Are You Bready For This?
I wasn't, if we're being completely honest.
But here we are now.
Lots of Loaves is a family run homemade bread business, specializing specifically in white bread loaves filled with sweetened cream cheese, and perhaps a few bread puns here and there.
The brain behind the grain... myself, in other words, goes by the name Nura. I'm 19, and have been baking, or at least have been helping with it, since I was at least 6 years old. From flipping pancakes to baking cookies with salt in them instead of sugar, to taking cake decorating classes, to earning a blue ribbon for butterscotch brownies in a state fair, and to burning myself several times from the oven, I'd say I've earned a good amount of baking experience.
I mean, I'm gonna be honest with you as any ethical company manager would. I used to be afraid of baking. I know, afraid. But it's a different type of afraid. It's the fear of making a huge mess I'd later have to clean up. No, really. I mean, don't you agree messes are scary?
I also didn't like the idea of baking cakes, because where was the challenge? All you had to do was whip up a batter and pour it into a pan. It wasn't like baking cookies, in which you would drop or shape each cookie individually. To be honest, I still feel that way about cakes. I guess I like the challenging stuff, even though I've never really considered myself to be one for challenges.
Anyway, I was also always afraid to make bread. Getting the water to be just the right temperature for the yeast to proof in was nerve-wrecking. Kneading the dough too much would toughen it, but kneading it not enough would deflate the dough and result in flat bread. Not naan flatbread. Just... bread resembling a popped balloon.
(By the way, if you aren't a baker and you have zero idea what I'm talking about and you're now afraid of ever considering baking, just skip ahead to the important parts of this post and I apologize to any family member of yours who has been trying for years to get you to stop eating Ramen noodles and make your own food.)
But nobody gets anywhere in life without doing the things they are afraid to do. It's tried and true, and I can proudly say I'm living proof. Overcoming your fears is so scary but so rewarding, and what's a little harm in getting to live to tell your story? Since overcoming my fears in recent years, I've sung in a talent show, won an honorable mention in a student art exhibit, spoke about my author & writing experience at two schools, taught a summer writing class, used a nail gun, made genuine & lifelong friends, and earned a spot in leading my youth group.
I'll admit, the thing I was most afraid to do (and still am) was starting a business. Going down that lane meant direct interaction with people, handling expenses and profit and other business terms I wasn't familiar with, customer satisfaction, presentation of products, quality of products, wear and tear... all that. But for me, the scariest thing was customer satisfaction. I'm a people pleaser by nature, so the thought of making a customer unhappy with one of my products terrified me. And making that business a food business was the scariest of all. What if I had not sanitized my workspace or my dishes enough, and I caused a customer to get a stomachache and fall ill and... perish? Unlike the others listed, this is a valid fear and an important one to consider. I'm probably being melodramatic about this entire issue, and the best and only way to really get over this fear is go for it. Fail, make mistakes, and learn from them. You never know until you try. No gain if no go through no pain.
Alright! With that being said, let's talk bread. I make loaves in (so far) 3 styles and (so far) 1 flavor of filling.
STYLES
1. Challah braid
2. Snipped sides
3. Lattice top
Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any photos of the Challah and snipped sides styles when I made them, so here are visual representations from the past that my mom made.
And here are mine... (oh look there actually is a Challah but it's noooot pretty)
(I will consider a bigger range of styles for the future!)
FILLING
1. Sweetened plain cream cheese
(I am considering chocolate and strawberry filling as well for the future!)
Each loaf usually turns out 12 inches long by 5 inches wide. I sell these loaves for $8. They will always come to customers wrapped in plastic wrap and in foil to keep them as warm as possible. The loaves last well for up to 5 days if kept sealed in a container or in wrap or foil, and not exposed to air.
I wash and clean all my dishes and surfaces before, between, and after use.
Allergens: wheat, dairy, eggs
Ingredients list (for those on any sort of diet):
Yeast, Sugar, Water, Salt, Butter/Margarine, Vegetable Shortening, Eggs, Flour, Cream Cheese
HOW TO ORDER:
You will contact me via my number. The important thing is to keep up with my updates so you can schedule when to come and pick up your bread the day it is made. So, I'll post an update on this blog a couple of days in advance about when I'm making a batch, and you can ensure your schedules align so you can pick it up the day it is made.
With that being said, I hope you're bready for this. Because I'm bready to give.
~ LOL Bread ~
But here we are now.
Lots of Loaves is a family run homemade bread business, specializing specifically in white bread loaves filled with sweetened cream cheese, and perhaps a few bread puns here and there.
The brain behind the grain... myself, in other words, goes by the name Nura. I'm 19, and have been baking, or at least have been helping with it, since I was at least 6 years old. From flipping pancakes to baking cookies with salt in them instead of sugar, to taking cake decorating classes, to earning a blue ribbon for butterscotch brownies in a state fair, and to burning myself several times from the oven, I'd say I've earned a good amount of baking experience.
I mean, I'm gonna be honest with you as any ethical company manager would. I used to be afraid of baking. I know, afraid. But it's a different type of afraid. It's the fear of making a huge mess I'd later have to clean up. No, really. I mean, don't you agree messes are scary?
I also didn't like the idea of baking cakes, because where was the challenge? All you had to do was whip up a batter and pour it into a pan. It wasn't like baking cookies, in which you would drop or shape each cookie individually. To be honest, I still feel that way about cakes. I guess I like the challenging stuff, even though I've never really considered myself to be one for challenges.
Anyway, I was also always afraid to make bread. Getting the water to be just the right temperature for the yeast to proof in was nerve-wrecking. Kneading the dough too much would toughen it, but kneading it not enough would deflate the dough and result in flat bread. Not naan flatbread. Just... bread resembling a popped balloon.
(By the way, if you aren't a baker and you have zero idea what I'm talking about and you're now afraid of ever considering baking, just skip ahead to the important parts of this post and I apologize to any family member of yours who has been trying for years to get you to stop eating Ramen noodles and make your own food.)
But nobody gets anywhere in life without doing the things they are afraid to do. It's tried and true, and I can proudly say I'm living proof. Overcoming your fears is so scary but so rewarding, and what's a little harm in getting to live to tell your story? Since overcoming my fears in recent years, I've sung in a talent show, won an honorable mention in a student art exhibit, spoke about my author & writing experience at two schools, taught a summer writing class, used a nail gun, made genuine & lifelong friends, and earned a spot in leading my youth group.
I'll admit, the thing I was most afraid to do (and still am) was starting a business. Going down that lane meant direct interaction with people, handling expenses and profit and other business terms I wasn't familiar with, customer satisfaction, presentation of products, quality of products, wear and tear... all that. But for me, the scariest thing was customer satisfaction. I'm a people pleaser by nature, so the thought of making a customer unhappy with one of my products terrified me. And making that business a food business was the scariest of all. What if I had not sanitized my workspace or my dishes enough, and I caused a customer to get a stomachache and fall ill and... perish? Unlike the others listed, this is a valid fear and an important one to consider. I'm probably being melodramatic about this entire issue, and the best and only way to really get over this fear is go for it. Fail, make mistakes, and learn from them. You never know until you try. No gain if no go through no pain.
Alright! With that being said, let's talk bread. I make loaves in (so far) 3 styles and (so far) 1 flavor of filling.
STYLES
1. Challah braid
2. Snipped sides
3. Lattice top
Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any photos of the Challah and snipped sides styles when I made them, so here are visual representations from the past that my mom made.
FILLING
1. Sweetened plain cream cheese
(I am considering chocolate and strawberry filling as well for the future!)
Each loaf usually turns out 12 inches long by 5 inches wide. I sell these loaves for $8. They will always come to customers wrapped in plastic wrap and in foil to keep them as warm as possible. The loaves last well for up to 5 days if kept sealed in a container or in wrap or foil, and not exposed to air.
I wash and clean all my dishes and surfaces before, between, and after use.
Allergens: wheat, dairy, eggs
Ingredients list (for those on any sort of diet):
Yeast, Sugar, Water, Salt, Butter/Margarine, Vegetable Shortening, Eggs, Flour, Cream Cheese
HOW TO ORDER:
You will contact me via my number. The important thing is to keep up with my updates so you can schedule when to come and pick up your bread the day it is made. So, I'll post an update on this blog a couple of days in advance about when I'm making a batch, and you can ensure your schedules align so you can pick it up the day it is made.
With that being said, I hope you're bready for this. Because I'm bready to give.
~ LOL Bread ~
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