Donna Kelly stayed up until 1:30 a.m. in the morning to finish baking. When she was done, she had 20 loaves of home-baked sourdough bread.
Later, that same morning, regular customers who love Kelly's bread clamored to get a special loaf of the bread they love, putting a major dent in her inventory. She was sold out by 10:30 a.m.
Josh Rose was lucky enough to get the last loaf. He purchased a loaf the week before, which he thoroughly enjoyed for breakfast each morning, he said.
"I cut it in four chunks, and then I sliced the chunks," he said. He put the slices in his toaster for breakfast. Kelly's homemade recipe kept him coming back for more, he said.
The bread baker said the age-old recipe is something that our great, great, great-grandmas used to make. "I'm not bragging on myself," she said, "but it's good."
Sourdough bread is different, as it's made without any yeast. A basic recipe of salt, flour and water has to sit for quite some time. It pulls the yeast out of the air, she explained, and a starter takes a little while to get brewing. "You can't hurry the process," she said.
Kelly is only able to bake about three loaves in her oven at a time, so it takes her hours to build an inventory of 20 loaves. She makes plain sourdough and a crowd favorite that features jalapenos and cheese. The three cups of cheese and 1 cup of jalapenos are the treasured ingredients that create a delicious bread, she said, laughing.
Kelly also offers vegetables and salsa at her vendor booth at Mountain Happenings at Sims Corner. She joined in May after co-founder and fellow vendor, LaSandra McKeever, urged her to sell some produce. Kelly used to give away a lot of vegetables to neighbors and friends but was encouraged to sell her bounty.
"I felt bad about taking money from my neighbors, but I got over it," she quipped.
Kelly plans to continue baking her bread and selling it at the farmers market at Sims. It's her labor of love. Most importantly, she's got some die-hard fans.
"My husband is addicted to it," she said, laughing.
