We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Harryman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

In-home sourdough micro-bakeries are one of the latest small business trends that is taking social media by storm.

With Covid spurring an increase in domestic hobbies as well as fueling a desire towards healthy living, is it any wonder that sourdough has grown in popularity?

When I started my micro-bakery in January 2024, I had doubts as to how much demand there would be. Lots of families I knew were making sourdough for their families and I had a feeling the other bakers on social media who were having success were an exception.

Well, 6 months in to running my own cottage bakery and I am proud to say that there is quite the demand for homemade organic sourdough. I even have plenty of competitors just within the city of Keller, TX.

But is this trend here to stay?

I think sourdough is having its “moment”. How long this “moment” is going to last is hard to say.

I had an opportunity to sit down with Stijn Vanorbeek, the CEO of Simply Bread Co. and inventor of the Simply Bread Oven, while he was in Dallas, TX two months ago.

His company has seen a tremendous increase in demand for their residential-friendly bread ovens. A demand he did not anticipate.

Akin to the sourdough micro-baker, he quickly scaled his company to meet the demand for his efficient bread oven. In just a few years, the Simply Bread Co. oven has become the status symbol of success for most in-home micro-bakers, reducing total bake time to 1/3 or more for most bakers.

While I have personally invested in a Simply Bread Oven (not an affiliate), I too question how long this trend will last. I am constantly preparing for the day I may need to pivot.

As any small business owner, if you choose to ride the wave of a trend, be prepared for the day you may need to return to shore.

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

My name is Emily Harryman & I got my start baking alongside my grandmother in Pacifica, a small seaside town near San Francisco, CA.

My background is actually in cakes. I was self taught and dreamed of having my own bakery. I was fortunate enough to compete on Food Network’s Cake Wars, winning my first competition on the Minecraft Episode and taking third in the Champions Lego Episode.

After I got married, I worked at Susie Cakes Bakery in Dallas, TX and quickly realized that running a bakery is incredibly consuming in every area of your life.

Shortly after starting my time at Susie Cakes, my husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby. I was working two jobs, opening at the bakery at 5am (or earlier) and picking up my full-time job from 9am-6pm. It was a grind and my dreams of baking professionally were dwarfed by this new season of life…and rightfully so.

Six years later, our family of five was facing a very difficult year. We relocated from PA to TX, with my husband starting a new job with a substantial pay-cut. We had a need for supplemental income, but wanted to continue homeschooling our kids.

I had been baking organic sourdough for our family and had seen other moms on social media selling their bread from their homes under their state cottage food law requirements.

Intrigued, I researched how they did it, made a business plan, and hit the ground running. I give all credit & glory to God for my business’s success. Soli Deo Gloria all the way!

I now pre-sell organic sourdough, macarons, scones, and more from my home about once a week and have also had the privilege of hosting pop-up markets at A House With Books Shop in Keller, TX and at Anthropologie in Fort Worth, TX.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Oh my. It is has been a whirlwind, but something that has stuck with me was living the baker’s nightmare.

The day before all of my orders were due, I checked on my bread proofing in my fridge and it had ALL over proofed. Instead of beautiful, round bellied loaves, this dough was going to produce flat, ciabatta-like bread. Not what my customers paid for.

I didn’t have enough time to remake & cold ferment the dough. My customers had pre-paid and were expecting bread the very next day.

What’s a baker supposed to do?

Explain the situation. Offer restitution via refund or free loaf the following week.

And, above all, be humble.

I expected this episode to, at the very least, ruffle some feathers and possibly lose my little business all together. Who wants an inconsistent product?

What I learned was, it truly pays to be honest and put your customers first.

My customers were so understanding and not one requested a refund.

Business not only continued, but GREW, and trust was established.

While I pray that never ever happens to me again, I am grateful for the opportunity to show my loyalty to my customers & dedication to quality.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I scaled! No loans, but lots of saving.

I will say, in my industry & especially as a cottage baker, it is very easy to scale slowly, with little overhead.

Be smart with your spending. Track everything you spend on your business to make it easier come time for taxes.

Do it right from the start.

(I am still preaching this to myself as I’m still working through the business to-do list!)

Slow and steady wins the race.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @plainjane.bakes
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555873642998&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

Heidi Sears Photography – Lemon Raspberry Cake Photo