On Travel

Ok so first, let’s rewind: Over 2 years ago, I had a plane ticket to go visit my best friend in London. I was so excited. I love to travel; I love to get out of my routine and get a little uncomfortable; I love to see new things, practice new languages, taste new things, experience the world outside of what I know; I love the planning and the execution; I even love the saving and the days leading up that are usually a bit tense and overwhelming but full of positive anticipation. And to go to London to see my best friend and adventure partner extraordinaire - could it have been more perfect?!

Despite my love and need for travel, I had put it off for many years prior to that 2020 plan. The last trip I took prior to this London 2020 trip was a “work trip” in 2018 where I took a week off to travel through Israel with a group of “leaders in food” to look at how we can help the world and it’s myriad of complex problems through the lens of food. Although that trip was AMAZING, it was very tough to leave work for a week at that time in my business. I was a self employed business owner with a team of 1: me. I was the owner, the baker, the assistant baker, online order fulfilment, customer service rep, deliverer, and beyond. So going away for a week meant no income for a week+, it meant disruption, it meant annoyed customers and wholesale accounts, it meant stopping and then starting again. It basically meant a lot of uncomfortable stress. I also ended up coming home with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS COV and was out for another 5 days -HA!

So, back to February 2020, I clutched that ticket tightly, excited that I had saved and created space in my business to get away and do this trip. My fists clenched tighter and tighter as I watched the world start to react to this thing called the Coronavirus. My fists started to get real pale and my palms got sweaty and my ticket got wet with perspiration (trying to set a real mood here, y’all- I WAS SO NERVOUS) as Covid landed in the US and rapidly took over. I was a ball of anxiety on the phone with Delta; no one really able to tell me what to do or what was even happening because, well, we didn’t have those customer service cues quite rehearsed for a pandemic yet. My sweaty nervous palms unfurled and let go of my literal ticket and my figurative travel dreams as I realized none of us were going anywhere any time soon.

Fast forward 2 years and here we are. That same best friend was getting married in the GORGEOUS English countryside and I said “to hell and beyond!” with letting this travel moment or any other life opportunity pass me by anymore because of my work. To quote my other very wise beautiful best friend ‘Life is short and life is long,” you better make the time for the things you want before the time passes you up and don’t be a one trick work pony because that is very boring. The pandemic brought a lot of clarity for me in the experiences I want to have in my life; the things I don’t want to NOT DO because I find all the reasons not to as opposed to the ways I can do both. I love my work, literally LOVE it, but it’s not all of me and I don’t want to miss out on the richness of life and it’s experiences because I need to sell some $7.25 batards.

Like so many things in life, travel isn’t easy. It requires money, time, an interruption to daily life. It requires planning, saving, thought, and an awareness of the world that I think we all really need but have been lacking during the pandemic. It also requires knowing that things probably won’t go according to plan at all and you’re gonna have to deal; like the curious heinous itching skin rash that I can’t resolve or the luggage that decided it wanted to stay in America. And finally, and a big one for me, if you are a business owner or self employed, we open a whole new can of worms.

BUT the point of all of this, travel is worth it -it’s worth that can of worms: taking the time, making the plan, saving the money, leaving, taking the break, getting uncomfortable, things not going according to plan- if it’s what you love and NEED- go do it! And specifically to my food folks out there - DO IT and stop waiting because, like me, you will literally be waiting for the thing that’ll never come; more money or a better time lol literally those things will NEVER come. And then you’ll think ok, this is some good moment and a pandemic hits and you’re just like, well f*ck. Stop waiting. Traveling and experiencing the world is what makes you a better cook, a better baker: Ingredients, flavors, techniques, ideas, inspiration- preparing food is worldly and to understand it, you must get out into the world and immerse yourself. I sincerely implore you to do it sooner rather than later.

Also, a final point I want to make : to the people who have responded to my stories “must be nice!” or “wow, you must be rich!”… let’s unpack some things here: 1. Shame on you and shut up. It is nice and no I am not rich, but even if I was, why do you have to comment in such a toxic way. Our American GRIND culture SUCKS and no matter how many people seem to share stories or silly memes in the name of ‘self care,’ we still seem to struggle with this idea of taking a break and being happy when other people besides ourselves do pleasant things in life. WHY???? Literally, I am a baker. I make such little money, y’all, this trip has gone so outside my budget. I just stayed in laughably one of the most disgusting hotels ever. I have no clothes because my bag never even made it out of NYC. BUT, I made this thing happen for myself and there is nothing I need to say or do to convince anyone anywhere that I “DESERVE” this. I deserve this because I am a human who breaths air and desires a dynamic life outside of my job. I “DESERVE" this because I simply do, that’s it. Stop qualifying the things you want in your life and for the LOVE OF ALL THAT IS BEAUTIFUL, stop looking at other people’s lives and experiences and feeling any sort of need or impulse to compare or qualify theirs. It is literally so toxic and so American and now that I am European, I hope you stop. Live your life, do what you want, make it happen JUST BECAUSE. Sure, be responsible about it, but live that short long life as best as you can.

Invest in Bread is Good and Good Bread in Atlanta!

Hola de San Sebastian, Spain! If you’ve been following along by European adventure via Instagram, I hope the images have been giving you as much joy and inspiration as the journey has for me!

So, full disclosure, I wrote out an amazing post on the importance of travel and the background of this adventure in particular and how it’s impacting where BREAD is GOOD LLC is going next, but then, being the computer idiot that I will always be, I deleted it instead of posting it and have had to start over. Honestly, I just want to go to the beautiful beach and eat some bread, so we’re gonna cut this one to chase. I’ll be back in a few days with some more travel musings but for today let’s talk INVESTING in GOOD BREAD!

Bread is Good is growing and expanding and opening it’s first kitchen! For the past few years, I have rented or subleased spaces from other restaurants allowing me to grow responsibly and slowly and not taking on any debt. The time has com, though, to let this bread baby proof a little bigger into some digs and I’d love to invite you all along for the ride! Under the Bread is Good LLC, I am opening up Colette Bread and Bakeshop which will be 60% wholesale production, 30% cooking and baking school, and 10% weekend retail walkups which we will expand as we grow. I have been in this industry for almost 12 years (12 YEARS!) and I have spent so much time honing in on how to create a space that is profitable yet soulful, as well as, open, productive, and dedicated to the traditions and craft of good food. Our funding will go directly to the buildout and beautiful design of our new production faculty and cooking school in one of old Highland Row spaces on Highland! Any funds left over after the buildout will go towards a fun unique delivery van to get more bread to more people!

I have already learned a lot int he few months that I’ve been working on this expansion and one thing I will continue to scream from rooftops till the day I croak is SUPPORT YOR FEMALE and MINORITY RUN BUSINESSES! Help them succeed, help them grow, ask what they need. Funding is a major barrier to entry and it really shouldn’t be that way. For that reason, I decided to forgo the more traditional route of funding from a bank and utilize an investment crowdfunding platform called HoneyComb Credit. This means that anyone can invest in the success of Bread is Good! Family, friends, customers, Atlantans, bread lovers, joe schmo in Philly who wants to see more female owned business, and even, YOU! Yes, you can be an investor! You can invest in Bread is Good and it’s expansion into Colette Bread + Bakeshop! This is not a donation, it is an investment with a return which to me is the way community business should get funded more often. You get to directly affect and profit from the success of the business you believe in. Que bueno, no?! It’s impactful on so many levels and I really am humble by the number of family, friends, customers, and fellow business owners who have jumped on board already. we are 51% funded with 34 more days to go! So, check out the investment page (feel free to ignore the video)as well as the SEC offering statement for all the details!

If it’s not for you, maybe you know someone who is interested in investing and feel free to share this information along! And while you wait for my next travel related post, here are some images of spaces that are going into the inspiration fault for Colette’s design! I’ve met some amazing vendors on my trip and can’t wait to get some pieces from all over to fill out the space!

Pum Pum Bakery in Madrid

Berdoulet Design shop in Bath, England

Malpica restaurant in Madrid

Cocol Madrid

THE TILE! oh the TIle!

The windows of Europe are the signage and I love it

Richard Bertinet’s Cookery School in Bath ! so amazing!

BREAD is GOOD is HIRING!

Alright y’all… the time has come. BREAD IS GOOD IS READY TO HIRE!

After a lot of growth and honing in on exactly where this good bread train is headed, it’s time to hire! I am super excited about where we are headed, and I am even more excited to bring on some hands to help grow and expand the good bread team! Please read the below job description and if it’s still of interest please follow the below instructions to apply!

BREAD IS GOOD LLC is seeking 1-2 Part Time (15-20 hours) Bakery Assistants. Job duties and qualifications include but are not limited to:

  • heavy prep work and kitchen operation (ie daily kitchen setup, dish, and breakdown) … Everyone who works with us starts in the same place and I believe you can’t get to Z if you don’t start at A. I.E. you don’t shape before you mix, you don’t bake before you shape. It is constant growth and learning and adding onto skills each and every day.

  • We are a naturally fermented bakery and recipes that will be learned include bagels, brioche, pain au levain, focaccia, and a whole pastry and granola.

  • Ideal candidate enjoys baking, stays organized, is a self starter, asks questions and maintains curiosity, and enjoys early mornings dedicated to the task at hand.

  • Kitchen experience, baking experience, prep experience, and knife skills are highly preferred but not necessary.

  • We are looking for a team player; someone who is interested in growing with us as we continue to expand. 2023 will be a big year full of some exciting new things for Bread is Good so it’s a good time to join in. Positivity and an ability to roll with the good days and bad is a must.

  • SATURDAYS are a must ! please do not apply if you cannot work Saturdays!

  • Finally, and this one is big. We do not operate a “competitive kitchen.” First, We are a team and we go through the ebbs and flows together. This is not an episode of Top Chef. There is no one team member that exists above anyone else and we are not in competition with each other. Second, I do not operate a kitchen that belittles other kitchens/ baking programs around us. There is plenty of room for everyone to succeed in this town and that “better than thou” mindset has no place here. We are community driven and strongly believe that we are only as good as those around us. I ask that folks bring their best each day, but meanness and belittling has no room here.

  • PAY STARTS AT $12/hr with an automatic increase to $15 after 2 months. Why is this? It is time consuming and costly to train. People get to day 5 and they are a no show and we’ve been burned a bit. It pays to stick around literally and figuratively.

  • SUNDAYS OFF! rare in the baking world. This might not be forever but it’s for now.

  • Flexible Schedule outside of Necessary SATURDAYS. Prep shifts are starting at 4-5 hours long, and Saturday Shifts are starting at 6-7 hours (usually 6AM-1PM)

  • Free Coffee + Pastry on your shift. Plus a loaf of bread each week.

TO APPLY: please click the link below and follow the instructions to fill out the form. If you have any questions, please reach out to Sarah at sedodge@gmail.com. DO NOT DM ME!

An Ode to Running // Happy Global Running Day

I know that this online space is tentatively reserved for bread, pastry, baking, and the business of such, but shockingly, I do exist in the world in a dynamic and diverse set of ways, so please read on or don’t as I write an ode to one of these other interests that enrich my life. If you’re only here for the baking or if running makes you vomit or if sedodge having an opinion and sharing personal anecdotes makes you angry, then I’d so much rather you find that teeny tiny little “x” in the right hand corner and click it than write me an email telling me “to stay in my lane.” I share my story with running because I love running and I love writing and I apparently love writing about running (my journals are very much about my runs now), AND (this one is crazy:) I apparently love reading about running which one might assume is as interesting as watching paint dry, but not so y’all, not so. Over the last few years on this platform and social media, I have tried to be somewhat open and transparent about my mental health struggles with depression, grief, drinking, and medication - I think I found it important to show that side of me- because it’s a big big part of who I was, am, and who I’ve become; personally and professionally.

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But it become increasingly harder to WANT to share those things on social media and not feeling like I was vying for attention or a “you’ve got this” pat on the back or honestly just feeling like my genuine words were getting lost in a sea of other not so genuine people oftentimes in the wellness industry wax poetic about mental health things that quite frankly I don’t think they have any idea about. Whereas at first, I felt like I could communicate genuinely and write about this very nuanced subject of mental health struggles which served as a way to release and relate to others - it became this popular hash-tagged subject that people wanted to be validated for and I guess I didn’t relate to that outward loud release of it anymore.

BUT without digressing too far, those mental health struggles have persisted and they persisted hard in the beginning of the pandemic. As so many of us did, I found myself in a very confusing place during March, April and May. My business was booming - because #sourdough (I laugh, I cringe, we move on) - and I was so so grateful , but I was also an anxious crazy person (in a toxic relationship as well) with nowhere to go but drink-town. So, I drank to ease my mind, I drank to feel elated even if it was just temporary, I drank to feel like things were normal. Also to be fair, I was drinking before the pandemic and not in a healthy way, but the slow down of life definitely can put into view the toxic things we occupy our time with and for me that was drinking. It was in that slow down of life and the uptick of drinking that the demons that were there all along came out in full force.

Now I’d been in therapy for YEARS. One amazing therapist for the long term that has helped me understand my thoughts. Then an EMDR therapist that helped me reprocess thoughts. Then a Psychiatrist to medicate me to literally help me clear the clouds to hopefully move through the thoughts. But THE THOUGHTS WOULDN’T MOVE. They wouldn’t even budge. They held on and occupied my precious brain space like ticks to deer.

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So, I changed course: because I had to. I quit drinking and I started running. And it’s that sentence right there that I will point to for years to come and highlight as the moment that changed my life. At first it was the hardest thing in the world. Running one mile felt like climbing 17 tall mountains and then some. I got annoyed that I wasn’t faster or that my endurance was shit. But I kept going, I kept pushing and trying and achieving distances or times. I had good days and bad, I also had like HORRIBLE days where I hadn’t fuelled correctly or I would unfortunately learn the hard way what runners tummy was (like WTF). But still, I kept going - I kept building miles and working on speed and endurance. Honestly, I just kept showing up. I just kept digging deeper.

Here I am, one year later - a very different person than when I started.

And basically, in sum: Dear Running - I love you. You changed me but most importantly, you revealed me. I will never quit you.

Beyond all the exercise and health benefits of running, which probably had something to do with why I started running, what has kept me running and kept me digging is the mental gains and calmness that I’ve achieved and continue to evolve through the sport. The thoughts were budging, they were evolving, they were passing on and no longer controlling me.

Through running, I learned to quiet my anxious overthinking brain. I learned to let the thoughts pass and to let the negative thoughts go and to instead take in what is : the sound of the birds, and leaves, and the wind; the feeling of the sun and my sweat; the concentration of literally just putting one foot in front of the other. Some would call this a form of meditation. I think it’s a form of meditation, but more specifically a practice of mindfulness that I can actually understand and put into practice (I really really hope my therapists are reading this and shout out AMEN so freaking loud). This mindfulness has been the biggest takeaway from my time with running: we are not our minds, and we are way more capable of things than our mind can lead us to believe sometimes. I’ve been trying to find this quote from Murakami’s What I Talk about when I Talk About Running ( a must read in my opinion) about how WE can control how much we struggle. How we CHOSE to QUIT or how we CHOSE to keep going despite the struggle. I can’t find the quote lol but I did find this quote, another one I really liked and probably speaks even grander to why I continue running and why it’s been so impactful: “life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that’s unfair, I think it’s possible to seek out a fairness.” I think it’s possible to accept that life won’t always give you it’s best, honestly, it just straight up sucks sometimes. It won’t always be easy, but it’s 110% how you chose to keep working forward that matters, how you chose to show up and to keep digging even when it’s hard or unfair or shitty.

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One year later, I’m running an average of about 4 -5 days a week. My current weekly milage is a little low, around 12-20 miles/week. My longest completed run is 10.25 miles, and I am currently researching where I want to do my first 1/2 marathon. I don’t know if I want to do a whole, but I’m gonna keep cruising and see where it takes me. I’m applying to be a Girls on The Run Coach because the freedom and confidence that comes from running is INVALUABLE and girls need it and I want to be a force for that. I did reintroduce alcohol into my life for those that are curious and we’ll just say that relationship will always be in flux, it’ll always be something I have to stay curious about. I will say, quitting the negative numbing behaviour of drinking while introducing the freeing mindful act of running was a powerful combo that I highly recommend: taking out something that is holding you back while introducing something that pushes, literally pulls, you forward.

In my opinion, running is the every humans ticket to mindful freedom in this life: you can do it alone, you can do it in group. You can run 5 minutes, you can run 5 hours. You can do it in the morning, afternoon, or night. You can be rich or poor. You can run in the sun in the rain, in the cold, in the heat, inside, outside, on a road, on a treadmill. You can be physically anywhere. You can wear what you want, shit, you don’t even need shoes. You can run with a perfect able body or a disabled body. I’ve met a really cool community of runners as well, people that echo a lot of the sentiments that I’m preaching so passionately. There really is something about running and for those seeking something else, I encourage you to try it. Or try the thing that your mind keeps telling you can’t. Try walking, biking, hiking, rowing, whatever. Try something. Something that takes you out of your mind and into the world and reminds you of the bigger picture and that you are capable and that you can keep moving forward.

2 other posi’s about running: It’s acceptable eat twizzlers on your long runs (I do) and a lot of runners drink chocolate milk after long runs (I do) and it’s amazing!

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Hello my name is…

Hello, my name is Sarah Dodge. I own and solely run my company: BREAD IS GOOD in Atlanta, GA. Yes, I am a professional baker meaning I do it as my profession...professionally - like any other professional job!! All of my breads are sourdough ( ie naturally fermented) and all of my products use good ingredients, local and regional where possible, but also sourced elsewhere when I know it’s higher quality elsewhere. Ordering is available on my website each Friday at 10 am at sedodge.com. My dogs’s name is Fergus and he is a “national treasure.” He is overweight. I love running, I drink way too much coffee, and during the pandemic, I became addicted to television and eating ice cream everyday. And I LOVE when people all the instructions before asking questions!

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I’ve never done one of those introduction things before because I think they’re kinda weird, but finishing up a very needed vacation has me hankering for a professional reset and it makes this all seem slightly less wretchful and more PROACTIVE, so here we are. Also, as the world opens up again, as we contemplate how to run businesses and be better consumers of the world it feels like a good time to define, redefine and recommit to being a baker in #atl and who and what  I am professionally. Also, literally I don’t know most of you which is strange so an introduction seems healthy.

Instagram has become a weird pace for me over the past couple of months. I’ve felt annoyed by it (how it can feel like a popularity contest and a comparison death trap especially in ATL-have a lot of thoughts on that but I will spare you), I’ve been in awe of it (how it can spread important social messages all of the world), and I’ve also felt been dumbfounded by it (how can I watch the same DUMB TIKTOK VIDEO SO MANY TIMES IS LEGITIMATELY BEYOND ME AND LIKE IS THIS WHO WE ARE EVOLVING INTO AS A SPECIES?!). 2020 and into 2021 has been a personally transformative time. I removed and improved a lot of toxic habits and relationships, and I added so many good habits that have literally expanded the wonder and joy in my life 10 fold. As many of you know, I became a long distance runner during the pandemic and it’s true, that when you push your body to new limits, your mind and your sense of what you are capable of literally just EXPANDS. It really is amazing. I have experiences such an expansion into the world and it’s been humbling, but its also strange as I realized that I’ve grown personally, but stalled professionally and the sense that I’d outgrown a lot of parts of my business became something I can’t ignore anymore.

My work has been beginning to naw at me these past few months. For a year plus now I feel like I’ve been running a marathon that I had zero training for (yes, I know a lot of people in lots of different professions have felt this). But i think a lot of us can agree that being in the food service industry has had some very specific caveats of pain, suffering, confusion, and LOSS. I’ve realized while on this needed relaxing vacation that I’ve straight up become exhausted and maybe even finally understood what it truly means to be exhausted. And when you’re so exhausted its hard to really see that as a result my work and baking have become tired- surviving all the ups and downs and backs and forths and openings and closings and to-gos and for-theres of being a food business during covid. BUT ALSO the thriving of sourdough bread and being annoyed by that and wanting to tell everyone to please just stop and trust and buy from a professional and then feeling really bad about that but not really.

So the goal in the coming weeks is to go from tired, exhausted, and LANGUISHING to pumped up and back to baking like the enthusiastic bread freak so many of you know me to be

BREAD IS GOOD LLC started almost 4 years ago after deciding to leave restaurants and specifically after helping open 8ARM and losing someone I loved dearly, someone who was for a long time my biggest professional cheerleader (it’s come to my attention what a hole that still is and will never be filled no matter how hard I wish for it). So, here I am 4 years into Bread is Good, almost 10 years into being a BAKER (like WHATTTT?!) starting out with Rob Alexander at H&F Bread when it was a much smaller scale bread operation, moving into pastry for 2 years at Little Tart Bakeshop as their first hire which is bonkers to think about, and then onto 100 million restaurants and partnerships - some good, some not so good. And now 2021- a toddler business with room to GROW - surviving and sometimes thriving via bread subscriptions, bread and pastry pickups, teaching, and so much more potential if I just don’t get in my own way. I am a team of 1.5 looking to responsibly and sustainably expand in the coming months. I work out a commercial kitchen space in Inman Park that has a perfect little service window right off the beltline (blessing and a curse ). FYI- opening a brick and mortar bakery is really not in my list of to-dos for one hundred million reasons which maybe I’ll share one day, but yeah, some of y’all can stop asking bout that. I LOVE teaching private and am amped to return to public bread and pastry workshops hopefully soon. I am passionate, indignant, and maybe a pinch self righteous (sure whatever maybe argumentative) about food (particularly good sourdough bread) and it’s connection to the earth and how we can be better stewards of the earth in how we eat and consume. I believe community is the most important and how we grow, produce, sell, serve, SUPPORT OTHERS AND THE SYSTEM, and consume as individuals and communities is intrinsic to the health of our society and it’s economy in the world view and where we move forward from here.

I also love writing and I am LONG WINDED and here are some ways I want to incorporate that and other things moving forward:

  • MORE EMAIL COMMUNICATION, LESS INSTAGRAM COMMUNICATION- sign up for the email newsletters on the bottom of this page, It’ll most likely be weekly or every other week. But I want to get out of relying on instagram for sales.

  • INSTAGRAM USE- more courage in posting breads and pastries and things I’m working on- sometimes I think who the fuck cares about this gorgeous piece of bread when the world is suffering and also it just feels so narcissistic and self serving but I really do love what I do and sharing it with y’all is apart of that. I really don’t use instagram for my personal life because it’s my PRIVATE LIFE and I WANT TO KEEP IT PRIVATE and it makes me happier to keep those things to myself. Please note, I DO HAVE FRIENDS and they rule and I love them but idk in an effort to be present my friends and family- I’ve drawn a hard line on what I want to keep to myself in this world where so many feel they have to SHOW so much. I will post about Fergus and his weight, travel and scenery I like, animals, charities and organizations to get involved with, social issues that I find important, running, and obviously work. If those things don’t appeal to you, then see yourself out!

  • SUBSCRIPTIONS: May will be the last month for subscriptions (sign up will open 4/30 at 10am) before we take a summer pause. I believe there will be a lot of traveling this summer and it just doesn’t seem financially to be the best model. I will be doing more one off options and pickup options for the summer months. If all goes according to plan subscriptions will resume SEPTEMBER.

  • PDF MENU POSTINGS AND OPTIONS- for wholesale and catering options as well as new WEEKEND walk up pastry and bread offerings!

  • WEBSITE REDO!!! SOOOON

  • FRIDAY BAKING HOW-TO QUESTION AND ANSWER SERIES!!!!!!! I answer a baking question of y’alls each friday, I am so excited about this! More info to come!

  • More avenues for teaching!

Ok besos and bread, y’all. Thanks for reading and being good to me and loving bread!

x,

Sarah

Is the BREAD-IS-GOOD Monthly Subscription Right for you?!

So, the Bread is Good Monthly subscription is an order-once-and-get-3-weeks-of -subsequent-bread-delivery without having to log on or repurchase or anything situation. Like many subscription services, your bread just shows up at about the same time every week on your doorstep without having to put much thought into it. Once delivered, you get an email confirmation that it’s been delivered and bang! you just get to enjoy your bread!

*** this is not a real van, please don’t expect me beepbeepin’ up to your door in this- I AM NOT THAT COOL. I don’t have this yet, but one dang day I WILL.

*** this is not a real van, please don’t expect me beepbeepin’ up to your door in this- I AM NOT THAT COOL. I don’t have this yet, but one dang day I WILL.

Because this is a bit out of the ordinary, I do get a lot of questions and I wanted to take a minute to address some common questions with the hopes of customers reading and deciding if the subscription is indeed the right fit for them, their address, and their personal preference. The service is not for everyone and that is OK! Bread is Good is a very small operation so I would much rather us decide before you purchase than later on when say you have to walk down to the lobby of your 900 floor building and you are pissed that I didn’t spend time searching for parking and then navigating your huge ass weird building touching buttons and stuff. :)

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Anyway, here are some good guidelines and such to help you decide. Also almost all of this information is on the order page, I’ve just put it in another format to help you help me help you even more.

  1. I DON’T DO OTP. Please please read the zip codes! If you sign up for a location that is not included, I will NOT refund you. I can’t make exceptions for you and I can’t spend my very precious time editing something I’ve worked really really hard to narrow down and map out.

  2. I DON’T DO BIG APARTMENT BUILDINGS AND I WOULD SAY APARTMENTS ARE JUST A NO NO. If you live in a place with an outside leading door that’s great- a duplex, a triplex, a quad, those are fine. But I don’t go inside large buildings. Also to that effect, if you don’t have a way for us to park and get your bread inside, please just don’t. I am working hard to accomodate as many folks as I can, and your very non-accessible situation makes this whole thing not work. I have set up a pickup option in inman park- so you apt dwellers can still get served!

  3. BE IN TOUCH IN REAL TIME! When your bread is delivered, you receive an email confirmation. If you look out the window and don’t see it or an hour or 2 has passed and you get home and don’t see it, reach out! Please don’t wait 2 days to tell me your bread hasn’t arrived?! I find this very strange, like would you tell uber eats your delivery didn’t arrive 2 days later? If you don’t see it, we might have put it in the wrong place and might be able to fix it asap. I will not replace if you don’t let me know within 6 hours. Like legit, if you tell me 2 days later, I just think you’ve gorged yourself on bread and want another loaf.

  4. I OFFER WHAT I OFFER. All of my breads are naturally fermented breads meaning, I use little to no commercial yeast in my bread, meaning there is a sourness to the bread that AIN’T CHANGING. I am not attempting to be like your store-brand loaves. I am not Wonderbread or Natures Own, and I am 110% ok with you preferring that over my product. It is what it is. I believe good bread goes back to the basics of good flour and good old fasioned time consuming fermentation. This gives me a product that I ultimately stand by, love, and believe is better for me, you, and the world around us. I legitimately believe that.

  5. IT GETS DELIVERED HOW IT GETS DELIVERED. Your bread is delivered in a “sealed” paper bag and placed inside a plastic bag or inside a tote bag that you leave out for us. I do not put my just backed loaves in a plastic bag as 1. I don’t want to. and 2. my goal is to deliver to you the FRESHEST just out of the oven bread that will ultimately suffocate and die in a sealed plastic bag. If you purchase this product, be your own best advocate and read the Storing Sourdough situation I’ve written. Please not that this is a bread that is best within 2-3 days or put into the freezer for later use. I don’t use any preservatives and I won’t so again, it is what it is.

  6. DON’T CALL ME, I’ll CALL YOU I PROMISE!!! All of my subcribers get complied into a list once I get everyone organized and I send a GROUP email the Friday before the Subscription starts (for March, you will receive an email on March 3rd by 5pm!). I promise, I swear, I gotchu!!!! If you do have any questions throughout that I haven’t answered or that the order page hasn’t answered, email me! Please don’t DM me or text me, I will not respond!!

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Okidoki- I think that really does cover it! I do think the people that love the subscription are the ones who love bread, eat it with most meals, and don’t want to have to get on the internet each week to re-up their order. I have a lot of long term subscribers and maybe they will comment below on what they like about it? Anyway, thank you for reading!

Cheers + Bread,

S

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HOW TO: Bake- From-Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits

Hello all and welcome to the day before Thanksgiving! Although this year finds a lot of us without the normal comforts of big gatherings, friends, family, and traditions, I do hope everyone is finding little ways to find joy and spread joy to to others this holiday season.

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As I round out my Thanksgiving bake this year, I find myself very grateful for a lot of simple small but life-giving things this year. Grateful to so many sweet, beautiful, giving customers who literally give me a reason to keep doing the job I love and who bake cookies for me, and leave notes for me, and also help donate to good causes with me. Grateful that my family is healthy, mostly sane, and employed. Grateful to my beautiful friends who are nice to look at on zoom and at a 6 foot distance. Grateful to my dog Fergus for being beautiful to look at up close, literally so close, and for snuggling constantly, and for all of our walks. Grateful for coffee, books, sobriety, really good weather, dancing, my new yellow sweatshirt, my vacuum cleaner, sourdough, AND BISCUITS! Warm, fluffy, tender, comforting, nostalgic, simple, approachable BUTTERMILK BISCUITS!

So I made batches upon batches of biscuits, froze them, and delivered them to you all frozen, so that you can pop ‘em in the oven and bake yourself allowing you and yours to enjoy them nice and warm and slathered with butter and honey or jam or eggs or bacon or turkey or sweet potatoes or WHATEVER YOU WANT! What’s great about biscuits and a lot of buttery flaky type pastry is that they love, no NEED, time in the freezer to maintain that butter structure. And these babies do wonderfully pulled straight from the freezer and put into the hot oven! As I love to say: “good pastry loves nothing more than taking a little nap in the freezer… for however long you want.”

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But I’ve noticed that no matter how many places or times I write out the instructions, people are always looking for them, so here they are again for those in the back ;)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BAKING:

  1. preheat oven to 400

  2. pull straight from freezer, do not thaw!

  3. SOOOO!!! You can certainly bake in the tray that the biscuits are delivered in BUTTTTTTT they will take longer to bake and will probably have some underbaked bits around the side as the hot hair cannot get to what is not exposed. So, I highly recommend baking biscuits on a lined sheet tray. But if you hate washing dishes, ok, just use the tin!

  4. brush tops of biscuits with melted butter (or jazz it up with salted honey melted butter like BOJANGLES!)

  5. turn oven down to 375 and bake biscuits at 375 for 18-22 minutes until golden brown. ROTATE sheet tray 10 minutes in!

  6. CONVECTION FAN IS PREFERRED PARTICULARLY FOR FIRST 10 MINUTES! AVOID OPENING THE DOOR FOR FIRST 10 MINUTES

    *If biscuits are browning quickly, turn your oven down 10-15 degrees- your oven runs hot! biscuit/pastry baking is a great time to invest in an oven thermometer!!!

    *Electric ovens might take a little longer

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GETTING THE MOST OUTTA THAT SEXY BREAD

So, I get asked a lot about storing bread, making it last longer, making it last till Thanksgiving, etc…

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My go-to immediate answer is “HOW THE HELL IS IT LASTING THAT LONG UNEATEN?!?!” But I am privileged, I get to pull warm-just-baked-crackling-crust-steamy bread right out the oven and tear into like a crazy ass toddler on Christmas morning. I usually consume close to half just tearing into it with my hands and dipping it in good olive oil and good coarse salt. I then take the rest and reserve the following pieces for toast, sandwiches, and then dinner dipping bread the next day. So, yeah, I don’t usually need the tips for bread storage, HA. It gets stored in my belly.

BUT, I’m a bread fiend, and I lack impulse control sometimes, so if you’re unlike me, here are some tips to make your bread last through Thanksgiving and the weekend:

  1. I deliver bread in lightly sealed (recycled) paper bags for a reason. I try to deliver as fresh -out-the-oven as humanly possible and I would never degrade hot bread by suffocating it to death in plastic, soooo… I suggest slicing into it upon delivery, closing your eyes, and chewing on that fresh slice reminiscing about happier joyful times like meals around a big fat table with beautiful friends and endless hugs and the clinks of glasses.

  2. THEN, I would wrap your still fresh BUT COOLED and UNSLICED bread in plastic wrap, a ziplock bag, or a sealable tupperware container or a bread box or whatever is super sealable to lock in those good vibes. Although sourdough does have certain agents that allow it to last, there are no preservatives in sourdough, and exposing it to air is what begins that falling flat process of STALING. So airtight, y’all, AIR-TIGHT!

  3. If you are holding off on using your whole loaf for Thanksgiving or another day: simply keep in your paper bag and when ready to serve, preheat your oven to 325 ish. Before putting it in the oven, spray or dribble or flick or whatever a little water on the outside- JUST DON’T DRENCH IT (somebody did do this once so I am trying to clarify- a little bit goes a long way- don’t SUBMERGE your bread in water!). and reheat for about 8-10 minutes in the oven to RE-CRONCH it right up. It’s such a nice little technique.

  4. A final thing is sourdough really does thrive in the freezer- NOT THE FRIDGE- don’t ever hurt that bread by putting it into the fridge. The best option is to SLICE FIRST, WRAP EACH INDIVIDUALLY, THEN FREEZE. OR SLICE AND WRAP WHOLE LIFE SOOOOO TIGHTLY. Pull out from the fridge a couple hours from using and let it get to room temp, do the re-bake method before serving for best results. A little more detail about this can be found here : STORING YOUR SOURDOUGH LOAVES.

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In the end- all that matters is that you ENJOY THAT BREAD! So, I hope this gives you some tips on making it last and last as long as you personally need. Tomorrow, I’ll be doing a run down of baking the BAKE-FROM-FROZEN- BUTTERMILK-BISCUITS so stay tuned.

I also thought I’d send along my THANKSGIVING BAKE -OFF 2020 PLAYLIST. (also embedded at the bottom, though I don’t really know what that means) I am biased, but I’m loving it and dancing through this weird holiday season as much as I can. It’s all over the place just like me so get funky, get baking, get posi, HAVE FUN, and EAT GOOD BREAD! (some songs are not suitable for children. sorry)

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BREAD IS GOOD in the Time of Corona (Part 3: Opening a Restaurant)

Hi! I feel like I’ve been absent and well, I feel very ok about it. We’ve all been hit with a strange reality these fast few months and it’s served me as a time to pause and rethink some things. I’ve hustled a lot in these last 10 years of my baking career. I’ve kept going in times when I probably should’ve taken a break. I’ve worked to avoid some personal things. And if I’m honest with myself, I’ve worked and worked and WORKED to prove to a lot of the wrong people that I was worth something in this industry. But this industry is shifting. In a lot of ways, it’s a very positive and needed shift. In other ways, the future of how food gets to diners is very up in the air, and that is terrifying. So for these last few weeks of this new and daunting time-off from baking, I’ve had some reflective time. I’ve never had a paid opportunity to step away from work and just BE and it has only enhanced and sharpened where and how Bread is Good moves forward from here!

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For the last year and 3 months, I’ve been so so so incredibly lucky AND GRATEFUL to bake out of Ammazza and grow the Bread is Good brand. I’ve learned a lot, baked a lot, grown a lot, created an amazing community, and ultimately found a lot of clarity and peace in where I want this rogue bread brand to go. Simultaneously, as I’ve been baking and growing, I’ve been collaborating alongside PERC Coffee Roasters out of Savannah on a coffee shop / restaurant project here in Atlanta / East Lake. Close to a year ago, the owners of PERC: Philip + Alan, approached me regarding their new proposed project in Atlanta and asked about my interest in being involved on the food side. In the last few years, I’d become weary of partnerships, grown tired of men (sorry, but thats the way it’s been) making promises or wanting you to be apart of this team blah blah only to find the reality is a toxic soup of abusive and oppressive shit. But in my first conversation with the men of PERC, I felt very heard, very seen, and very excited, and the relationship as only grown stronger since then. From day 1, I have felt a respect from their team that I’ve not experienced anywhere else, and I’m so grateful for that.

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During the past year, as the Bread is Good brand has grown and then literally swollen to a bursting point during the initial Covid months lol, I’ve worked with PERC as a consultant to the restaurant buildout advising on everything from kitchen design to hiring to permitting to menu production. And here we are, getting set to open a coffee shop with a full pastry, breakfast, lunch, and brunch menu!

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So , as PERC Atlanta gets ready to open, where does that leave Bread is Good?? PERC is set to open in the coming weeks: health inspection pending and a bit of needed kitchen training and inventory stocking. I have begun my time as a full time employee of the PERC team and will continue to create, train, manage, and oversee the daily pastry offerings as well as our full breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch items (which I am truly truly so excited about). You will probably find me working the line most days as I am the most excited about taking this good bread + pastry I’ve honed in on and putting good local and exceptional ingredients on said good bread. I’ve had the insane honor of working with my girl Olivia McCoy who will begin taking a baking leadership role within the kitchen to help expand our bread and pastry offerings. I’m so excited to work alongside such a creative, kind, energetic, young baking force… she is a force y’all!

From day 1, PERC has understood and very much respected my need for autonomy and the need for my baby, Bread is Good, to continue to exist and thrive. So Bread is Good is not going anywhere. Bread is Good, which is an LLC, will continue to grow and operate as the umbrella for all that I do which includes this project with PERC. BUT please note: the food at PERC is not Bread is Good. This isn’t Bread is Good in the back of house and PERC up front, no no, we are 1 unit and it is PERC Atlanta. Think about it in terms of laminated dough. Bread is Good is the sexy yummy well experienced high fat butter folded into the well milled high quality flour and whatever else (that’s PERC), and we are laminating together at the right time and temperature to form a lovely delicious mind-blowing croissant.

We are each coming together with our respective skills, passions, and expertise to bring you, the customer, an exceptional product, experience, as well as a profitable and sustainable business model to properly employee a hard-working staff and maintain a living wage for the long term.

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From here, I will be working full time with Perc to get our bread + pastry game solid as well as our menu offerings and continue to evolve and grow Bread is Good. Bread is good has very much become more of a personal bread brand and I want to continue to evolve it as such. I will be working on a website re-do (thanks so much to the several very unnecessary and annoying comments regarding my website lol, I didn’t ask). I am looking into local makers to diversify my BIG merch offerings: think totes, loaf bags, mugs, etc… swaggifying the Bread is Good brand. I will be amping up and diversifying my teaching and workshop routes (moving it to online somehow), and I will be working on more bread writing. Finally, I will be working to full-circle Bread is Good back to my initial reason for baking : access for all to good food and cooking knowledge as a way of supporting, improving, and enhancing underserved communities through mentorship work, after-school programs, and research and implementation of nutrition + mental health connections.

The future future is still open and yet to be determined, but as I work with PERC to align our vision and goals, there will come a day when a Bread is Good bread house will be on the horizon. A cool place with a chill walk-up window and a dreamy big open kitchen space to teach, to retail, to wholesale, to meet + greet, to connect through bread and to literally break bread together… when we can. The horizon is so bright y’all!!! Thanks for reading and we can’t wait to serve you so so soon!

Cheers + Bread,

Sarah

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BREAD IS GOOD in the Time of CORONA (Part 1)

As we all are painfully painfully aware, life has changed, and life has changed VERY QUICKLY! I don’t know of anyone who has not been impacted whether it be your job, your social network, your finances, your wellbeing, or all of it: WE HAVE ALL BEEN IMPACTED.

I don’t know about you but I am quite frankly exhausted. I think this is mostly because my emotions have seemingly run 17 triathlons these last few weeks: I feel like I run for survival just wanting to keep up, I swim in hope (sometimes fake hope, sometimes fake positivity, but hope nonetheless), and I feel like I’m biking through endless rounds of anxiety. I feel like it’s all uphill and it also feels like there is a swarm of bitchy poisonous bees chasing me so this race never ends. It’s quite fun and my adrenals just absolutely love it ;/

I will say, I feel very lucky and grateful that I’ve been able to maintain my business mostly as is. Before all this, 1/3 of my business was private cooking clients, catering, and popups that have all been suspended, but bread product sales have grown and grown over these last few weeks which also makes me wonder a million things but let’s not get into that right now. I set up Bread is Good as a “contact-less” pre-order only delivery service and I have not needed to change much as we’ve continued through this weird-ass pandemic. I set it up this way trying to find an easier and more profitable (mostly financial but also mentally profitable ) way to get GOOD BREAD to people while also developing a financial model that allows a baker to live and thrive. The current “coffee shop” model of pastry + baked goods is super hard and allows for very low profit margins… with also an incredible amount of wasted time and product which drives me nuts. It’s been a journey and I find myself and my business at a very interesting crossroads right now.

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With the service industry basically shut down overnight, we have all most likely and hopefully witnessed a shift in our community’s perception of good food and the value we place on it. I have watched countless friends lose their jobs, incomes, livelihoods, routines, but also their way of life. Cooking and baking is not just a job for most of my friends in the industry, it is an all encompassing a WAY of life. It’s a passion, a creative force, a way to see in the world, a way to ACT in a world that often doesn’t accept these folks (me included) elsewhere. For some, food and the industry that surrounds it, is the only way for some to truly exist as a human in the world. The service industry is full of weirdos for sure- exhausting, perfectionist, CRAZY ASS CONTROL FREAK weirdos but it’s these weirdos that in my opinion are born with this innate sense to SERVE, to PROVIDE, to NOURISH, TO GIVE… oftentimes at a detriment to themselves. And as we see, we’ve come to a precipice of truly learning, understanding, acknowledging, and then paying for what this service not only gives but what it is truly TRULY worth.

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What brings this whole conversation out for me is this very big, sudden and cool, yet very annoying rise that in popularity that Sourdough baking is incurring at the moment (PUN INTENDED) and thus, the free information and service that a lot of humans feel that they are entitled to just asking me to give right now. It is hard for me to think of another industry where free information isn’t even just requested, it is more often than not demanded. There are so many reasons for this too- blog culture, food influencers, everyone and their mother is a professional chef now, etc etc. And let me clarify, I don’t think most people intend to come across as demanding or have bad intentions, but I just want to raise the flag here that as everyone is feeling this rush to be a sourdough baker that we begin to be understand that the craft, creativity, ingenuity, and service of the cooking and baking industry deserves to maintain a livelihood through the information and service that it provides.

Multiple times a day in the last few weeks I have been asked “can you just give me your recipe?” or “can you just tell me what to do?” MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY. Um sure let me stop doing my actual work which right now which is all consuming and in a compromising situation, condense the last 10 years of my professional life that I’ve worked insanely hard at, and DM you what you should be doing right now not having any information on any of the variable that you may or may not have to be a successful baker. The trying aspect is 2 fold here : 1. the expectation that I just give you my livelihood (time, valuable information, etc) and you just assume you will be successful at it without putting in the time and energy. and 2. that it’s as simple as me emailing you a recipe card. LOLOLOL. I have been scoffed at and made to feel bad when I send people to resources that they can invest in and get the best, tested, valuable, and PROFESSIONAL information. As I’ve come to realize a lot of people don’t want to pay… they don’t want to pay in time or in money, they want it to just be given the information, they just want the free answer.

So here is what I ask: I ask you as a customer of the food industry (this includes restaurants, bakers, bartenders, pizza makers, farmers, growers, apron makers, service staff, janitors, THE LIST GOES ON) to ask yourself: What is the value (now BUT ESPECIALLY when we aren’t in a pandemic) that you put on a farmer’s seeds, on a bakers sourdough, on a small independent grocers inventory, on an independent coffee roasters beans, on a bartenders drink, on a servers simple but invested “how are you?” At the beginning of every one of my baking workshops (which are sadly now on hold indefinitely and I don’t get the internet so Idk if I’ll figure out an online format) I say 1. thank you for investing in this craft, thank you for PAYING for my knowledge and appreciating this thing that mass production has made widely available and therefore widely devalued and 2. I say if you don’t get this, if you don’t enjoy baking at the end of the day, that is fine but hopefully this teaches you how much time, energy, LOVE, PASSION, and SERVICE goes into making good food for you and INVEST in it. INVEST in your COMMUNITY’s FOOD : BUY THE SEEDS, PURCHASE THE DANG COOKBOOK, INVEST IN THE UNDERSTANDING and THE LEARNING of what goes into making that product, it’s TRUE COST, and WHO is employed in making it, and above all realize that these are people’s livelihoods and they just like everyone else deserve to make a living off the craft that they so tirelessly work at. We are also at a precipice in BIG BIG change in how our food system is going to move forward- so let’s re-examine and invest in the good food, let’s invest in the independent grocers (that don’t steal profits from independent producers), lets invest in the delivery drivers, the service providers etc that allow you to be well fed.

As I reach the end of this wordy little diatribe of mine I want to reiterate that it’s not the act of giving that perturbs me. I LOVE GIVING. I GIVE TOO MUCH SOMETIMES as do so many people in the food community. What perturbs me It’s the expectation that the food service industry is just there to give you whatever you need whenever you need it at whatever cost you deem right. And that when you are given this information, you can just do it as well as that human who is investing years and years honing in on this skill. NO. No no no. Appreciate the skill, appreciate the product, buy into it, INVEST IN IT. Finally, I also want to reiterate that this diatribe does not apply to a majority of my customers; the bread is good breadheads are quite a kind pack of investing, loyal, and grateful bread lovers. LIKE THE MOST GRATEFUL KIND HUMANS I HAVE EVER MET. LIKE Y’ALL SLAY ME IN YOUR KINDNESS. I just want to add that.

I hope this doesn’t come across as mean or browbeating although I know it will for some. I love that folks are baking for themselves, planting food, cooking for their health and wellness, but let’s all do the work! I hope that this sets in your mind the premium that we should all be paying for our good food and the SYSTEM that it encompasses: whether its in a local restaurant’s dinner or tried and true recipe you want to try at home. Invest invest invest!

In Part 2 of BREAD IS GOOD IN THE TIME OF CORONA I am going to lay out some sourdough tips, disclaimers, and the best resources I know. Stay tuned!

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Cheers + Bread,

S

Bread is Good is Hiring

Do you like baking? Are you passionate about life? Do you like good music? Do you have goals? Do you show up on time … consistently? Are you a human with good work ethic?

Then Bread is Good is maybe for you! Our small operation is growing and looking for soulful passionate hard working folks to join our team. We are currently looking for a part time set of prep and baking hands. Early mornings and weekends are a must.

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This is a position of growth and lots of possibilities in the future… i.e. we are looking for someone who is a go-getter, a self-starter, a take initiative, a grab life by the dough kind of human!

If this is you, then please send resume to sedodge@gmail.com!

Please include:

  1. a cover letter introducing yourself and your hopes and dreams for the future.

  2. any and all relevant baking / cooking experience.

  3. your favorite song and why.

  4. your weekly availability.

We will be in contact with you next week (January 27th-31st). We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully inviting you into our dough folds ;)

x,

Sarah