Scenes from Twofish Baking, California

Margaret Smith, co-owner of Twofish Bakery in Sea Ranch, California, is up before the sun to get a head start on the day's baking. By the time the store opens at 8 A.M., Smith and her partner, Hilla, have been working for over 4 hours but that doesn't mean the work stops then. Here's a look at a morning behind-the-scenes at Twofish, originally from the iPad edition of Special Issue #165: A Day of Cooking

7:15 A.M. The sticky buns have just come out of the oven. We've still got 45 minutes before we open, and here at Twofish Baking Company in Sea Ranch on California's northern Sonoma coast, we've been up and working now for more than four hours. The breakfast crowd has already started lining up outside. —Margaret Smith, co-owner

7:28 A.M. While I ice the cinnamon rolls with a mixture of powdered sugar and milk, my partner, Hilla Ahvenainen, turns over the warm sticky buns; we bake them upside down directly in the caramel. We’ll sell more than 100 of those buns in the first hour that we’re open.

7:45 A.M. Just before we unlock the door, Hilla sets up the morning pastries, including these ham and Gruyère croissants, in the display case behind the counter. I carry a bucket of the country wheat dough, which has proofed overnight in the walk-in, to my table to portion out on the scale for loaves.

8:11 A.M. We open the doors at 8 A.M., and the locals pour in. California fire captain Shelley Spear always comes in for a sticky bun and a latte before her shift begins.

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8:30 A.M. While Hilla and the staff serve muffins, scones, croissants, and coffees, I keep baking. Here, I’m braiding the dough for my challah bread.

9:42 a.m. I score the baguettes before placing them in the oven. They’ll bake for 30 to 35 minutes at about 475 degrees.

10:04 A.M. Wielding my peel, I take the country wheat bread out of the oven; we’ll use it to make sandwiches for the lunch crowd.