taking a break from my sourdough bakery: am I letting my customers down by taking time off?

I'll be honest...when Matt and I started Mrs. Saradough a little over a year ago, I didn't think I was going to have such a difficult time taking time off.

One of the most important things to us was that we put our family and our needs over those of the business. We wanted to run the business, not have the business run us. But then...

We found out we weren't just building a business. We were building a community.

Mrs. Saradough herself takes center stage in the farmers market booth.

We knew it when we'd prep our online orders for our weekly porch pick ups and see the same names over and over and over again.

We knew it when we started going to the farmers market and saw how quickly our sourdough became a must have item.

When our clients became our regulars and our regulars became our friends, we knew this business was more than just a transaction and a smile.

We've made connections that go well beyond the exchange of cash for carbs.

We've made a fanbase, people who have fallen so deeply in love with our bread (and dare I say, us?) that they make it their mission to share Mrs. Saradough with their most beloved friends.

Which is why I find myself so conflicted when it comes to taking time off for my family, my health, my sanity or any other reason for that matter.

Mrs. Saradough presenting a freshly baked sesame crusted challah bread.

I feel like I'm letting my community down when I turn the oven off for more than a day or two. I feel like I owe something to everyone who buys our bread, whether it's their first order or they've lost count. I feel like I don't want to miss the thrill of the farmers market and the opportunity to be the bread on your Easter table.

I'm going to enjoy these nine days off, but I will be thinking about all my breadsties while I'm out of the bakery.

Many of you have gone from total strangers to a huge part of my life...literally the reason I wake up and put on my clogs and apron every morning. So while I'm sad to be away from you over the next week and a half...

I am already excited for the rejuvenation this time off will provide and even more excited for how that fresh feeling is going to carry me and Mrs. Saradough through the hot hot heat of another scorching Arizona summer.

We'll make it through together. I'll see you on the porch (since the Farmers Market will be closed)!

❤️, Sara