A Sarasota Bakery Declared Fall at 65 Degrees. Nobody Argued.

On Sept. 28 it was 65 degrees in Sarasota in the morning, and The Falcon Aerie did what every one of us wanted to do. It posted "65°F THIS MORNING IN FLORIDA?!" and announced that it was officially fall. The fall menu went live the same day.

The heat came back, obviously. The menu stayed. That's the right call! You don't take down the pumpkins because of one bad week. Or eleven.

Who's baking

The Falcon Aerie is a Sarasota micro-bakery: sourdough, sweet treats, small batches, owned and operated by Jessica Falcon. The tagline is "Where flour takes flight," and the bird theme is fully committed. Customers are "Falcon Aerie peeps." The fall menu is called The Fall Flight. There's an eagle emoji on nearly every post, which is a different bird, and I love that nobody has said anything.

What's on the Fall Flight

The headliner is the Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake, a 9x5 loaf for $12, on the menu through Nov. 29. Her own description is better than anything I'd write: "Basically, fall decided to become a loaf."

Around it, from the bakery's recent bake days:

• Earl Grey vanilla sourdough scones
• Apple cider donuts
• Pumpkin spice cookies and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
• Pumpkin cheesecake sweet rolls and maple pecan sweet rolls
• Fresh sourdough bagels

"Earl Grey vanilla sourdough scone" is the most specific thing a bakery can say. That's three different personalities in one pastry, and all of them read on a porch.

The full fall menu and the standard menu are pinned to the top of the Facebook page.

The Thursday rule

Preorders open Sunday and run until Thursday at 10 AM. You claim your bake by DM or text. And she is clear about it: "Once Thursday at 10 AM hits, preorders close!"

It is currently Thursday. It is after 10 AM. So yes, I am telling you about a coffee cake you cannot order this week. I'm sorry. I'm also not sorry, because now you have three days to decide between the coffee cake and the cheesecake rolls, which is a better weekend than most people are having.

Preorders open again Sunday. Set an alarm and don't label it "bread." Label it something you'll respect.

She took September off

The bakery took a "rest & reset" from Sept. 13 to 27 and came back on the 28th, the same morning the thermometer cooperated. A small sourdough operation stepping away for two weeks in September is the most reasonable business decision I've seen all year. September in Florida isn't a month. It's a waiting room.

Follow along on Facebook for bake days and the weekly menu. If you're still building your weekend bread plan, the Mikayla Klauber sourdough drop and Bitty Bagels are right there too. Sarasota's carbohydrate situation has never been healthier.

— Marina