training either in school or in other bakeries!
All of that work goes into teaching people
how to make a product that sells on average
for $5/loaf! So I suppose the toughest part
has been figuring out the true cost of our
products, and conveying that to our
customers and broader society so that we
can be viable in the long term.
b) The truth is, the toughest part for me so
far in terms of owning a business has been
the intricacy of managing interpersonal
relationships and encounters with customers
and staff. I am a very strong yet emotional
person, and I take every interaction very
seriously and personally. The truth is, to be a
“successful” business owner, I feel that I
have had to put a lot of my own feelings/
desires/well-being aside. It is much like
being a parent, I imagine. Suddenly your
world is consumed by looking after others
and making sure their needs are met. I don’t
think I was prepared for that. I am still trying
to find a balance of making others around
me healthy, happy, and satisfied, while taking
care of myself adequately.
6. If you had one item in shop that represents
BBU, what would it be and why?
I would say it is the focaccia, because it
epitomizes my philosophy on bread making.
It embodies time, patience, precision, and
dedication. The focaccia that I make takes a
very delicate hand, a lot of patience and faith
in the process, and it feels like a mini miracle
every time it comes out successfully. I love
the feeling of creating something so extreme
(in the world of bread, this particular
focaccia is very extreme), and seeing people
react so positively to it gives me a lot of
pride. It is a bread that can only be done by
hand, because it requires a delicate mixing
process, and so it keeps me connected to
the bread-making process in a way that other
breads don’t.
From start to finish, our focaccia takes 20-24
hours depending on the season. We preferment a large portion of the dough overnight,
and then mix the final dough first thing in
the morning by hand (because of how wet it
is) and then give it a long final rise with a
series of folds, which helps strengthen the
dough over the course of its fermentation.
When you first mix the final dough, it seems
hard to imagine that bread will come of it,
but it always does.
7. What is your hope for the future of BBU?
My hope is that BBU can have a long and
healthy life, and can always be a happy
place for those who work there and eat
there. My philosophy on relationships
(romantically and otherwise) is not
necessarily about length of time or
forever-ness, but rather about continuing on
as long as all parties involved are happy and
fulfilled. I adopt the same mentality with my
relationship to the bakery. When I named
the bakery, I left my name out of it purposely.
Like most beautiful things and radical
movements, they are a collective effort. My
hope is to build BBU up in a way that it can
go on without me. Like a good parent, I want
to raise my baby so that it doesn’t need me
anymore. That is my hope for the bakery.
8. What do you love most about your job?
I love that I can see the fruits of my labour
every day. I love that I can smell and taste
them. I love that every day presents a new
challenge, and that if I fail, tomorrow is
always a new day. I love that on the best of
days, the trance of baking and listening to
music makes me forget about the passing of
time, and for those hours it is just me and my
work. The list goes on and on, but you get it!
Bread By Us
1065 Wellington St. West, Ottawa, ON
WWW.EATINEATOUT.CA
75