Monks sell homemade bread in East Peoria

Looks can be deceiving, but smells are easier to recognize.

Inside a small converted garage, the smell of freshly baked raisin bread permeated the air. In the back room, Brother Gregory Ashton made dough.

Ashton is a monk and a member of Saint Benedict’s Abbey Ecumenical Community Within the Catholic Tradition in Bartonville.

The small group of monks sell their homemade bread at a business in East Peoria called At Rainbow’s End on East Washington Street.

St. Benedict’s Abbey was formed Aug. 15, 1985, in Puerto Rico. The abbey was later established in Bartonville in 1996.

“They used to make bread (in Puerto Rico). Then they came down here and the abbot and I were talking and he was telling me about the bread there,” Ashton said. “So, we decided to try a little bit of bread here.”

Some of the monks, with help from friends, converted a garage near their monastery into a gift shop and bakery.

Ashton and the Rev. Harold Camacho took on the roles of baker and decided to bake a small amount of bread initially.

“Then we thought, ‘We need to raise money for the abbey. Maybe we can find places to sell it,’” Ashton said.

In addition to selling bread in East Peoria, the monks have sold it at farmer’s markets, during the Festival of Lights and at other town festivals.

“The next thing you know, we were getting a regular following,” Ashton said.
Soon, the supply was greater than the demand.

“In one day, we probably got 200 loaves sold in a couple of hours,” Camacho said.

Camacho said one reason bread sales are good is the prices are reasonable.

“We are a non-profit corporation and we like to price our things lower than the regular market,” said Camacho.

Another reason the homemade bread may be in demand is that it is made by monks.

However, Ashton said, they can only make so many loaves of bread per week due to the time involved, the equipment they have and their “monk” power.

It takes 12 to 14 hours a day to make the bread, and they make a variety of kinds, such as raisin, multi-grain and Italian. Ashton and Camacho bake all day Thursday for Friday and all day Friday for sales on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, you’re tired and you’re hot because the ovens have been on. The next day you’re just dragging yourself,” Ashton said.

The bread and other recipes came from Abbot J. Alberto Morales’ grandmother. Ashton said they also make a seasonal fruitcake from her recipes.

“They’re fruitcakes for people who don’t like fruitcakes. We do make a variety without the candied fruit,” Ashton said.

The fruitcakes are put into canning jars and aged until the holidays.

With all of the labor and hours involved in bread making, it does not bring in much of the other kind of bread, or dough, as some call it. But, their homemade bread is almost like a calling card.

“It makes people aware of us,” Ashton said. “It gets our name out there. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard from people, ‘I didn’t even know Bartonville had a monastery.’”

The gift shop and bakery are situated next to the monastery at 7561 W. Lancaster Road. At the gift shop, other food items, such as coffee, hot sauce, dill pickles, dressing, fruit spreads, CDs, T-shirts, candles, baskets, cards and more are sold.

The non-baked goods are made for the monks, and Ashton said they are “monk-tested and approved.”

For those who want to purchase the bread locally, it is sold at 10 a.m. Fridays at Twin Towers in Peoria and at 9 a.m. to noon at Heritage Farmer’s Market on Route 9 near Pekin and Tremont on Saturdays, in addition to At Rainbow’s End in East Peoria.

For those who want to sample more about monks and their way of life, their church is open to the public. There are two congregations — English and Spanish. The English service is at 10 a.m., and the Spanish service is at 3 p.m. Sundays.

On Aug. 15, the group will celebrate its 25th anniversary and special activities will be planned.

For more information, visit www.sbabbey.com.