THE BAKERY

Hawk & Sparrow was founded in 2017 in response to my decade-long desire to bring delicious, responsibly made artisan bread to my neighbors. As I began baking in college, it began to become odd to me that such a simple food—bread—which at its best consists of three ingredients—flour, water, salt—should be so difficult to get. That kind of bread belongs in every home that wants it. That was and is Hawk & Sparrow’s guiding philosophy.

And since for most of us getting that bread into our homes is time-consuming and tedious—either spending three days making it yourself, or taking a special trip to some near or distant specialty bakery—I wanted to eliminate those troubles by bringing it directly and regularly to you in your home.

Which is why Hawk & Sparrow’s flagship offering is a subscription bread delivery service that you can customize to your own particular needs. 

THE NAME

My grandfather was good at many things: sailing, carpentry, mathematics, making pancakes, and telling stories. When he got old and came to live with us, he would sit in the arm chair by the window or out in the sun on the back deck and I’d ask him questions about his past, just to hear him talk.

He was a submariner in the War and sometimes I’d ask him about it. He never talked about the fighting.

A story he did tell was about how once, while he and his crew were on patrol a couple hundred miles off the coast of Siberia, a little falcon called a kestrel had landed on the periscope shears. Growing up, Granddad’s brother Morgan had been a falconer, and so Granddad knew exactly how to capture and care for the little lost bird. He took it below, made a hood out of an old leather glove to calm it, et cetera. Fed it hunks of raw meat until it regained its strength. He told me also of how it became a sort of mascot to the crew and how sorry they were when a couple of weeks later they released it and watched it circle up into the air and head back to land.

I guess I like this image of this bird reminding Grandad of his home and boyhood, helping his brother collect falcons to train. To him and his crew, I imagine the presence of that wild creature in the sub created a unique kind of calm and respite from their serious war troubles. 

The more common name of the kestrel is ‘sparrow hawk’. Thus, ‘Hawk & Sparrow’—for Granddad.