Interstellar Baking with Moon Raccoon
Moon Raccoon has landed on the Mile High City! Zoe Deutsch and Kate Lange have kickstarted a business centered around ethically-sourced ingredients, local agriculture, community investment, and a legitimate work-life balance.
Illustration: Bashel Lubarsky
Moon Raccoon has landed on the Mile High City. The baking company was founded by Zoe Deutsch and Kate Lange in January of 2020, hoping to kickstart a business centered around ethically-sourced ingredients, local agriculture, community investment, and a legitimate work-life balance.
“We both had always discussed how local produce and flour was important to us,” says Deutsch. “So we always said, ‘One day, we’ll take that to our own bakery concept.’” So they shook hands and committed to opening their own bakery, named Moon Raccoon. “The moon comes from a love of space, raccoon because we are bakers with dark circles under our eyes from weird sleep schedules, and because we are like little trash pandas, always eating the scraps and messed up pastries during a shift so we can keep going,” says Lange.
photos: Mike Finocchiaro
They were intending on taking their time—building their business slow and steady. But one week after the COVID-19 pandemic left them furloughed, Deutsch and Lange needed something to keep them busy. So they baked for friends and family, raising enough money to bring Moon Raccoon to local farmers markets. “There’s a movement going on within the farmers markets here,” says Lange. “The only real farmers market we used to have was in Boulder. The [Boulder Country Farmers Market] started a market in Union Station, and that was the biggest inspiration for other farmers markets to pop up. You can’t sell there unless what you make is made in the Denver Metro Area.” To become a vendor, chefs, artisans, and farmers must complete an application, showing receipts of what you’re sourcing and where it’s coming from. “It’s a game changer for farmers market culture.”
Although Lange and Deutsch have always been committed to using local, ethical, and sustainable ingredients, finding vendors that fit their requirements (and budget) was no easy feat. “Those early day connections came from us Googling and cold calling farms,” says Lange. “I grew up on a farm in North Dakota, so for me, it didn’t feel weird to just call someone’s house and pitch to them. They were always excited for that call.” They eventually connected with Rising Stars alum Kelly Whitaker, who owns Boulder-based artisan milling company Dry Storage. “We were one of their first wholesale accounts,” remarks Lange. “We stay in communication with the miller of our flour so we can stay up to date on changes,” noting that working with local flour can provide challenges when it comes to consistency. “The main variable is hydration, so our water percentage is subtly shifting based on grain moisture content, flour age, and the weather that day. It has been a challenge, but in a fun way, that has expanded our abilities and knowledge, and pushed us to grow as bakers.”
Their local vendor accounts have evolved into a laundry list of the Front Range’s best, many of which have their own tables at the farmers market: herbs and produce from The Fleischer Family Farm in Lakewood, eggs from Wisdom Farms in Haxtun, and milk and cream from Morning Fresh Dairy in Bellvue, to name a few. “We are a micro-bakery that specializes in unique, whimsical flavor profiles that highlight the agriculture of Colorado,” says Deutsch. “We've both been focused on local sourcing for many years, even before Moon Raccoon, because we believe it is the only way to create sustainability in the food industry.
From Left to Right: rye chocolate chip cookie, pumpkin praline Coffee cake, PB&J Cruffin, classic Croissant
moon RACCOON’S rye chocolate chip cookie
Colorado has such a wide variety of agricultural offerings, much of which are ingredients any bakery needs,” adds Lange. So now that they have what they need, Lange and Deutsch feel free to get a little weird with what they’re making. On any day, they could sell Tenderbelly bacon-date jam danishes, strawberry matcha knots, or PB&J cruffins—whatever’s seasonal, fresh, or freshly preserved. Both Deutsch and Lange see the project as part of a necessary change to a food system that has veered dramatically off course. “This is not a niche market. It’s not going to be a continuum. Something needs to drastically change,” says Deutsch. “Our overall message is that if the two of us can do it with $400, what’s stopping anyone else,” says Lange.
