The Evolution Of An Idea

This isn't an official logo/design, etc. That will come soon. However, I just wanted to share my new adventure...officially. In a nutshell, I have started a business. I real, bona fide, licensed business. A very, very small business. Have I always wanted to have my own business? No, not really. Have I always wanted to make my own bread? Yes.

When Alaina was still a baby, I made some of my first attempts at homemade bread. Specifically, whole wheat bread. They didn't really turn out very good.

Several months later, my friend Shalise had me over to show me how she makes bread. From there, the rest is history! She showed me a great recipe and that I could get away with only one rising. The speed of it all is what kept me making it week after week. I don't want to spend hours upon hours waiting for dough to rise.

During all this time I had also been on a journey to learn about healthy foods. Whole foods. Unprocessed foods. I decided I wanted to try a bread recipe that did not have any sugar or white flour.  In the process I also purchased my own wheat grinder so now all of my bread has freshly ground whole wheat flour. I have learned a lot about making bread in the last couple of years and I am still learning.

As far as selling my bread. Well, that idea happened almost a year ago. A friend of mine asked me to do a craft fair with her. I worked my little tail off making a bunch of "crafts" that I thought were cool. I also had considered selling my bread there, but at the time did not have enough time to look into the legal/health dept side of it. So I scratched the idea. The craft fair was a real disappointment for me. I had high hopes and they were trampled on. However, I did meet a nice lady (the Gypsy Girl Granola lady) who bought one of my pallet shelves from me.

Fast forward to the opening day of the Pasco Farmer's Market. The Gypsy Girl was there (she makes fabulous granola, by the way) and what do you know? She was using my pallet shelf-the one she bought from me at the craft fair- as part of her display. I went over, said hi, reintroduced myself and bought some granola. I had a conversation with her during which she encouraged me to try selling my crafts at the market.  I wasn't so sure anyone wanted to buy my crafts as was evident at last year's craft fair. However, a spark was ignited. Maybe not crafts, but what about my bread?

Anyone who knows me well, (really well) knows that when I get an idea in my head, I can become somewhat obsessed. Just ask my husband. That was actually the first step. Getting Justin on board. After all, his support is the most important. I was afraid he would roll his eyes at me and say "here we go again", but he didn't (at least not in front of me). He was actually quite supportive and even wanted to get involved when I was looking into making labels.

After making some contacts to the Farmer's Markets I was directed to the local health department to find out exactly what I needed to do. Step 1: I needed a kitchen. I was not allowed to bake bread out of my home to sell at the Market or anywhere else. I did some searching and then found a great kitchen that rented for a great price. Not only that, but I could also sell my bread out of their kitchen/shop and the real kicker is that their target audience is really the same as my target audience as well. If you are into the local, whole food, organic food, grass fed, pasture-raised kind of scene, then this is the place for you. Are you going to pay more? Yep. No doubt about it. But if you're into that kind of thing, you are probably the type of person who looks at the list of ingredients on a product before you look at the price anyway, and it won't be an issue for you.

Find kitchen. Check. Get proper licensing. Check. Get a Bosch bread mixer. Check. If it is possible to be in love with an inanimate object, then I am in love with my Bosch and my Nutrimill grain mill. Two of the best purchases I have made this year.

I also have to add that I spent a healthy amount of time questioning myself about this endeavor. I didn't want to just jump into this without some real thought, which I can have a tendency to do, being the spontaneous, impulsive kind of person I am. I asked myself why I was even compelled to do this?  Am I being rational, realistic? Is there any logical thought involved whatsoever? Was the risk too big a price to pay? Obviously, I (after talking it over with Justin) made the decision that it was OK to move forward. Not only that, but I had a couple of experiences where I felt I was being led in this direction. Although, I won't discuss all of those here.

I will say that when I went to look at the kitchen for the first time, the person in charge asked me what I wanted to make. When I told her I wanted to make bread, she appeared to have nearly jumped at me. In a good/excited way. She told me they were actually wanting to get someone in there who makes bread. You see, just another reason I feel like the stars were aligning.

The fact is, The NW Regional Food Hub is exactly what I was looking for. What I wasn't looking for was to open my own bakery or anything like that. I wanted to opportunity to make and sell my bread to people on my own terms and as something slightly more than a hobby. And yes, possibly a way to earn some money. 

Last Wednesday was my first day in the kitchen. My stomach was a ball of nerves. Excitement, nervousness and a little bit of worry all twisted up in a knot. I'm a chronic worrier. What if the bread didn't sell? What if people didn't like it? What if I end up with a raging case of Carpal Tunnel-if not some pretty sweet triceps- for no good reason? (I can hear my Dad saying how neurotic I am, right about now).

I made 12 loaves of bread and a couple batches of my no-sugar coconut/chocolate chip cookies. The great news is that as of yesterday, all the bread had sold (and I was told they could have sold more) and there were only 3 packages of cookies left. It felt great to finally produce something that people wanted and liked.

You can follow me on facebook at: www.facebook.com/BigDMamasHomeBakedGoods

Excitedly and Blessed!

Big D Mama