "It's really great to be a part of this:' says Michael.
ads and daily specials. Organic and local produce are "Tosee people come in and be happy is really the
used as much as possible. best reward for us. We really put our hearts into this.
The bakery donates fresh, organic produce and its We want to thank everyone for their support:' _

NOVEMBER 2010 5
Unique Oven Produces Artisan Bread PAGE 4 • Power Outage Priorities PAGE 28