By Prashi Agarwal, Staff Reporter
From mixing dry ingredients to taking fresh, warm loaves out of the oven, junior Eleanor Turner knows her way around making bread. Her passion for bread-making started as a hobby, but she has since turned her interest into a business.
Turner launched her business in 2019, with inspiration from her experiences making bread with her dad when she was younger. Now, she sells her bread, seeing around one customer a week.
“My dad has been making bread for a while. Then I started making it with him, but it was boring because he only used one recipe,” Turner said. “So, I tried more recipes to build upon his work.”
Turner has expanded her business through the use of an Instagram account she created last year, @turnylovesloaves, which she dedicates to photos of her bread. She also creates videos to advertise her loaves, which she generally sells for $5 to $7.
Her target audience is usually high schoolers, but Turner has also sold her bread to others outside of Conestoga. This past year, Turner baked around 30 loaves for 15 customers. She hopes that, through her Instagram account, she can reach a wider audience and make bread for a variety of customers.
“The Instagram account showcases my bread to an audience and really shows that, ‘Hey, I make bread!’” Turner said. “You can get this bread which I sell for a reasonable price.”
Junior Allie Naiva, a returning customer, has helped Turner throughout the process of building her business in the bread-making world.
“I find (the business) quite amusing. It started out as just her baking bread every other week, and I suggested she should make an Instagram account,” Naiva said. “Occasionally, I’ll go over to her house and help her film, and it’s become like a fun little project to do, which I’ve been trying to help her to work this into a business.”
While baking bread is an enjoyable hobby for Turner, she said that balancing her business with her schedule is a challenge.
“Making bread takes the whole day, so if I have plans I would have to shift them around, and I can’t bake bread at night or I miss the rising time,” Turner said. “I always plan ahead before I make a loaf. I have to look at my schedule and make sure I’m not over-planning for one day or promising to make bread for too many people in one weekend.”
Alongside Turner’s inspiration from her dad, her friends have also have helped her manage the responsibilities of running a business.
“My friends definitely are my biggest supporters. They have helped me through this process,” Turner said. “Last year, I would bring bread every Monday at lunch so they could test and review. My friends have always been there for me, cheering me on and making sure my business is thriving.”
Prashi Agarwal can be reached at [email protected].
