About Me and My Bread Journey
Oct. 7 | 5 minute read
Entering college, everyone around me was starting to form ideas about what their 4-year plan was, what classes they wanted to take, and mainly what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. I had all of these same thoughts. However, at the back of my mind, I always knew my dream job was to own a donut food truck. The explanation, I don’t know. It’s just what felt right to me. The type of idea I kept coming back to. People would chuckle or dismiss my idea, thinking it was another “childish dream”. But that didn’t bother me, I understood where they were coming from. Even I, at times, thought the dream was a little ridiculous and far-fetched. But that made me even more sure that it was something that would come true because of how seriously I was considering it, and how motivated I was to show-off my true hobby behind the window of a food truck someday.
Slowly, throughout college, this dream developed, but I was always too busy to actually invest any time into the hobby. Until second semester senior year, when I was in a total of 7 credits and had nothing but time. I bought my first recipe book, and hit the ground running.
I remember the day I bought that recipe book very clearly, like a lightbulb memory. I was getting lunch with my dad, mom and grandpa. A day I had nothing but time so I knew it was going to be one of those days where I was relaxed and not in a rush - really able to take in life’s moments. We were waiting in the long windy line of Zingerman’s Deli, a locally loved Ann Arbor restaurant. This line takes you through all the different parts of the store hoping you’ll buy one of their products as you wait to order. And it worked. I walked past the recipe book section and one book in particular stood out to me: Zingerman’s Bakehouse. Living in Ann Arbor, Michigan my whole life, I had always gone to Zingerman’s and admired their company culture and quality bread. It was a dream of mine to create bread of Zingerman’s quality one day.
Me and my first cookbook!
I’ll be the first to admit it, I was not good at the beginning, far from it. I undercooked my dough, religiously mixed up teaspoon and tablespoon measurements. But you have to start somewhere! My passion is what drove me to continue despite the failures, adjust and try again. Gradually I started getting a hang of the basic recipes and expanded my view to more complex baked goods, like sourdough and croissants. These taught me patience and what it took to really be a baker (7am wake ups after staying up until 2am proofing the dough, etc.). I continued to add to my recipe book collection and even experimented with taking custom orders from friends.
My first ever loaf - challah! And my lovely friends who supported me every step of the way. Even the early stages where my photography skills were, to say the least, sub-par.
After graduation, I’m sure my friends were wondering if this “passion project” - coined by one of my friends - would continue. I moved to Chicago and started my full time job as a data scientist. It took me a little to get settled and have the time to resume bread making. But once I found the time, I spent it kneading, proofing, buying flour, etc. If anything, my dream expanded and grew once I got to Chicago. While still balancing my full time job, I now have grown my mini-hobby into a small business. I’ve since bought insurance, a tax license, published a website, and continue to expand my ideas everyday. I’m really excited to see where the bread future takes me and thank you to everyone who has followed the journey. And if you’re new, welcome! I can’t wait to bring you along with me!
A glimpse into how far I’ve come in both my bread making and ability to capture my creations!
I know my journey is still just beginning, but each day I feel prouder of where I came from and know I’m working in the direction of my donut food truck! The ridiculous dream that I have doubted is getting closer and closer to reality!