The Bread Winner Podcast

Caroline Bower
  • 5.0 (41)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Semiweekly

Welcome to The Bread Winner Podcast, the show for microbakery owners who want to create a successful microbakery without spending every waking minute in the kitchen. I'm Caroline Bower, and I bake over 100 loaves a week from my home while still getting 8 hours of sleep and having time to be fully present in the important moments with my family. If you're looking to build a thriving sourdough business from your home, you're in the right place. Every Thursday, I'll be sharing new episodes packed with practical advice on everything from marketing and sales to process optimization and real-life strategies to maintain a healthy, intentional lifestyle. We'll dive into how to get started, attract (and keep) your first raving customers, plan your ideal week, scale your operations, and price your products. Plus, we'll occasionally have some fantastic guests who are experts in the sourdough world. This podcast is all about giving you the tools and confidence to cultivate business that fits into your life, not the other way around. So, hit that subscribe button, do your next round of coil folds then grab a cup of coffee and get comfy for the next 20 minutes. Let's start building your dream microbakery together!

  1. 5d ago

    140. Am I the Bottleneck in My Own Bakery?

    I am still the one doing every single 4 a.m. morning. I am still the primary production baker in my own bakery. And somewhere in the last six months I realized I am not meant to be that person forever. This week is a real, unscripted six-month review, March through August, using the same four questions I ask every single month: what's working, what's not, what I learned, and how I'm moving forward. I get into the messy middle of building a team, why I closed the bakery for three weeks in July and how a workshop paid for it, the real numbers behind walking away from my longtime farmers market, and the identity question I've been sitting with lately about whether I'm a baker or a business owner who bakes. 🎯 The Seen and Sold Sprint is back in October. Get on the waitlist before spots open: https://carolinebower.myflodesk.com/sprintwaitlist 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast 🍞 The Bread Winner Inner Circle opens twice a year. Get on the waitlist: https://www.carolinebower.com/innercircle 📋 Download the FREE checklist, Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist 🧮 Grab the Profit & Pricing Calculator: https://www.carolinebower.com/calculator ✉️ Join my email list: https://carolinebower.myflodesk.com/newsletter 🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: https://www.carolinebower.com/links 📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  2. Aug 27

    139. Is Sourdough Still Growing? Here's What the Data Says

    If you asked me whether ingredient costs have gone up across the board the last few years, I would have said yes without a second thought, and I would have had zero actual evidence for it. So I went and pulled the real numbers, and butter genuinely surprised me. This week is a different kind of episode. Instead of a how-to, I am walking you through three things I found when I actually researched what is happening in the bread world right now: whether sourdough demand is really holding up, how your customer's eating habits have shifted without much fanfare, and what ingredient prices have actually done over the past year versus what we all assume they have done. Plus, a baker's question about blending whole grain flour into a familiar dough, and my new favorite inexpensive kitchen tool. 🔪 The immersion blender I'm loving right now: https://rivr.link/0bw-Qb_ISG 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast 🍞 The Bread Winner Inner Circle opens twice a year. Get on the waitlist: https://www.carolinebower.com/innercircle 📋 Download the FREE checklist, Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist 🧮 Grab the Profit & Pricing Calculator: https://www.carolinebower.com/calculator ✉️ Join my email list: https://carolinebower.myflodesk.com/newsletter 🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: https://www.carolinebower.com/links 📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  3. Aug 20

    138. 9 Things I'm Doing in August to Prep for the Holidays

    There is a two-gallon jar in my bakery right now full of vanilla beans and cheap vodka, with a piece of masking tape on the lid that just says December. It is not going to be ready to sell until the holidays, and that is exactly the point. This week I am walking you through the nine real things I am doing in my own bakery this August to set up a smoother November and December. That includes auditing my menu and my prices in the same sitting, scheduling a recipe testing day before the holidays get loud, starting a slow-build gift product that needed to begin this week instead of in December, and getting my workshop tickets live before people start Christmas shopping. The last two are not holiday prep at all. They are how I am setting up January, including a first announcement I have been sitting on for weeks. 📖 Read the full show notes: https://www.carolinebower.com/9-ways-to-get-your-microbakery-ready-for-the-holiday-season-episode-138 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast 🍞 The Bread Winner Inner Circle opens twice a year. Get on the waitlist: https://www.carolinebower.com/innercircle 📋 Download the FREE checklist, Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist 🧮 Grab the Profit & Pricing Calculator: https://www.carolinebower.com/calculator ✉️ Join my email list: https://carolinebower.myflodesk.com/newsletter 🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: https://www.carolinebower.com/links 📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  4. Aug 13

    137. What Every Home Baker Needs to Know About Cottage Food Laws Right Now

    Did you know that up until the fall of 2021, selling a loaf of bread you baked in your own kitchen was completely illegal in New Jersey? Not just restricted — illegal. They were the last of all 50 states to change that, and it only happened because a group of home bakers decided to go and ask. That story is the backdrop for this entire episode, and I think it is going to encourage you more than you are expecting. This is a topic I have touched on before but never gone this deep on — and after spending a couple of weeks doing real research, I have a lot to share. There is genuinely good news happening in the cottage food law landscape right now, there is some misleading information out there that could get bakers in trouble, and there are real, practical steps you can take if your state's laws are holding your business back. Whether you are just getting started, approaching your income cap, or feeling frustrated by restrictions in your state, this episode is going to give you clarity, encouragement, and a clear path forward. 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast🍞 Join the Bread Winner Inner Circle: www.carolinebower.com/innercircle📋 Download the FREE checklist — Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: www.carolinebower.com/links📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  5. Jul 30

    136. What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Selling Sourdough Bread

    Two years of the Bread Winner Podcast, and the episode you keep coming back to is the one where I looked back at my very first year in business. So I am bringing it back for our two-year birthday month. I am wrapping up year three now, baking out of a brick and mortar with a bread oven and a commercial fridge, and I have been out of the house for over six months. All of it was built on what year one taught me. This replay of Episode 82 walks through the processes, the systems and the mindset that made years two and three possible, including the parts I got wrong and the growing pains I would warn you about. If you are in your first year right now, this is the episode I would hand you. One more thing. I have added a new segment to the show, so you can record me a voicemail with your question using the SpeakPipe link below and I will play it and answer it on air. I would love to hear your voice on the podcast! 📖 Read the full show notes: https://www.carolinebower.com/what-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-selling-sourdough-bread-episode-136 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast 🍞 The Bread Winner Inner Circle opens twice a year. Get on the waitlist: https://www.carolinebower.com/innercircle 📋 Download the FREE checklist, Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist 🧮 Grab the Profit & Pricing Calculator: https://www.carolinebower.com/calculator ✉️ Join my email list: https://carolinebower.myflodesk.com/newsletter 🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: https://www.carolinebower.com/links 📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  6. Jul 23

    135. Seven Steps to Owning the Value of Your Microbakery Business

    If you have ever answered the question "so what do you do?" with "I just have a little sourdough business" — this episode is for you. This is one of my most personal and most passionate episodes, and I am so glad to be bringing it back for our two-year birthday month because I believe it deserves to be heard by every single baker who has ever minimized what she is building. This is not a tactical episode. It is a heart-level conversation. And it might be exactly what you needed to hear today. In this episode I am making the case — clearly and with a lot of passion — for why it is time to drop the word "little" from your business vocabulary for good. What you are building is significant. The impact you are having on your family, your community, and the next generation is real and it is worthy of being spoken about with pride and confidence. I am giving you seven concrete, actionable steps to help you start owning the value of your business in the way you talk about it, think about it, and show up for it every single day. By the end of this episode, you will have a clear path forward — and hopefully a whole lot more confidence in what you are building. 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast🍞 Join the Bread Winner Inner Circle: www.carolinebower.com/innercircle🌐 Join the Bread Winner Network: www.carolinebower.com/bwnetwork📋 Download the FREE checklist — Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: www.carolinebower.com/links📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  7. Jul 16

    134. How to Use Text Marketing to Grow Your Sourdough Microbakery

    I have been talking about Project Broadcast on this podcast for years — and in this episode, I finally got to sit down with the CEO himself, Jake Dempsey, for a conversation I have been looking forward to for months. If you have ever wondered why texting works so well for microbakery businesses, how to set it up, or how to use it in a smarter way, this episode is going to be a game changer for you. Jake has been building Project Broadcast for nearly a decade, his platform has sent over a billion text messages on behalf of small business owners, and he genuinely cares about helping entrepreneurs grow. We walked through my exact texting workflow, he gave me feedback on what I am doing well and where I am leaving opportunity on the table, and we answered some of your questions from the Bread Winner Summit too. There is so much practical gold in this one. Links: Join Project Broadcast Here: https://app.projectbroadcast.com/sign-up?referral=breadwinner🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast🍞 Join the Bread Winner Inner Circle: www.carolinebower.com/innercircle🌐 Join the Bread Winner Network: www.carolinebower.com/bwnetwork📋 Download the FREE checklist — Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: www.carolinebower.com/links📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

  8. Jul 9

    133. The 4 Things to Do Before Selling Your Sourdough Bread (A Listener Favorite, Revisited)

    It's the two-year birthday month of the Bread Winner Podcast — and I am celebrating from the road! My family and I are on an epic three-week road trip this July, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to bring back some of the most loved episodes in the show's history. We kicked off the month with Episode 132, where I turned the mic on my kids and let them share what it's really like to grow up watching me build this sourdough microbakery business. If you haven't listened yet, I really encourage you to — especially if you're a mom who wonders about the impact this business has on your family. Today I'm bringing back Episode 85, one of the top downloaded episodes of all time and a listener favorite for a very long time. This is the episode where I walk you through the four most important things to do before you start selling your bread. Whether you're just dreaming about turning your sourdough passion into a real business, or you've already jumped in and feel a little in over your head, this one is foundational. A few things in my own context have shifted since I now have a commercial bakery, but the four steps themselves? Absolutely still the same. In this episode you'll hear: The four foundational steps to take before you ever sell your first loafWhy getting these pieces in place early saves you so much stress down the roadHow to build a business that doesn't just look good on Instagram but actually works for your real lifeEncouragement for the baker who feels pressure to just "get started" before she's ready One more exciting thing: Starting in August, I'm adding a brand new segment to the show called SpeakPipe! You can click the link in the show notes to send me a voicemail with your question, and I'll play it live on the podcast and answer it. I am so excited to connect with you on an even deeper level — so go ahead and send your questions now so my inbox is full and ready when I get back from the road! Links: 🎙️ Send me a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/breadwinnerpodcast🍞 Join the Bread Winner Inner Circle: www.carolinebower.com/innercircle🌐 Join the Bread Winner Network: www.carolinebower.com/bwnetwork📋 Download the FREE checklist — Your First Steps to a Successful In-Home Bakery: https://www.carolinebower.com/checklist🛒 Shop my sourdough microbakery favorites: www.carolinebower.com/links📱 Follow me on Instagram: @carolinebower_sourdough

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Trailer

5
out of 5
41 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Bread Winner Podcast, the show for microbakery owners who want to create a successful microbakery without spending every waking minute in the kitchen. I'm Caroline Bower, and I bake over 100 loaves a week from my home while still getting 8 hours of sleep and having time to be fully present in the important moments with my family. If you're looking to build a thriving sourdough business from your home, you're in the right place. Every Thursday, I'll be sharing new episodes packed with practical advice on everything from marketing and sales to process optimization and real-life strategies to maintain a healthy, intentional lifestyle. We'll dive into how to get started, attract (and keep) your first raving customers, plan your ideal week, scale your operations, and price your products. Plus, we'll occasionally have some fantastic guests who are experts in the sourdough world. This podcast is all about giving you the tools and confidence to cultivate business that fits into your life, not the other way around. So, hit that subscribe button, do your next round of coil folds then grab a cup of coffee and get comfy for the next 20 minutes. Let's start building your dream microbakery together!

Information

  • Creator
    Caroline Bower
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    141
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Caroline Bower
  • Show Website
    The Bread Winner Podcast

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