If you ’ re willing to try and you ’ ve got a passion for it , you should get out there ,” Shonna said . “ There ’ s so much more information than we ’ ve ever had in our lives . Technology has made it so easy to learn .
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everything from scratch .
She made and sold pies for a restaurant in Perry for many years . She became known as the “ bread lady ” and when her husband and their four kids moved to their new Stillwater farm , she catered for weddings , the Oklahoma State University Botanic Garden events , football games at Boone Pickens Stadium and more .
They ’ ve sold the produce from their farm at the Stillwater Farmer ’ s Market for more than 18 years .
“ The Farmer ’ s Market has been a wonderful test kitchen for us ,” Shonna said .
It ’ s allowed them to try out their seasonal offerings and baked goods on the community . And her continued passion for learning has not dimmed .
“ If you ’ re willing to try and you ’ ve got a passion for it , you should get out there ,” Shonna said . “ There ’ s so much more information than we ’ ve ever had in our lives . Technology has made it so easy to learn .”
Her croissants have become a popular baked good , and the lamination method she uses – 27 layers of dough slathered with butter expressed through her lamination machine at the kitchen – has become second nature .
“ If you ’ re willing to chase it down , you can watch renowned chefs ,” Shonna said . “ You can pick up stuff from , ask them questions . It ’ s wonderful . We love it .”
Shonna regularly watches Tik Tok influencers who make the products she ’ s baking every week . She ’ s joined lamination groups on Facebook and stays connected with what ’ s happening in the baking world , especially French pastries .
“ These are the people that are getting their hands dirty and they ’ re on the trend ,” Shonna said . “ So I ’ m always watching stuff , trying to stay ahead .”
Shonna said this has helped her produce her famous macarons – their store ’ s hottest-selling product .
“ I shared one of our croissants that we ’ ve worked hard to do , and ( one of the guys ) said , ‘ Wait a minute – you ’ re from Oklahoma ? That croissant looked better than the ones we ’ re making in San Francisco .’ I knew we were on the right track ,” she said .
At the storefront
I sit down with Bill at a table in the
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If you ’ re willing to try and you ’ ve got a passion for it , you should get out there ,” Shonna said . “ There ’ s so much more information than we ’ ve ever had in our lives . Technology has made it so easy to learn .
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Bill Richardson checks his berry patches at Persimmon Hill Farm .
storefront bakery on 131 South Main Street .
On February 10 , 2022 , the Richardsons opened the storefront to better serve their customers . Bill retired in 2021 and now focuses more on building their business .
Macarons , pain au chocolat ( filled with chocolate imported from Paris ), bear claws and scones fill the glass cases . On the shelves , bags of fresh bread are ready for purchase . Already , they need to expand as they are out of space in the 50x30 building . As their services have expanded , space and labor have not kept pace .
“( We need ) more space – not only space for people but space for us to be able to grow this ,” Bill said .
They offer over 300 products in 13 categories . Their macarons are their best-selling products . “ Fifty percent of our sales are our macarons ,” Bill said . Their gluten-free products are their fastest-growing product currently , and word has spread across the state . “ We get calls from all over the state for our gluten-free products ,” Bill said .
The nice thing about macarons is that they can be frozen up to a week . And the laminating machine at the kitchen is made in 18-inch-wide sheets – about three feet long and folded over four or five times . The laminated products include the scones , Danish
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