Making the dough: Behind Bigham Artisan Bread and Pastry

The Oxford Farmer’s Market vendors are still putting the finishing touches on their stands at 8"45 a.m., but a line has already formed at the Bigham Artisan Bread and Pastry stall. By the time the market opens at 9 a.m., the number of patrons has grown, stretching toward the edge of the parking lot.

James Bigham started working at the farmer’s market as a teenager, helping his brother with his produce stand. After attending the market for a couple of years, Bigham decided to step up and fill a hole that had opened when three vendors who had been selling baked goods left the market.

“I started the business when I was 16,” Bigham said. “This has been my only real job … I’ve done it professionally for over half my life now.”

When Bigham first began his business, he was baking out of his family’s home kitchen. Two years ago, he was able to build a professional kitchen. His mother and aunt now run a second pastry stall at a farmer’s market in Richmond, Indiana, while Bigham and his sister Jessy operate at the Oxford Farmer’s Market. He added that his mother was a huge supporter of his dream, and she encouraged him to start his business in the first place.

“I’ve finally kind of gotten to the point where I can trust that we're going to be busy every week, because for the first seven years, I would have this fear that this is going to be the week when nobody shows up,” Bigham said. “I've finally gotten confident in my customer base. They are going to show up for me.”

Photo by Shannon Mahoney | The Miami Student
The line for Bigham’s baked goods often wraps around much of the market.

The Bigham Artisan Bread and Pastry stand has some staple items, like the chocolate-almond croissants and cinnamon sugar cruffins, but also offers a rotating menu of seasonal items.

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During the fall, Bigham offers flavors like apple and pumpkin, and said he creates his pastries by relying on whatever crops are in season. Additionally, he tries to source his ingredients locally whenever possible.

“We get all of our apples from Downing Fruit Farms, which is just around the corner here,” Bigham said. “A lot of times we get peaches and cherries from them as well. Berries we get from a little, tiny farm stand close to us.”

Sally Henson, owner of Abbott Ridge Farm, runs her own stand at the market. When Bigham first began experimenting with baking, the two kindled a friendship over bread and pastries.

“We would sit there, every Saturday morning for three hours, 28 weeks out of the year, so we just kind of would chat about bread and talk about different things,” Henson said. “Then he would ask questions about how I did things.”

At the time, Henson baked and sold bread products both at her stall and to multiple restaurants. She was baking upwards of 950 loaves a week, and after a time, felt like she was ready to move on. Henson said she recommended Bigham attend the San Francisco Baking Institute and take a course on breadmaking.

Bigham took several courses at the institute, including ones on pastry making. When he returned to the Oxford Farmer’s Market, he began to include more signature pastries, like his croissants and danishes.

“He was ready to pick up the mantle,” Henson said.

In the nine years since he first began, Bigham has gained a dedicated base of loyal customers. His unique pastries attract everyone from Oxford locals to university staff and students.

Matthew Siegel has regularly attended the Oxford Farmer’s Market since moving to Oxford in 2019. He said he had been coming for a chocolate almond croissant every week for a number of years.

“They’re my guilty pleasure,” he said.

Sofia Folchi, a senior kinesiology major, attended the farmer’s market with her roommate and purchased a bacon gouda danish from the Bigham stall.

“The line was super long,” Folchi said, “We were like, ‘It's gotta be good.’”

Bigham’s stall will be at every Oxford Farmer’s Market during the year. He is now looking ahead to the next few weeks when pumpkin-flavored pastries can make their appearance.

“It's been really, really fun to see him grow as a person,” Henson said. “It's just been really interesting to see how it's gone and to see him excel.”

mahones5@miamioh.edu