We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Johansen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

Most people are shocked when I tell them I had never baked from scratch before starting this business. Truthfully? I hated being in the kitchen. Uber Eats was my best friend for YEARS. I barely even made boxed brownies or cake mix, that’s how much I disliked cooking and baking.

And to make it even crazier… when I first started sourdough, I didn’t even own a real oven. Years ago we had a contained fire in ours and because I never cooked, I never bothered replacing it. My very first loaves were made in an air fryer oven.

Once orders started coming in and people actually believed in what I was creating, I bought a new oven and kept going.

There’s something powerful about discovering a talent you didn’t even know lived inside of you. Passion changes everything. You become obsessed with growing, improving, perfecting your craft and proving to yourself that no excuse is bigger than your purpose.

From breakdowns to breakthroughs.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Breakthrough Bakery was never supposed to happen. Honestly, if you knew me before this business, you’d probably laugh hearing that I now own a sourdough microbakery. I hated being in the kitchen. I barely cooked, rarely baked, and Uber Eats was basically my best friend for years. I didn’t grow up baking from scratch, I didn’t go to culinary school, and when I first discovered sourdough, I didn’t even own a real oven. My oven had been damaged years earlier and I never bothered replacing it. My very first loaves were made in a small air fryer oven on my counter.

This business started from something much deeper than bread.

For a long time, I felt empty. I felt like my soul was searching for something more, something that belonged to me. A talent. A purpose. A passion outside of simply surviving life’s responsibilities. I became a teen mom twice, and from a very young age my life became nonstop. I was constantly working, going to school, raising children, managing responsibilities, and fighting to create financial stability for my family because I refused to let becoming a teen mom define or limit the version of myself I could become.

In the middle of all of that, I struggled heavily with mental health challenges. Anxiety and depression were consuming me in ways that were difficult to explain. I felt stuck in survival mode for years. Looking back now, I truly think Breakthrough Bakery was born out of desperation to pull myself out of the rabbit hole I was in. I needed something that made me feel alive again. I needed something that was mine. What started as curiosity with sourdough slowly became therapy, healing, purpose, and eventually passion.

Once I realized I had a talent for this, something shifted in me completely. I became obsessed with learning, improving, creating, and challenging myself. The kitchen, the same place I once hated, became the place where I rediscovered myself. That passion became Breakthrough Bakery, a name that truly reflects my life and my journey. The business was built during one of the hardest and most transformative periods of my life, and it became proof that breakthroughs really can come from breakdowns.

Today, Breakthrough Bakery is a retail food licensed traveling sourdough microbakery based in New Jersey. I specialize in handcrafted sourdough breads, bagels, pastries, desserts, and specialty creations made with organic ingredients, no seed oils, and a 100+ year old sourdough starter. Everything is naturally fermented and made with intention. While sourdough bread is the foundation of the business, I’ve built a brand that goes beyond “just bread.” My menus include everything from artisan loaves and stuffed muffins to sourdough cinnamon rolls, cookies, brownies, bagels, and event exclusive flavors that people genuinely look forward to.

One thing that sets Breakthrough Bakery apart is creativity. I love creating unique flavors and experiences that people can’t easily find elsewhere. Some of our most popular items include our Double Chocolate Espresso loaf, Lavender Herbs loaf, stuffed muffins, Biscoff cinnamon rolls, and seasonal specialty drops. I frequently create event exclusive items for pop ups and collaborations because I want every experience with the brand to feel exciting and memorable.

Another thing that makes the business different is the story behind it. I’m not someone who came from generations of bakers or had this perfectly mapped out business plan. I built this while working a full time HR career, raising my family, juggling life’s chaos, and learning everything from scratch. I think people connect deeply with that honesty and authenticity. Customers aren’t just supporting a bakery, they’re supporting resilience, growth, community, and someone who refused to quit on herself.

Community is one of the biggest pillars of my brand. I collaborate often with breweries, boutiques, coffee shops, farms, markets, and other small businesses because I truly believe small businesses grow stronger together. I love creating experiences where people gather, connect, and feel welcomed. Whether it’s a farmers market, a pop up, or a preorder pickup, I want people to feel like they’re part of something bigger than a transaction.

What I’m most proud of is not just the growth of the bakery itself, but who I became while building it. This business helped me rebuild my confidence, rediscover joy, and finally feel connected to myself again. Watching customers return week after week, seeing people line up for products I once made nervously in a tiny air fryer oven, and hearing customers say Breakthrough Bakery has become part of their family traditions. That means everything to me.

The biggest thing I want people to know about me and my brand is that Breakthrough Bakery is built with heart. Every loaf, every event, every collaboration, every late night and early morning carries a piece of my story. I want people to know that it’s okay to start messy, start scared, or start without experience. Sometimes the most beautiful things come from the most unexpected places.

At the end of the day, Breakthrough Bakery is about more than sourdough. It’s about resilience, healing, passion, community, and proving to yourself that you are capable of far more than you ever imagined.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

One of the biggest tools that has helped grow my business has been social media but, it’s also been one of my biggest struggles. Once I decided I wanted to expand Breakthrough Bakery, I knew I needed to truly show up online and engage with people. At first, I thought I had to become some kind of “Instagram personality” to be successful. But that faded pretty quickly because it just wasn’t genuine to who I am.

For years, I carried a lot of shame surrounding my mental health. Before starting my business, many people in my own family didn’t even realize how extensive my struggles had been. When the bakery first started taking off, my mental health was actually thriving. I finally felt like I had found purpose and passion. But eventually, I hit a very difficult rock bottom again. I was trying so hard to navigate my anxiety, depression, and overall mental health while still running a business and showing up for my family and customers.

One day, I decided to be honest about it on my business Instagram. I shared pieces of what I was going through and asked my customers for patience while I worked on getting the help and support I needed. That moment changed everything for me.

I quickly realized that people didn’t want a perfectly curated version of me. They wanted me. Being vulnerable was terrifying, because it meant openly acknowledging something I had spent years trying to hide. But it also created a level of connection that couldn’t be manufactured or replicated. What started as a scary post became therapeutic not only for me, but for others too.

My platform became more than just sourdough. Yes, you’ll still see artisan loaves, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and all the bakery content but you’ll also see conversations about mental health, healing, resilience, motherhood, burnout, anxiety, depression, and the reality of trying to build a dream while battling your own mind some days.

It became a space where people could vent, share experiences, exchange resources, and feel less alone. I think that transparency is a huge part of what sets Breakthrough Bakery apart. The business was built from real struggle, real healing, and real determination. I’m not just selling sourdough, I’m showing people what it looks like to keep going, even when life feels heavy.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the hardest lessons I had to unlearn was thinking that everyone currently in my life was meant to come along on my business journey.

When I first started Breakthrough Bakery, I wanted everyone around me to understand the vision, support the grind and celebrate the wins with me. But growth changes you. It changes your priorities, your mindset and the way you move through life. Not everyone is comfortable with that change. Some people only know the version of you that played small, stayed quiet or put everyone else first.

There were moments where I felt hurt, confused and even guilty realizing certain people couldn’t come with me into this next chapter. But I’ve learned that not every relationship is meant for every season. Some people are assigned to your comfort zone, not your breakthrough and that’s okay!

Something people also don’t talk about enough is grieving your old life while simultaneously walking through new doors. Growth can be beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. You can be proud of who you’re becoming while mourning the version of yourself, the relationships and the comfort you once had. I’m learning that grieving during growth is okay. It doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful. It means you’re human.

Building this business taught me that protecting your peace, your passion and your purpose sometimes means accepting distance, setting boundaries and continuing forward anyway. The people truly meant for your journey will clap when you win, support you when you struggle and never make you feel guilty for growing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @breakthrough_bakery

Image Credits

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