In October 2023, Rhode Island’s renowned Seven Stars Bakery made a much-anticipated move to a new production facility in Providence from the former location in Pawtucket. We wanted to find out what the expansion, new equipment and newly designed production space means for Head Baker Sarah Williams, her team and especially for the legions of customers who flock daily to Seven Stars for the sourdough breads, baguettes, flaky pastries, flavorful scones, chewy cookies and so much more. Here’s what Williams told us about her rise to the role of head baker, the big move and what we can look forward to in their five bakery locations in Providence, Rumford and Cranston.
Please tell us a little bit about what inspired you to become a baker. How long have you been with Seven Stars and now as head baker?
I loved being in the kitchen from a young age, but I didn’t really think I wanted to be a baker. It wasn’t until high school when I was walking by Crossroads Bake Shop in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania, and could see a baker through the window baking bread; they were working a deck oven and I was instantly intrigued. I applied to work there that day, but sadly didn’t get hired. As luck would have it, I later got a call back with an offer—to work in the storefront. I accepted the job just to get my foot in the door. Eventually I learned how to mix, shape and bake morning pastries, croissants and bread and that’s when I absolutely fell in love with baking.
I applied and was accepted to Johnson & Wales for baking and pastry arts. For my associate degree, I fulfilled my internship requirement at Seven Stars in 2006 as a bread mixer. At the time, Seven Stars was just one location on Hope Street in Providence. I was hired and worked my way through, learning all the different shifts (mixing / shaping / baking) and started to climb the ranks. At the same time the bakery was growing; we grew from one location on Hope Street to three retail locations and a production facility before I became the head baker in 2018.
Seven Stars has just moved to a larger, much-anticipated, state-of-the-art baking production facility in Providence. What were the biggest challenges with the move?
There were so many challenges throughout the entire project (which started back in 2019), but we were able to work through any issues as a team. The bakery runs 24 hours a day with different staffing shifts. We knew it would be a huge transition for everyone—we were very focused on it being positive and wanted to make sure the new bakery was set up perfectly.
We had movers help us, which was great. The hardest part in real time was unpacking ingredients, equipment and tools into their new homes as quickly as the pallets were coming in. Thankfully, we had a team of employees that helped us sort and organize everything as it came into the new bakery. We’ve since reorganized a few times, but I think that is all part of the process!
What are you most excited about for you and your entire team with the new baking space and the new equipment?
We were able to make this new bakery our own and build it from the bottom up the way we wanted it to be. We have a few things that we are really pumped about! We have so much more refrigerated space—we really struggled with not having enough refrigeration in our old bakery. We need refrigeration and freezer space not only for ingredient storage, but also to hold the breads and pastries before baking. Refrigeration is very important in bread baking to help us control the fermentation process and keep our production on schedule. We’ve been able to enjoy more efficiencies in our new bakery, too. With more streamlined processes, we’re also seeing more consistency in our products.
You mill much of your own grain at Seven Stars; have you increased capacity? What does in-house milling do for the bread and pastries you produce?
Yes, we have—we invested in a new 48-inch mill from New American Stone Mills to work in conjunction with our original 40-inch mill from the same company. Our 48-inch mill can mill grain much faster, about four times as fast! Currently, we can mill 200 pounds of flour an hour; in our old mill, it would have taken four hours.
By milling in-house, we are able to control the fineness of our flour; we like to mill our whole grains as finely as possible for our production. Freshly milled and unsifted flours provide much more complex flavor and nutritional value in the final product. We use milled flour in almost all our breads and a variety of our pastries, as well.
Will customers notice any changes with the bread and pastries now that they are being created and baked with new equipment?
The new equipment was chosen to improve efficiencies on the production side while producing the same high-quality bread, pastries and savory items our customers know and love. If anything, there should be an improvement in our products, bread specifically. Our new deck ovens are better designed to bake artisan bread. They have better heat retention, which helps provide a better oven spring. The steaming system is much more robust as well, which helps create that shiny and crusty crust.
Do you foresee any menu changes and new additions or new seasonal items now that you have greater baking capacity and more room in which to work? And if so, any new items you can tell us about?
Yes, we will have new products and a wider variety down the line. Right now, our focus is to help our team adapt to our new space, equipment and schedules while preparing for holiday production. Expect to see some new and exciting things in 2024!
You’re immersed in baked goods all day, do you have a favorite baked treat or bread you enjoy? And, if you were to choose something to bring to a friend who has never been to Seven Stars, what would it be?
My favorite bread has always been our country bread (in any form, round or pan loaf). It really showcases our milled flour (whole wheat and whole rye) and our sourdough starter.
I would bring our pretzels; they were a project of mine a few years ago. My roots are in Philadelphia and I really wanted to make a great soft pretzel available in Rhode Island, too. They are sourdough, they feature some whole grain, and we dip them in food-grade lye before baking, which gives them their beautiful color and distinctive pretzel texture and flavor.
I would also choose our Kouign Amann, which is a laminated pastry we make where vanilla sugar is folded into the last fold of our croissant dough. Once shaped, they are put in a muffin tin that is lined with vanilla sugar, which, once baked, makes the product fully caramelize on the bottom. They are so delicious and have so many interesting flavors and textures to them—they are a must try!
Genie McPherson Trevor is the editor of Edible Rhody. She lives, writes and cooks with her family in Providence.
For more information, including café locations, hours, the bakery menu and other stores where bread is sold, visit SevenStarsBakery.com.
By milling in-house, we are able to control the fineness of our flour ... Freshly milled and unsifted flours provide much more complex flavor and nutritional value in the final product.
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