I.... Own a Bakery?

And other things I've been up to!

I know I know, I’ve been pretty MIA on here, but - it’s for good reason! For the past month-ish, I’ve been working on opening my own bakery and by golly, today is a glorious day for I got my cottage food license, and am ready to serve ATL! The bakery thing was not something I had planned for a very long time to be honest. As some of you may have read in an earlier newsletter of mine, I was really struggling to figure out what I wanted to do. One thing that I didn’t mention was that what I really knew would be a good path for me, would be to pursue baking as a business. I guess I was mostly just scared to approach the idea because I wasn’t sure I could do it, I don’t know the first thing about running my own business.

But eff that shit, I can do it - like wtf was I thinking?? I just temporarily forgot to channel the audacity of a mediocre white man but I’m back now babes don’t worry. ANYWAY my bakery, Salted Butter Society, is finally licensed and open. Here’s a glimpse of my menu! Eventually I’ll have a website up and running, but until then I’ll take orders via email or DM.

What I want more than anything is to give people goodies that put a smile on their face (while still pursuing my goal of being the Carrie Bradshaw of ATL!!! - Should I put out a a newsletter on fashion?). I also, don’t want this bakery to suck the life out of me, to the point that I hate baking - which is a line I have to balance. Unfortunately, I think the potential of the side gig economy is actually, astronomical. Atlanta doesn’t have a ton of brick and mortar bakeries (weird, right?), but a fair few cottage bakers, and there’s always room for more. So, I put together some goals I want for this bakery, because I think that I need a mission that I can get behind, that will continue to motivate me for years to come.

• Work with local farmers and small CPG companies

  • This one is vital. Yeah sure I can go to Walmart or Kroger and grab the fruit and eggs I need to fill an order - but I’d so much rather support the dozens of local farmers that come to the farmers markets over the weekends. If I want to part of the food community in Atlanta, it’s important I do everything I can to support our farmers.

  • The small CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies also depend on support from the masses! Some of my favorite companies I’ve worked with so far are small CPG companies - furthermore there are so many wonderful south asian companies I’d love to work with to source ingredients like spices, sauces, and more. I’m not really interested in giving my money to large corporations if I can help it (although if you know of a better cocoa powder than Hershey’s special dark, let a hoe know)

• Incorporate south asian flavors into my baked goods

  • Everyone deserves to know and have the opportunity to taste the rich flavors of south asian desserts, like sorry but Tiramisu has NOTHING on Gulab Jamun, I said what I said! As a first generation citizen, I often find myself losing touch with my Indian roots. I’m hoping I can use the bakery as an opportunity to reconnect, learn more about my country’s culinary history and culture, and most importantly - learn more family recipes.

• Do what makes me happy

  • I don’t think y’all really need to know more about this one!

• If it ever starts to feel like a chore, stop.

  • For the better part of the past year, I’ve felt a lot of sadness, anger and hopelessness about the state of affairs in this world, I don’t need to lose another thing I love. The lucky part about having my bakery be in my own home is being able to control my own hours, take vacation, and pace myself how I want.

I’m hoping these goals keep me motivated, I hope that I can meet some cool people through this process, and I hope that people enjoy my baked goods :). Leave a comment if you’d like to know/chat more, or have any questions! If you’re in ATL, you can DM me on insta (@saltedbuttersociety) or email me at shrutidoctor9@gmail.com if you’d like to place and order.

Happy Friday sheeple!