Welcome back to The Bread Winner Podcast! In this episode, I’m reflecting on January—what went well, what didn’t, and the lessons I’m carrying forward into February for my in-home sourdough microbakery. This month brought some big changes to my baking schedule, unexpected learning moments, and valuable insights into optimizing my business for growth.

I dive into:

• My new market and porch pickup schedule and how it’s helping me streamline my workload.
• A few humbling baking mishaps (hello, overproofed sandwich loaves and salt-less focaccia) and what I’m doing to prevent them in the future.
• How preorders at the market have been going.
• Experimenting with new products like pizza crusts and brownies—and how I decide what stays on the menu.
• The power of delegation and how my assistant is saving me time and stress.
• Tracking my working hours to get a realistic view of my time investment in the bakery.
• The importance of improving systems to avoid repeated mistakes and keep scaling sustainably.

Plus, I’m sharing some February plans, including increasing variety at markets, strengthening community connections, and creating better work-life boundaries.

I'd love to hear from you—what lessons did you learn in January? Screenshot this episode and tag me on Instagram with your biggest takeaway, and you might just get a coffee on me!

If this episode resonated with you, I’d love it if you could take a moment to rate and review the show. Your support helps The Bread Winner Podcast reach more microbakery owners like you!

Watch this episode on YouTube:

Links you might need:

Grab my Recipe Calculator Spreadsheet: https://stan.store/Carolinebower_sourdough/p/get-my-recipe-calculator-spreadsheet-now

Find links to all of my favorite everyday products, including dough bins and starter containers: carolinebower.com/links

Download the FREE Guide and Checklist, Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery at  https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist to begin building YOUR thriving microbakery! 

Caroline Bower Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinebower_sourdough

Mentioned in this episode:

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