PSA: I heard a customer at my shop say they never buy bread because it's 'just flour and water'

This lady was telling her friend that she doesn't see the point in paying for bread when the ingredients are so cheap. I was in the back and it really got me thinking about how we explain our work. I make a specific sourdough that takes 36 hours from start to finish, with a starter I've kept alive for 5 years. People don't see the time, the skill, or the failed loaves that come before a good one. How do you all talk about the real value of what you make without sounding like you're just making excuses for the price?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana6901mo ago

Wow, she's missing the whole art of it.

fisher.charlie1mo ago

Missing the art? Not really. Sometimes the "art" is just a fancy excuse for doing things the hard way. Diana690, maybe she's not missing anything, maybe she just wants to get the job done without all the extra steps. The point is to make something work, not to make a big show of how you did it. If her way gets the same result faster, that's its own kind of skill. Getting hung up on the "right" way can stop you from seeing a better one.

verafoster1mo ago

Actually, the art is in the result, not just the steps you take to get there. A clean, working fix is its own kind of beauty. Getting hung up on one "right" method can blind you to a smarter way. Why make it harder than it needs to be just for the sake of tradition? Efficiency has its own grace.