Chefs Converge for Private Workshop...

This past Wednesday, a group of Culinary Arts Student Chefs and their instructor, Chef Wong (pictured on my right), traveled from Chaffey College in Chino, California, to Random Acts of Breadness in Burbank, to attend a private artisan sourdough workshop.

I was more than honored to show these student chefs how we make our organic, gluten-neutral sourdough breads. But more importantly, I shared with them some of the business aspects of starting their own retail food concept, should they wish to embark on such an adventure at some point in their culinary journey.

And I planted the seed that if they were totally passionate about what they were doing, they have a much better chance of being a success!



The Mayo Clinic Weighs In...
It's not often that well-known medical media makes a point to promote the benefits of healthy food, but this was sent to me by a friend and it's too good not to share.

Random Acts of Breadness began as an act of giving, Christmas, 2016. It was never intended to become a business, let alone a retail food establishment on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank. But public demand led to my decision to go for it, and the "bread angels" helped to make it happen.

Our Grand Opening weekend, August 2021, was successful beyond my wildest dreams. And we had a waiting list for the following weekend. The bread I meticulously made in my kitchen for almost 5 years, was now being made in much larger quantities, but at the same level of quality as at home.

As our micro-bakery took off, I continued to learn and refine the art of artisan sourdough bread. My focus was mostly on promotion (reaching as many people as possible) and production (keeping the standard of quality I had set). 

Pricing our bread at $16 for the Artisan Country Loaf and $23 for our Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan sourdough was determined by the cost of ingredients and the time it took to produce the breads, prepared by skilled staff over the 3-day period of this time-honored process. 

I also had to take into account the cost of having a retail space, utilities, insurance, payroll, permits, business taxes, equipment purchases/upkeep, packaging, supplies, and many other things I hadn't thought of when starting this venture. 

The pricing of $16/$23 for the full-size loaves worked for the first several months. But then costs of much of the above had been going up, slowly at first, then more rapidly. I didn't realize how much inflation was taking its toll until I saw the price of our organic bread flour go from $7.26 per 5 pound bag to $9.79 for the same 5 pound bag over a 2-year period. That's a 35% increase! And being that our bread is the majority of our bakery sales, selling the same amount of bread over weeks and months, we've actually been losing money.

Our suppliers of olive oil, balsamic vinegars, jams and other items all had price increases during this time, and we had to raise our prices for those items when we were notified of the increases. But I kept our bread prices the same.

After 3+ years, this will be our first price increase for sourdough breads. Starting the week of November 4th, the cash prices for our full-size Artisan Country Loaves will be $20; the petite/bread bowl size, $15. The full-size Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan sourdough will be $29; the petite size, $23. Sourdough Crisps will be $8 a bag. (Credit card and online sales will be slightly higher, as before.) Our Keto-friendly blueberry muffins and Choco Chip Chookies, having been introduced in the last couple of months, will maintain the same prices.

As you can imagine, this was a tough decision to make. But I believe in this bakery, our products, our staff, our customers and community. And I want to continue to bring a little more happiness (and healthiness) to you as we move forward.

Thank you for your understanding, and I welcome a reply with your thoughts if you wish.

Chef Randall

Final Weekend for Spooky Sourdough...
Most of our Country Loaf boules this month have Alyssa's Halloween Handiwork on display. Be sure to ask for a Jack-o-Lantern design when picking up your loaf/loaves (while supplies last...).

This Week's Fresh & Frozen Breadness...

Here's what's available from our hand-crafted kitchen this week:

> Choco Chip Chookies! - Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Keto/Plant Paradox-friendly (4 per bag)
> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaves (full-size boule, batard, petite)
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Loaves (full-size boule, petite)
> Artisan Sourdough Crisps (Naked, Herb, Smoked, Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan)
> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaf Rolls! (4 per bag) 
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Rolls! (3 per bag)
> Blueberry Muffins! - Gluten-free, Sugar-free* Keto/Plant Paradox-friendly
> Beverages - Chocolate Chill, Balsamic Breeze
> Popsicles - Pineapple Coconut Cream!
* Blueberries contain natural fructose

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 (but we might be making more, in which case the counter will be set to the available quantity).

Also, we can slice your bread(s) different thicknesses. Our most popular are Medium (about 1/2") and Thin (about 3/8") but we can do in between as well. Just ask! If ordering on line, enter your slicing preference(s) in the Special Instructions box during Checkout.

And Remember... we also carry the finest and freshest Organic Olive Oils from Ojai, Aged Balsamics from Modena, Keto-friendly Nut Butters from Yemetz Family Farms and NuttZo, Jamazing Jams from Laura Ann in Eagle Rock, Solar Grown Honey Spreads from Clif Family in Napa, Tasty Tapenades from Lisa Grabow in Pasadena, and the Best Butters from Raw Farm in Fresno.

Do we ship? Absolutely! 
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. If you live outside of So Cal, we can now ship 2-Day Air (or Ground service) on Wednesday (unsliced bread) for Friday delivery (orders that require 2-Day Air shipping must be in by Wednesday morning!). Join our growing list of nationwide customers who look forward to receiving their Breadness deliveries on a regular basis!

Let's Connect!
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.