Sink your teeth into these buttery layers baked with heart, consistency and community spirit
As told to Libby Wakefield | Photography by John Michael Simpson
The ovens fire up at The Phoenix Bakery before sunrise – by 3:30 a.m., bakers are already getting started – shaping biscuits, bagels, doughnuts, muffins and sweet rolls for the day ahead. Every recipe leans on fresh, whole ingredients, resulting in biscuits stacked with just the right amount of filling between soft, fluffy layers. Head team leader Jodi Hackney guides her crew with a focus on consistency, collaboration and community, delivering handmade biscuits that Pittsboro can’t get enough of:
*responses have been edited for length and clarity
What does being recognized among Chatham’s best biscuits mean to you and your team?* We already have a lot of pride about what we are doing, but it’s a boost to know that people actually voted to say how much they loved ours! I love all the biscuit options in our area, but it is really special to think that the people voting thought we were the best.
What inspires your approach to biscuits at The Phoenix Bakery? Not all biscuits are good after [they are] “just baked.” It takes size consideration, technique and a certain amount of moisture and fat to create a biscuit that can be just as good reheated after a couple of days as one that has been just baked. We want to be that bakery that is just as good in your kitchen as it is in ours.
Is there a specific recipe or secret to your prep that makes your biscuits so sought after? Our secret recipe is teamwork. We, as baking artists, are always interested in new, improved ingredients or finding more efficient ways of doing things without compromising quality and integrity. We all enjoy working at the bakery, so that energy always translates into what’s being created that day. When you love what you do, it shows up in the work!
What’s the most important part of the biscuit-making process that people might not realize? There are lots of things customers enjoy [about our products] for reasons they may not even realize. The No. 1 thing often taken for granted is consistency without factory machines. The fact that all of our items are handmade in seasonal kitchen conditions and are almost the same, if not exactly the same, every time, is no short feat. Often it is the same person making batch after batch, day after day, week after week, to create that trustworthy favorite in the case. And usually the people making our biscuits are happy and have a lot of pride and pleasure in what they’re creating at the bakery. It’s biscuits, it’s cakes, but it’s also culture. When the team is consistently happy at the bakery, you can tell [by] the consistency of our products. It is our goal for you to love us over and over again.
How does being part of Pittsboro and the Chatham community influence what you do at the bakery? To be honest, before we started the bakery 12 years ago, we didn’t really know what community was or meant. It wasn’t until we realized there was nowhere else we’d rather be than Pittsboro, that we belonged to something more than just the bakery. Knowing at any given moment, if there were an emergency, personally knowing the police, fire department or sheriff deputies and their favorite pastry and coffee means that we are more than just customers and coworkers. We spend so much time with members of our community at the bakery as they carry on their own lives, and we [are] so grateful for that. We share meals, moments, weekly triumphs and setbacks together without even realizing it sometimes. That is so much more than just a job in just a town. That is culture and a sense of belonging I wish everyone could know and make a conscious effort to sustain over changing times. Having that sense of home and belonging makes us want to do the best we can every day with what we have and create an environment that feeds that thriving energy of relationship and renewal. It is the spirit of the phoenix that resonates with us as we use wisdom and bravery to recreate ourselves over and over again to be a better version of ourselves than we were before. Not just for us, but for the community and culture we’ve come to belong to as well.
Knead to Know
Go-to orders & specials
Everyone loves a basic bacon, egg and cheese on a biscuit, but, for flavor enthusiasts, we have the Southwest Chorizo Biscuit. That is one of our homemade Cheddar Dill drop biscuits that’s been perfectly baked, topped with garlic and dill butter, then split and grilled on the flat top. It’s piled with Firsthand Foods pork chorizo sausage; fresh, scrambled Latta’s eggs; and homemade pico de gallo and guacamole combined with melted cheddar for the finish. All of these flavors together in one bite equals one satisfying flavor combo that is generous enough in size to stick with you all the way to lunchtime.
Growing up during berry seasons, we always had biscuits and berries with cream instead of shortcake, so, during each berry season, we do a special and share our little family favorite with everyone while supplies last. This year, our strawberries came straight from the fields at T5-Farms in Liberty, North Carolina, and our blueberries [were delivered] from Dalton Mill Nursery in Bullock, North Carolina.
We also do a chicken-and-gravy biscuit combo special during those really cold winter months that will help keep you warm all morning.
I personally love a Cheddar Dill biscuit grilled extra dark where it crunches hard on the edge. Top it with as much melted butter as it can handle, and that one is for me! I also like to let it sit wrapped up for a few minutes to let all that buttery goodness get worked into the middle of the biscuit. – Jodi Hackney
