Jonathan Stevens 81S on Baking, Community, and “The Hungry Ghost Bread Book”
Jonathan Stevens 81S, a Hampshire College alum and co-owner of Hungry Ghost Bread in Northampton, is celebrating the release of The Hungry Ghost Bread Book (Chelsea Green Publishing). The book brings together recipes, stories, and reflections from his decades of baking and community-building.
From researching Inuit traditional medicine at Hampshire to running a beloved Northampton bakery, Stevens has always followed his passions in unexpected ways. His journey, shaped by creativity and hands-on learning, culminates in this new collection of recipes, haikus, and lessons from 30 years of breadmaking.
Stevens’s path to Hampshire wasn’t conventional; after leaving two other colleges, he was drawn to what he says a friend described as “this weird place on the other side of the hills.” At Hampshire, he embraced applied anthropology, diving into coursework and internships in Brooklyn and Cambridge as well as Mexico for his Division II. His Division III project — a report on Inuit traditional medicine practices — was the result of months of fieldwork in northern Quebec with the Avataq Cultural Institute of Inukjuak.
After graduating, Stevens lived for many years at the Leverett Peace Pagoda, deepening his connection to community and mindfulness. As a stay-at-home dad, he began baking to fill his early mornings. “I needed something to do at 5 a.m.,” he explained to MassLive. That small ritual became a passion, and in 2004, Stevens cofounded Hungry Ghost Bread with his partner, Cheryl Maffei.
Today, Hungry Ghost Bread is a Northampton staple, celebrated for its woodfired sourdough loaves, such as the French Batard and the Country Boule. For Stevens, however, the bakery and the book are about more than bread — they’re about fostering creativity and looking within. The Hungry Ghost Bread Book offers readers the tools and inspiration to explore breadmaking on their own terms.
“What I’m hoping to do with the book is not just get people to make my bread,” Stevens told NEPM. “I want them to make their bread.”
Stevens credits the College with teaching him the value of experimentation. “The book is based on 30 years of practice and a lot of failure,” he says. “That’s something the College was good at teaching: resilience and informal empiricism.”
Stevens remains connected to the lessons and memories of his Hampshire years. His advice to current students? “Find your mentor. Take classes on all the campuses. Don’t rush.” For him, those years were defined by the camaraderie of his Mod mates, the Mixed Nuts Food Coop, and lectures by former Professor of Politics and Middle East Studies Eqbal Ahmad.
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