Zach Posnan, a former Kensington schoolteacher turned sourdough baker, is preparing to open his first brick-and-mortar shop.
“I started the January before the pandemic. It was the first time I ever baked anything that wasn’t from a box. I was really bad at it,” Posnan told What Now Philadelphia. “Then the pandemic hit. We were teaching online, and I was able to play around with it more. I was teaching math and science at the time to middle schoolers, so I made it part of the lessons with ratios.”
When students returned to in-person learning, Posnan was able to bring the lessons he taught over Zoom to life.
“I started bringing the loaves of bread that I’d make, and I’d bring my little toaster, and we’d have breakfast once a week,” he said.
Eventually, Posnan stepped away from teaching and began focusing on his sourdough journey through pop-ups and wholesale operations across the city. That’s when Brass Monkey Bread Co. began to rise.
The brick-and-mortar shop will debut at the corner of S. 20th and Dickinson St. in Philadelphia’s Point Breeze neighborhood, where Posnan has lived for the past 15 years.
Before landing on the name “Brass Monkey,” the baker developed the tagline: “Breads and baked goods to warm your soul,” a nod to the welcoming food-centered atmosphere he grew up around.
“I grew up in a big family and there was always food around. Our house was the house that friends would come to. My mom would cook Friday night dinner. There were always seats at the table for everyone,” Posnan said.
“Brass Monkey” came from a friend of Posnan’s who connected the tagline to an old saying.
“There’s an old saying: ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.’ There was an old ship, and on the ship there was a brass plate called the brass monkey, and it had a divot in it. That’s where cannonballs would be stored. When it got cold enough, the cannonballs would pop off. When it’s really cold out, I want people to come in so we can warm your soul,” he said.
With that in mind, the shop will serve warm, homemade sourdough breads, focaccia and bagels, along with a variety of baked goods and breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
“All our products will be sourdough based. I like being able to be creative and coming up with different combinations. The one thing about sourdough is that it can be adapted to anything,” Posnan said.
The fermentation process for each item varies, but it typically ranges from 36 to 48 hours.
“We won’t be using commercial yeast in anything. The only rising agents that we do use are baking soda and baking powder. We also mill 30% of all the flour for the loaves of bread,” Posnan said. “The process is slow, but I love it. It’s like magic. I am still surprised every time I open the oven door and the bagels aren’t just flat dough.”
Brass Monkey is also working to partner with a local coffee roaster to launch a coffee program.
Posnan looks forward to opening his first storefront in the community he calls home.
“I loved doing pop-ups, but the loading and unloading—it takes a toll. I’m very excited to welcome people into the space and show them all the things we’ve been slowly working on and roll out all these little programs that I’ve been dreaming of over the years,” he said.
Once a teacher, always a teacher, he hopes to eventually offer baking classes and ramp up wholesale operations within the first three to six months of opening.
An opening date has not yet been set, as the space requires a full build-out, but the goal is late 2026 or early 2027.
Follow Brass Monkey Bread Co. along on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates.
