DES MOINES, Iowa — Baking bread during the pandemic was a way to pass the time for many.
But for a Des Moines woman, the hobby became a passion. For Chelsa Smith of Bread by Chelsa B, it started during a December 2019 visit to Idaho, where her mother was given a sourdough starter by a friend.
"We came back to Iowa and I jumped down the internet. I looked at YouTube and Instagram and I got every book I could from the library and quickly became as my partner likes to say, 'enthusiastically obsessed' with sourdough," she said.
After a few months of experimentation at the end of 2020, Bread by Chelsa B launched in January 2021.
"I quickly realized things had to change and I knew that I couldn't sustain a full-time job and this side business, it just wasn't going to work for my family. So I left my full time job."
You can learn more about Chelsa's business and pre-order a loaf on her website. The new venture is made worth it by the customers, she says.
"I'm truly humbled and stunned by everyone's enthusiasm, and I'm just grateful that they keep showing up."