Breadness Buzz - A Cut Above, Birthday Breadness, Prices Rising...

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“Randall’s sourdough bread is THE BEST we have EVER tasted. We want to give him our credit card so he can just ship it to us every week!” — P.F. & D.C.

NOTE: If this is your first Breadness Buzz, or if you've been part of our tribe but missed earlier posts, visit the Breadness Buzz Archive here and catch up on this content written especially for you. It's a great way to meet like-minded artisan sourdough aficionados and be part of this journey I started back in 2016. And now for this week's Buzz...

Many years ago, Cyndie and I received a beautiful walnut/maple guitar-shaped cutting/charcuterie board as a gift from our longtime friends, Wally & Terry August, founders of Fancifull Gifts on Melrose Avenue in LA. What a beautiful piece of functional art! Being a musician and a food aficionado, it was the perfect gift! That cutting board became a fixture on our counter and as you can see, got lots of use, especially once I started making artisan sourdough bread at home. (This is a full-size guitar body measuring 26" x 13")

When I opened Random Acts of Breadness, I wanted to carry this cutting board so our customers could have a unique gifting option. It was not easy locating the artist who made that board, but I finally tracked him down and had a phone conversation about what I was looking for. Turns out this guy David used to work for Fender, the world-renown guitar, bass and instrument amplifier manufacturer based out of Fullerton, California. After he left Fender he started his own woodworking business. This guitar-shaped cutting board was one of his products. By the time I contacted him, he was no longer making this exact shape, not wanting to infringe on Fender's copyrighted headstock (the part on the right at the end of the neck). So I saw the boards he was now making and they had a more generic headstock and the body was now symmetrical, more like a Gibson 335. (Though you may not know what a Gibson 335 is, I'm sure you've heard many guitar parts and solos played by the amazing Larry Carlton that appeared on albums by Steely Dan [The Royal Scam] and Joni Mitchell [Court and Spark] to name but two...)

LARRY CARLTON WITH HIS GIBSON 335 SEMI-HOLLOW BODY GUITAR

David was now making a smaller guitar cutting board (20" x 10") with wood options of Walnut, Sapele and Wenge to go with the maple through-body neck design. My first order was for a few of each wood variation. And David had the capability of etching our Random Acts of Breadness logo on the headstock!

Needless to say, I was blown away when the first shipment arrived in time for Christmas 2021! We sold several of these and when December 2022 came around, I had another shipment of these boards arrive, along with a couple of full-size Wenge boards.

Last month we sold our last Breadness RockStar cutting/charcuterie board to a customer who bought it for her husband, an avid guitar player. She sent me this photo of our board sitting in its rightful place on his guitar rack.

Although these boards are presently out of stock at the bakery, not to worry. I'll be placing an order for the next round of Breadness boards (after David gets back from celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary in Hawaii!). Once back in stock, they will be visible on our website and available for purchase at our bakery once again.

Random Acts of Breadness was founded on giving so we're more than happy to keep that tradition alive by giving away loaves to our awesome customers who complete their Frequent Flour Rewards Cards. Is your photo featured in this group?

Frequent Flour Rewards Card members also get a free Petite Loaf and Birthday Bling in celebration of their special day! Here are some recent Birthday Breadness Beneficiaries...

Order the above (and any of our other artisan products) at breadness.com/#shop. If a product is visible in the online shop, it's in stock. If you don't see a product in the online shop, it's sold out.

In our business, (bread) rising is a good thing. But as a small business, we're affected by changes in the economy which result in rising prices. I've held the line as long as possible with our pricing that was set in 2021. A few months ago our jam lady, Laura Ann, had to increase her cost due to an increase in the cost of glass jars. We raised the price of her jams by $1. Raw Farm has also had to raise their prices so we've raised our butter price from $15 to $17 a pound (and $5 a stick). Ojai Olive Oil Company products have gone up as well; their balsamic vinegars now sell for $22 per 250ml bottle while their organic olive oils are now $24/$32 for 250ml/375ml bottles. Their Signature Olive Oil 375ml bottle is now $36. For now we're keeping our artisan sourdough bread prices the same despite ingredients costs having gone up about 25% from when we first opened. At some point, our bread prices will need to go up a bit, but as long as we can build up our Thursday business, and eventually open on Wednesday, I can keep our bread prices where they're at for the moment. One thing's for sure, we will never compromise the quality of the breads we make or the products we carry!

Random Acts of Breadness is located at 2214 West Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank (2-1/2 blocks east of Buena Vista on the south side of the street). Come to the bakery and sample our artisan wares, or order on line for bakery pickup, or have Breadness delivered or shipped to your door. You may also order by phone at 818-562-7303 and pay when you come pick it up. We're open Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Reminder: If you (or someone you wish to gift) live within 120 miles of Los Angeles, we can ship on Wednesday or Thursday (via UPS Ground) and in most cases your Breadness Box will arrive on Thursday or Friday. Place your order before Wednesday morning here.

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