Had to choose between sourdough and quick bread for my farmers market table in Portland

I started selling at the Saturday market in Portland 3 months ago and had to decide whether to focus on sourdough loaves or banana quick breads. The sourdough takes 3 days to make but sells for $8 a loaf, while the quick bread is done in 2 hours and goes for $5. I went with sourdough because the regulars seemed to want something artisan, but now I'm wondering if I missed out on faster profit. Has anyone else made this call and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade73819d ago

Actually read a blog from a baker in Eugene who tried both and she ended up sticking with quick breads in the end. Her reasoning was that sourdough regulars are super picky and will drop you if your starter gets even a tiny bit off, while quick bread people are just happy to have something homemade. Your mileage may vary but she said the quick bread turnover let her experiment with seasonal flavors like marionberry or hazelnut which kept people coming back. Portland crowds can be fickle too, some weekends they want rustic loaves other weekends they just want something sweet with their coffee. Might be worth doing a test run with a few quick breads on the side and seeing which one actually sells out faster.

patriciasingh19d ago

That quick bread crowd just wants something good without all the fuss, which is true for lots of things in life.