Interviews E12 Building Trust, Finding Your Voice & Baking with Jill Nguyen of Capitol Jill Baking

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Hi friends, welcome back to the Saving Bread Podcast.
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Today I'm talking with Jill Wynne of Capital Jill Baking in Washington, D.C.
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Jill didn't grow up baking and she didn't come into this through a traditional bakery path.
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She started baking during the pandemic, began selling her bread to her neighbors, and eventually left her corporate career to build a business that now includes sourdough bread, pastries, completely custom cakes, and some of the most colorful and creative work you'll see in the bread world.
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What I really loved about this conversation is that we get into a lot more than just what she makes.
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We talk about where her ideas come from, how she develops products that feel distinctly hers, that live in her universe, and what it takes to translate creativity into actual production and how she's built relationships with customers, chefs, restaurants, and other businesses throughout her community.
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And we talk a lot about trust.
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Not the kind that you build through a viral post, but the kind that comes from showing up, making good food consistently, and doing it over and over again.
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Jill is incredibly creative, but she's also a really thoughtful business owner.
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And I think there's a lot here for anyone building something of their own.
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So here is my conversation with Jill of Capital Jill Baking.
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I'm Allie White, and this is Saving Bread.
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Oh, I should post something.
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I have a cute photo, and then I spent two minutes, and I literally just like after I post it, close my phone, walk away.
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I don't, I I give up.
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It's a rat race and one that unfortunately we're like semi-bound to when we have our own businesses.
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Okay, I'm very, very excited to talk to you today.
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First, thank you for carving out an hour of your time to chit-chat with me.
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Love your shirt.
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I'm gonna need the link when this conversation is over, and I'll buy it in black and we can be twins.
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And I love your background.
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And it's going to kind of lead me into the first part of our conversation.
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But before that, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?
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Even though I'll give you a really solid intro before this, but I'd love to hear you say it too.
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Allison, thank you for having me.
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And I can't believe we have never like I know actually talked or even met in person.
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Well, I'm coming to do a workshop in January.
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That's right.
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And I'm pretty sure Layla is gonna drive me from San Francisco the night before.
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So we're gonna hang out, and it's gonna be an all like Instagram breadfriend reunion.
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So my name is Joanne.
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I am based in Washington, DC.
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I started out as a bread enthusiast, really got into the science of making bread, and I really started selling it as a way to really recoup some money I spent on flour and my time, but I really never never thought I would be a bread baker.
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This was November 2020.
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DC also has a fairly weak rest scene.
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Like there are some great bakeries, but when it comes to like being a major city with lots of diversities and bakeries, it's really hard to walk into a bakery and get freshly baked bread, which is so crazy.
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Like I think of that as like a human right almost to walk to our neighborhood bakery, get a coffee, get a breakfast, get a lot of bread for lunch.
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Surprisingly hard in DC.
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So when I started selling bread to my neighbor in 2020, the idea was there's nothing around here, three miles to get freshly baked bread.
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I want to do this.
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My household can't eat this much bread.
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Let's me just tell the neighbor to see if anyone's interested in what I'm doing.
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And back then my bread really was shit, but better than wonder bread.
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Underproof white flour with five ingredients, still better than like packet, whatever grocery store out there.
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And then the last, I will say I didn't actually quit my corporate job to bake bread full-time until March of 2022.
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So I've been doing this as my main way to make a living for four and a half years, but my job in my business and has really evolved so much from bread to bread and sourdough pastries and cakes.
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And I really think of myself as a bread baker and a cake artist.
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And I find those two to be very different part of my brain, very different process.
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It's a lot of work, but it's really fun and exciting, and I can't wait to chat.
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I that was an epic introduction into who you are and what you're doing, and a great teaser to some of the things that we are going to get into today.
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And the first thing that I wanted to bring up, because and I think it's so apparent, and people are gonna see it when they see our videos side by side.
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On my Instagram, on most Instagram pages in the bread world, there's a lot of brown, right?
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It's like brown.
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My entire background right now is brown.
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Like everything in my house is brown, all my bread is brown.
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That's like what I post on my Instagram, and that's fine, that's where I'm comfortable.
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Your Instagram is like a burst of color, and I think that's why it stood out to me so much initially.
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I saw it and I was like, who is this amazing woman who is so bright and colorful and making all these beautiful, bright creations?
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It really drew me to you and made me feel like I wanted to know you and get to know you a little bit more and follow you and see all of the wonderful things that you're doing.
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So let's get into it a little bit more.
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I'm very inspired by what you post, and I'd love to know where do you get your ideas when you're coming up with a product?
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Are you thinking about it in your mind and you're like, I'm gonna make this pastry today and I want it to be all of these colors?
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Are you thinking about an ingredient that's fresh, you know, at the market that day, or are you thinking about a childhood memory?
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Like, how does Jill think of a new product?
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And can you kind of give us a window into what that looks like?
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So for bread, pastries, and cakes to me, everything starts the same way.
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It starts with a feeling.
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You know, I want something cozy, hearty with a little bit of spice, I want something very summer, I want like a burst of corn, or I want I have all this, you know, I want something that smells a certain way.
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So to me, it's all start with a very specific, I would say like sensory feeling.
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I'm I can envision in my head this is what I'm looking for, and then from there I start kind of sketching out how do we get there.
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Do you physically sketch it out?
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I don't.
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I kind of dumb my brain down to my notes app, which is basically like I don't I don't write down a notebook like Milchev because my handwriting gets really ugly the faster my brain thinks.
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And I sometimes can't read my handwriting.
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So I just dump it all into my notes app, and it's there's just so much in there that I can't even understand what I was trying to do.
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So like I dump it all down, and from there I'm kind of like looking through a lot of time is my pantry.
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Like, what is something that we have a lot but haven't used?
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What's in my fridge?
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I'm very inspired by leftover.
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Apparently, as a very ADHD person, some sort of urgency help.
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So, like, oh, I have this thing I need to use in three months, let's put it in something.
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And then I kind of go from there.
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I feel like for old bread pastries and cakes, or some sort of formula, right?
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And let's say if I want last year, one of my favorite new bread that I developed with this black pepper grit sourdough.
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It started with I want something really hearty and comforty with a little bit of crunch and black peppers.
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I'm a big black pepper fan.
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And I started with let's make a porridge, let's make grits.
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I love a porridge bread, but I have never started with grits before.
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So I was like, let's make really good grit.
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Let's see how it dries overnight, so we can mix into bread and we've kind of go with the formula from there.
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How much black pepper is enough?
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I do want to use full dairy to make it really creamy.
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So, like butter and cream and a bit of milk, and how is it gonna go into a loaf of bread with a lot of heirloom cornmeal, which is not great for structure, right?
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And go from there.
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With cakes, is a bit easier, I will say, mostly because there's just so many different pastry formats.
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I can play with, oh, let's add that in the whipped lab cream, or let's do a jam and throw some spices in there, or like the buttercream.
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So I feel like I am a lot more careful in developing a new item with bread because do we want or two loaves versus going for 50 is a whole different idea, and I'm very terrified of like two loaves looks great, tastes great, let's make 50 is soup.
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That is my biggest nightmare.
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Versus like with cakes, I can just literally make the different component and then be like, this will go great together, slap it all together.
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They're just so much easier to adjust along the way.
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But yeah, is they all start it with like a very sensory dream almost?
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Like, this is what I want.
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How do you know if something, let's call it your world, like the Capital Jill world, the Capital Jill universe?
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How do we know something belongs there or it doesn't?
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When you make something, does it need to have a certain criteria of is it bold colors, bold flavors?
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What are you aesthetically looking for in your finished product?
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And then maybe like mouthfeel.
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How do you know something belongs on the menu?
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I love this question.
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That is a great question, and I think about that a lot.
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I don't have this down anywhere.
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Like, what is the taste DNA of Capitol Joe baking product?
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But so for me, the very first thing is I I want to make really quality products.
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So there's certain characteristic, right?
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I mean, like with bread and pastry, deep down there are like five, six different dough.
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It has to hold up, it has to be not sticky, it has to like be well developed, brioche has to be a certain way with salts and seasoning, right?
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Like it's just like a consistent product.
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Obviously, with cake, it's like not dry, not too sweet.
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And then for me, the next thing really is it has to be something that nobody does.
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Obviously, Capital Joe Baking is a micro bakery, and even saying, I mean, we do a lot, like we make 150 loaves of bread, about 12 to 14 completely custom cakes, and an upward of six, seven hundred pastry a week.
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So as a micro bakery, it's still a large volume, but of course, like when I think about the larger bakeries in DC, maybe that is maybe I'm like a fifth or fourth in their weekly production.
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I still think about not comparing myself, but I want the experience and the flavors you get from my menu to be very unique.
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Despite being Vietnamese American and grew up in Vietnam, I don't see Capito Joe baking as an Asian American bakery.
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I don't think I'm trying to recreate the classic Asian American nostalgic with tribute, nostalgic flavors with tribute to certain things I grew up with.
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I don't think that's the focus.
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I think we're just so focused on taking inspiration from my upbringing, but travel, but also like there's a lot of food that we eat every day that just like all different cultures I take inspiration from.
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And it has to be something that nobody makes.
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So, for example, I rarely make cranberry walnut.
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I feel like every bread bakery makes cranberry walnut bread.
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Very good, very common.
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I just don't feel very inspired by it.
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If I you ever see on my menu, it means I'm really am out of idea about this because I do want to have every week to have somewhat like 70% different items rotating around.
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So it has to be very unique, very different.
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I also want people to read for the description of a pastry or a cake or a bread and like have a sense of familiarity.
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Everyone knows what grit tastes like, you know.
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You say grit and you're like, ooh, comfy, warm.
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But then it has to be like, but I've never had grits in a sourdough loaf before.
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And I think I love the feeling when because you're familiar with an element of it, you're decide you're gonna try it.
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And trust me, and try in this thing.
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And then there's an element of joy, there's a whimsiness to what we do with the cakes.
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A lot of it is the flavor combinations, but also is the fresh flowers on the cake, and the very romantic, very asymmetrical, a bit imperfect design on the cake.
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And the pickup is from my house.
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I think that's also very whimsy.
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Like the line is long, the team's cheerful, the street's very cute, and a lot of time you'll run into neighbors.
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So I think all of those really is like our food, our taste DNA.
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But deep down, 90% of it is just really freaking good and consistent.
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And I tell people this all the time.
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I don't care how many followers you have, deep down you're running a food business.
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The food has to be good.
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Agreed, fully, completely, 100%.
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I have two things I'd like to dive in a little deeper on.
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The first one is you mentioned your team.
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How many people do you have helping you do this, Jill?
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So I have a team of part-time folks, mostly because working out of my house.
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I really am not in a place to have some folks full-time.
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So I have two bakers who came from professional baking background, part-time.
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One per one person basically comes in every Saturday to do pastry prep with me and then help me with the bake on Sunday.
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That's my part-time bakers.
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And then for front of house, a lot of it is packing products, consolidations, pick up time, checking name, packing bags, putting things away.
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And that list of folks is around five people scheduling on a rotating basis as needed.
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And a lot of them also help me doing wedding season with wedding cake deliveries.
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Because it's a lot.
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If I book three weddings on the same day, it's nice to have different people who can help with drop thumbs off.
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So I was like together, the team is gosh, eight people on a rotating basis, all girls.
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Very fun.
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Girls could run the world.
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Great, great on you for asking for help to avoid personal burnout.
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I think a lot of bakers try to do it all, all of the prep, all of the baking, all of the packing.
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One of the best decisions I ever made for myself was having someone come help me with packaging because I am so tired at the end of baking that I was making so many mistakes, putting things into people's bags, and I was like, I can't, I can't do this.
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And like you said, you can't physically be in three places at one time.
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And so sometimes you do need to outsource help.
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And so that's great that you've built a team, and then now you're also supporting other people in your community and paying them, and that's incredible.
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I also wanted to touch on you said that I'm sorry, could you let me know?
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Do you every week have new items on the menu?
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Almost.
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Yeah.
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So, okay, that's what I thought I heard you say.
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I just wanted to make sure that I heard that correctly.
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And then I'm assuming that you have some base doughs that you can rely on, and then you're describing being inspired by some of the things around you, be it leftovers or an experience or the season.
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And are you taking those items, let's say the grits, and just sort of putting them into one of those reliable doughs that you already have and love, or are you having to develop almost a new formula each time you make something new?
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For bread, it's all new.
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So I don't have a new bread every week.
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I think I have a board of like 20-something bread items that kind of rotate out.
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And also, I am constrained by my fridge capacities.
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If I do sourdough loaves, I can do this number.
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If I do sourdough and focaccia, the number is a bit different, plus baguettes and flatbreads and all the other fun things.
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So for sourdough loaves, I have to start from scratch for every different one, except for like basic inclusion.
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But I don't really do inclusions with bread mostly because I don't know.
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I just don't, it doesn't excite me.
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Like right now, my next thing I'm working on is gonna be a new sourdough loaves.
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And I really want to do something with buckwheat, and it's so tricky.
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Oh, I got you.
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And I'm gonna have to start from scratch.
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I just saw Layla posted something about like a buck wet porridge.
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I love porridge.
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I can't wait to dig with to deal to get started on that.
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For the pastry side, some of them are very easy, especially if it's like a topping or a nuclei.
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Like donuts, very easy to swap out.
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Lately, I'm really into the idea of a colachi, you know, like a brioche base with a mix of different topping.
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And the summer we kind of play with fruit.
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Right now, we're going into corn, we're rolling out like elote, like the Mexican street corn one that's very easy.
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And we did do a tiny test.
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So, like last Sunday or yesterday was a pastry day, and I pulled a tray of dough and basically did the elote component on it, and only sold it as like an off-menu special.
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Once I was like, this is delicious, ready to go, no tweet needed.
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Sometimes they don't work, but I'm not, but it's I I rarely put something completely untested on the menu just because I have an idea.
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There has been some sort of test or you know, very easy swap, for example.
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Has there been an item that you're surprised people were so excited about and has kind of earned a permanent place on you on your menu or is more of a frequent flyer than some of the others?
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On the weekly menu, there are mainstay that will never come off.
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You know, the country sourdough, like like a classic white table loaf, will never go away.
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On the pastry side, that's a Swedish cardamom bun.
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I am not Swedish in any way.
00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:13.920
I don't have any like familiar tie to the bun, but I really love cardamom.
00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:22.880
And I first started making Swedish cardamom bun like 2021 when I first dabble into sourdough and rich dough.
00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:27.200
And it has been something that like really got its own following.
00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:35.200
I know a lot of Swedish Americans or Swedish people who work in the embassy here who get them for special event birthday.
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:51.119
And somehow the way it the way my Swedish caramel buns taste, a lot like someone's grandma made it, even though it is fully sourdough, and I have never met or never had a bun made by a Swedish grandma.
00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:58.799
So I have it is something that like really about its own following, and I make we make so many of it, which I really do love.
00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:03.039
If someone doesn't know what that is, can you describe it to us just in case they've never heard of it?
00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:03.440
Yes.
00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:06.559
So it is a braided bun.
00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:13.599
It's really twisty, it almost looks like a knot with a bit of Swedish pearl sugar on top.
00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:18.400
It's a light and rich dough, so it's not as rich as like a brioche.
00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:34.880
And then we roll it out with a brown sugar cardamom butter filling, and then we fold it over, cut out like really long strip, and then braid it, and baked it, egg wash, baked it until brown, and a little bit of cardamom syrup.
00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:41.200
So it's just a really nice warm bun, a big cousin to like their cinnamon bun, not a cinnamon roll.
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:42.240
Yeah.
00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:43.519
That sounds delicious.
00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:44.960
I would like to eat that.
00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:46.720
When it's warm is the best.
00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:47.519
Yeah.
00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:54.799
Has there been a product that you personally were like, this is it, and then nobody was excited about it?
00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.839
I can't really think of one right now.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:05.279
Well, I guess I am a big fan of caraway rye.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:05.680
Okay.
00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:10.880
I like okay, I love spices, but I learned now caraway is a controversial flavor.
00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:11.920
Oh, it really is.
00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.359
And I the way I make mine is marbled.
00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.720
You know, I just love the way that look and I have a lot of fun.
00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:24.000
I I I went through the whole thing of like, what is the best technique to marble the two dough together?
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:25.119
When do you do it?
00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:27.039
Like I went through the whole thing.
00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.720
And it is whenever I put on the menu, I do it a lot around St.
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:32.160
Patrick's Day.
00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.440
I do a lot in the winter for sandwiches.
00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:45.839
I actually have a series of collab with my the a bar near here, and we do like pastrami night, and we do like a really insane Rubin with it.
00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:52.240
But whenever I put it on the menu, it is always the slowest loaf to get purchased.
00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:54.960
And I'm always like, people, come on.
00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:01.119
Do you think it's the caraway, or people are unfamiliar with that type of bread?
00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:02.720
I think it's a caraway.
00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:03.519
The caraway.
00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:09.519
And I think a lot of it is that might not be the loaf you reach for when you want toast with butter in the morning.
00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:10.160
Right.
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:11.279
Especially if you have a lot of things.
00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:17.039
People something clean, people want something easy, they can just slice and eat and maybe put avocado on it.
00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.720
I don't think anyone's doing avocado toast with caraway rye.
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:25.920
My husband would a hundred percent, but he's probably on his own island with that one.
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:35.279
So you mentioned just now collaborations with or having a collaboration with a local bar and doing a pastrami Ruben night.
00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:36.559
That sounds amazing.
00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:42.079
Are there other collaborations that you do and work with other people in your community in that way?
00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:43.759
I do a lot.
00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:48.319
And so, yeah, there is a bar near here, a block away, Kohi's Burger.
00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:50.720
I'm fra I'm a good friend with both the owners.
00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:55.119
One of them owns a barbecue shop, and there is no barbecue around here.
00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:56.880
So we do all kinds of fun things.
00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:03.039
We're actually testing the red sauce, Italian American sandwich collab.
00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:09.920
Basically, like I do this sourdo cala garlic knot, and we'll do like chicken parmesan, all this crazy idea.
00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:11.039
That's always fun.
00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:18.400
I also think a lot about, you know, DC is not a big city, but I don't have a car and we're really urban.
00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:21.920
So it can be annoying to get to Capitol Hill every week to pick up from me.
00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:31.200
So the last year or so, I've started thinking about kind of where in the city that I have not really shown my face in might be annoying to get to.
00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:38.799
So I started doing a quarterly pop-up with the Brooklyn, the Brooklinen store here.
00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:42.160
And one Saturday every quarter, we pick a date.
00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:50.319
They have new colors or new products, and they tell me the new things coming are named this pistachio or maple.
00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:56.480
And uh I take that and kind of bring three or four items with me, inspired by the new products.
00:24:56.559 --> 00:25:02.240
And we always have folks coming in, and then there are some shopping incentives, which is really fun.
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:10.559
Every once in a while, I have a crazy idea about something that no one is making in town.
00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:17.279
And I tend to think of a restaurant or a chef who would be down to do that.
00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:31.680
Last around a year ago, I worked with a local peanut butter brand, One Trick Pony, and we did a peanut butter fun day at my friend's restaurant called Your Only Friend.
00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:38.400
And they do a lot of fun, nostalgic, whimsy treats, but Chefies.
00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:41.599
Their onion ring is dusted with ranch dust.
00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:43.039
I don't know how they do it.
00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:44.400
It's my favorite thing.
00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:48.160
And we did a menu where everything on that menu was peanut butter.
00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:49.039
Wow.
00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:51.440
Just this peanut butter in the burger.
00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:52.559
It was, it just makes sense.
00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:53.359
It's fun.
00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:53.839
Yeah.
00:25:54.079 --> 00:26:08.799
So I think a lot of it for me is where where in the city I want to reach people, but also a crazy idea who would be best and down to do this with me and who would have the most fun.
00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:09.759
Well, I can't.
00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:12.160
I can't imagine anyone saying no to you.
00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:17.680
You're just sunshine and so sweet and fun and creative and a hard worker.
00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:34.000
If someone is listening to this and they are maybe struggling, maybe they have a lot of great ideas, but they're struggling to have sales or make connections, how would you recommend that person go about orchestrating connections like that?
00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:42.480
Do you just walk into a new restaurant and you're like, hi, I'm Jill, and here's a slice of cake, and I'd love to work together.
00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:47.039
How does one begin to cultivate relationships like that in their community?
00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:49.759
Yeah, that's a that's a great question.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.799
So this took me a long time.
00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:57.519
I love giving advice about this topic because it doesn't happen overnight.
00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.880
I've been doing this selling bread for six years.
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:04.319
I've been on my own doing this fully for four and a half.
00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:06.880
And I think you have to build trust.
00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:15.200
There is trust with your customer base, and then there is trust with people you're trying to work with, chefs or restaurants.
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:15.519
Yeah.
00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:18.000
I always say start very local.
00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.880
Is there a coffee shop that you go to a lot?
00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:26.559
And you would notice, like, oh, they have this product or that product, something you can bring in.
00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:36.559
And maybe if you're allowed a wholesale in your state, talk to the owner about wholesaling pastries or bread for their lunch program.
00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:49.039
And a lot of time to start really small instead of like a wholesale relationship, just be like, hey, is there a day where your traffic is light that we can do a pop-up?
00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.960
I will make something that you're currently not selling.
00:27:53.119 --> 00:28:02.319
I will advertise to my community, you will sell coffee, and all I need is like a table and help me promote or put up this poster.
00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:11.119
And that's great because you are showing that it's very low investment from this place that you want to partner with.
00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.240
And if you can bring in traffic, that's great.
00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:20.720
And if people show up for you, that means people trust you in this community.
00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:30.240
And I think that's a really great way to start working someone, but also do something that is one time if it's not the very, it's not a crazy sales day.
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:31.039
That's okay.
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:35.119
Because that's better than that coffee shop sitting empty in the afternoon.
00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:56.160
When it comes to like relationship with chefs, I will say I got really lucky because my first chef friend, who I really thought have opened lots of doors, who have thought opened lots of doors for me, I got an intro to that person from a mutual friend because I was thinking about subleasing kitchen space.
00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.000
And we just started talking.
00:28:58.160 --> 00:28:59.680
Then I started giving him bread.
00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:01.759
He started just buying bread on his own.
00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.440
And then sometimes when I meet, hey, do you know this person?
00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:06.640
Do you mind introduce me?
00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:08.000
I've got the introduction.
00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:15.279
So maybe if there is a specific chef or coffee house owner in your community you want to reach, just put it out.
00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:23.359
Ask your neighbors, ask your friend, hey, does anyone have a connection to this person that can vouch for me and give me an intro?
00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:27.680
Chefs and business owners in this space get pitched all the time.
00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:37.200
They don't really want, if they need something, they might out there reach for it, but they get pitched so much that like finding an intro will be very helpful.
00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:54.799
But you gotta, but and I think as you do it more and you get you get press, and then you know, people industry start organically buying your stuff and say, Oh, yes, that's really good, that's really consistent, people really love them, then it's easier to just pitch anything.
00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:57.359
I pitched a lot of things just in the DM.
00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:58.799
Hey, crazy idea.
00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:00.160
What if we do this?
00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:09.680
And it became a conversation, and it became kind of like what's the financial arrangement of this collab would be expectation from both sides, who pay for what?
00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:13.599
And then we do it once, and if it's great, we'd do it again and again and again.
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:21.359
How much of your time are you devoting to these collaboration or collaborative projects?
00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:25.200
And then what does that look like when it comes to your weekly bakes?
00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:27.039
How do you balance those two?
00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:29.279
I was like, not a lot.
00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:38.480
I don't do, I mean, I do a lot of events, but I think because I don't do like farmers market, right?
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:48.480
So my bulk of my week is the two bake days a week pre-order, the schedule is consistent, and then the cake.
00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:53.519
And then I challenge myself to do one event a month.
00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:58.240
But they some of them do repeat, like the series with Brooklyn and is something we do.
00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:06.000
We pick the date in advance, we just know to plan around a certain new things, or the pastrami night, we do it fairly often.
00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:13.519
So I will say that like maybe I spent 10% of my total time thinking about events, future events.
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:22.160
The resp really is still because I'm the only full-time baker, and even with staff, right?
00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:29.279
You still have to do all the calculation, do all the shopping, all the inventory, the setup, the scheduling.
00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:47.039
Consistency of our bakes is my number one priority, and it's it is a lot sourdough, especially in summer, like you have a crazy rainy week, like that humidity is gonna throw your schedule, gonna throw your dough off completely.
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:47.759
Yeah.
00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:58.160
So I try my best to focus at least 80% of my brain on a weekly bake, and then everything out is just added bonus.
00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:07.440
Have you noticed an increase in your customer base by engaging in these collaborative events?
00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:10.880
I I do, I do see that.
00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:17.279
I don't think I don't pay a lot of attention on where folks are coming from.
00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:24.240
Every once in a while, I do notice like, oh, there are a lot more new people coming to pick up on this bake day.
00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:31.440
And I try to think through like, did someone just post something on TikTok or was there an article about me out?
00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:44.000
I don't go viral, I don't make content to go viral, so I don't think anyone is coming to me because they saw a reel I was doing because I don't do trendy content.
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:52.319
But I have heard people maybe trying my bread in a sandwich at Hilly's burger and be like, that was really good bread.
00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:54.799
Oh, she does weekly pickup.
00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:55.839
That's great.
00:32:56.079 --> 00:33:07.200
So I do have a lot of emphasis on doing collab in my neighborhood, in Capitol Hill, mostly because this is where my 90% of my customer base is.
00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:16.720
And I I really do think they pay off either in weekly recurring customers or people who now realize, oh, wait, I buy bread from you.
00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:18.880
I did not know you make wedding cakes.
00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:19.279
Yeah.
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.480
Let's do that.
00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:25.200
How many wedding cakes do you make during let's say wedding season?
00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:29.119
I don't know when wedding season is because I've been married for April, May many, many years.
00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:30.000
April, October.
00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:32.079
April, May, October.
00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:32.880
October.
00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:33.519
Yeah.
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:34.240
All right.
00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:43.359
Give me an idea of how many cakes you are making on a like a busy week for wedding season.
00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:54.880
So October right now, I have at least a hundred servings of wedding cakes every week.
00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:58.480
I'm just saying serving because that might mean like one cake.
00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:00.559
That might mean two cakes, four cakes.
00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:00.960
Yeah.
00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:07.519
There is a weekend in October that I am serving five different weddings.
00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:09.519
That's a lot of things.
00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:11.599
I mean, some of them are micro weddings.
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:16.719
I really love, you know, like the couple gonna go to the courthouse and have a little lunch with family.
00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:20.239
Maybe what they just want is a small nine-inch cake for 20.
00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:27.440
And then there are those like super fun, super elaborate celebrations that need 200 servings of cake.
00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:38.960
On average, this I was on average in October or like during wedding season, we are serving around two to three weddings every weekend.
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:40.000
Wow.
00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:45.760
And are those people, first of all, it's impressive that someone would even know 200 people.
00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:49.440
I had like 70 people at my wedding, and I I felt like that was a lot.
00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:51.599
Yeah, probably could have done with half of that.
00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:53.119
But, anyways, I digress.
00:34:53.440 --> 00:35:02.880
If someone's coming to you for a wedding cake, are they typically coming to you for your floral creations that you do?
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:07.760
I have seen a half and half.
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:13.599
So I don't subscribe to the what I would call wedding industrial complex.
00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:20.239
It's its own industry, there are websites and collab and network within, you know.
00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:26.960
Like I know wedding cake makers who advertise on the knot or go to bridal expo.
00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:28.079
That is not me.
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:39.920
Yeah, cake is around 20% of my whole business, but it is growing because, of course, like as I do more of these wedding creations, they get more elaborate, more specific.
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:40.800
They are expensive.
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:55.199
Cake is a luxury, so I get about 50% of people who buy pastry and bread from me from my normal drop and just really love the flavors, and that's what they care about.
00:35:55.360 --> 00:36:02.079
And then I get the 50% have seen my wedding work on Instagram or Pinterest and just love the way it look.
00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:10.800
And they don't are not thinking about my specific philosophy when it comes to cake flavors, but they just love the way I do those cake with the florals.
00:36:11.280 --> 00:36:15.840
What are some of the cake flavors that you offer that are popular?
00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:17.519
So I don't have a menu.
00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:18.079
Great.
00:36:18.239 --> 00:36:19.199
Because I'm crazy.
00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:28.320
So when a person wants a cake for me, celebration, birthday, engagement, wedding, I make them set out of a form that I jokingly call the personality questionnaire.
00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:41.760
So I want you to tell me how many servings, chocolate or no chocolate, and I want I always ask about favorite dessert, favorite fruit, favorite cocktail spices, vacation destination.
00:36:42.320 --> 00:36:49.679
And then based on the season, dislike dietary, all this info, I give them four or five options.
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:56.400
Of course, there are some that are some flavors that are, I would say, like signature.
00:36:56.639 --> 00:37:02.960
So in the summer, starting in May, one of my favorite flavors is passion fruit, raspberry, and fake leaf.
00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:11.280
We have a big fake tree in our backyard, and I just love the way the the leaves smell.
00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:15.119
They smell like toasty coconut and vanilla.
00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:22.079
I mean, the fruit's great, but I feel like fake leaf is more my personality than actual fake, which is kind of funny.
00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:25.360
I feel like people don't realize that you can use the leaves.
00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:26.800
It's so beautiful.
00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:27.280
Yeah.
00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:44.880
It's so gentle and beautiful, and it and I I mostly either do like a custard or I toast a leaf up and I blend it with a really light olive oil, and we just take the oil for the buttercream, and it has this most gorgeous, very light green color.
00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:48.559
So that to me is like a very signature.
00:37:48.880 --> 00:38:03.119
In the winter, I just really love, like maybe like starting in October, I love figs with miso, caramel, and chocolate because it made me think a lot about picking fake from my tree in the backyard.
00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:15.360
It's hot, it's humid, so like I'm sweating, and it's a little salty, a little toasty, and it's a good thing to think about when it's really cold out, the feeling of picking up fakes in your backyard in August.
00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:27.199
I also love floral flavors, and I know a lot of people are afraid of floral flavors because the line between a whisper of lavender and soap is so thin sometimes.
00:38:27.519 --> 00:38:48.719
But I really love something like a London fog, which to me is a lemon chiffon with lemon oil, raspberry preserve, and I do a double bergamot custard, so like a lot of stronger Urgre tea, and then do like the bergamot oil with toasty honey and a little bit extra salt in the buttercream.
00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:51.360
That to me is like very beautiful.
00:38:51.679 --> 00:38:59.599
And I think one thing that a lot of cakes are missing, first of it's a smell, you know.
00:38:59.760 --> 00:39:02.559
Like I feel like a lot of sweet is just sweet.
00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:26.880
Yeah, you know, I want to see a dessert, I want to see the color, I want to like smell something, and also I want it to have different contrasting texture, and I want to mix elements, like maybe I love to pair a cream with a jam or a jam and a curd or a curd with chocolate, and also a bit of extra salt to help cut through the sweetness.
00:39:27.679 --> 00:39:31.760
So yeah, like there's just a lot of layers to it.
00:39:31.840 --> 00:39:48.800
This always sounds very complicated, but I think it's just the cakes that come out of our kitchen is just so unique and fun that I have seen many couples can recount their exact flavors of wedding cakes, not just oh, I got a chocolate cake.
00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:57.280
I want them to like slow down and talk about different layers and flavors in there because it's a lot of time the last bite of your wedding day.
00:39:57.760 --> 00:39:58.559
Absolutely.
00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:07.440
And I loved what you said about the smell of it because uh memory can be induced by a smell.
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:25.599
And when we smell something, it reminds us of a time in our life when you know we're in the backyard picking figs and smelling the leaves, or we had apple cider because it was Thanksgiving, and it's it's a feeling that you have when you're smelling it and when you're tasting it.
00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:57.519
And so if you're offering that experience to people on their wedding day, not just chocolate taste, but something that casts a bit of a wider net, those couples will have an opportunity, uh, more of an opportunity as they continue on through their life and their relationship when they encounter those smells, those tastes, those feelings to have it kind of come full circle back to that day when they were united and and came together as partners.
00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:09.280
And when you're adding flowers to your cakes, is that something that you plan ahead of time, or are you allowing it to just kind of flow through you as you decorate?
00:41:10.559 --> 00:41:18.159
So I know a lot of wedding cake makers who kind of give a sketch to the couple.
00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:24.639
I can't do that because I don't know what kind of flowers I'm gonna get until that week.
00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:35.519
So I think my first reason why I decorate with fresh flower is because I find nature to be so beautiful and I've seen gorgeous cake with gum paste flowers.
00:41:35.840 --> 00:41:41.119
One, I can try doing that, but also I don't find the taste very appealing.
00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:51.280
So if that's not part of the cake, I mean you can eat it, but not doesn't contribute anything to the taste, then I can basically open myself to like use whatever I want.
00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:57.199
I want to use a freshest, prettiest seasonal flowers instead of fondant.
00:41:57.679 --> 00:42:06.800
Every week I go to a florist, which is the only florist in DC that sources from only local farms.
00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:13.599
It's called Little Acre Flowers, and we have a really great relationship where they get fresh delivery every week.
00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:20.159
I come in, and of course, I have some sort of guidance from the couple of like certain colors or certain vibe.
00:42:20.239 --> 00:42:22.800
They a lot of time give me their design.
00:42:23.039 --> 00:42:34.480
So I kind of have a feeling of like what vibe are we going, what kind of bloom color palette, and I just kind of explore and pick every stem one by one.
00:42:34.719 --> 00:42:41.760
I take a lot of time thinking about flowers, color, texture, but also is this toxic or non-toxic?
00:42:42.079 --> 00:42:51.440
And I cannot just go into a wholesale because flowers are the most sprayed, yeah, you know, full of pesticide.
00:42:51.519 --> 00:42:53.280
And I don't want that to get on the cake.
00:42:53.360 --> 00:42:53.519
Yeah.
00:42:53.679 --> 00:43:04.480
So I only source from this local place and also taking notes, you know, from like the floor is like, oh, you know, this bloom I know historically gets spray a lot.
00:43:04.559 --> 00:43:11.920
Do you know the specific farm that, you know, what kind of practice they do, you know, and so I don't know what the design will be.
00:43:12.079 --> 00:43:26.719
I have a sense that this wedding is gonna be a bit more minimalist, or I got a sense that they're really going for full summer wildflower, a little bit uncamped vibe, or you know, they're going for white and gray.
00:43:26.880 --> 00:43:27.920
Sorry, white and green.
00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:29.760
So just white and green flowers.
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:31.199
And it's a lot of fun.
00:43:31.280 --> 00:43:43.039
And I feel like when I'm ready to decorate with buttercream and with flowers, I just kind of zone out and just let my hand do what I think is best.
00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:44.559
And sometimes it doesn't work.
00:43:44.639 --> 00:43:59.679
And I start over with a decoration, which is really fun with cake decoration because if nothing is set, even when the cake is in the fridge and you're like, I want to try something else, you can always just pick buttercreft and start again, yeah, which is really nice.
00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:03.360
Have you always liked making cakes?
00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:04.320
No.
00:44:04.800 --> 00:44:07.599
How long have you been making cakes?
00:44:08.880 --> 00:44:14.800
I made my very first cake during the pandemic when I started baking bread.
00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:18.079
I was kind of I started that's when I started baking altogether.
00:44:18.320 --> 00:44:21.440
Allison, I did not, I never baked before 2020.
00:44:21.599 --> 00:44:23.199
Not even brownies, cookies.
00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:24.559
I'm a savory person.
00:44:24.719 --> 00:44:25.679
I grew up cooking.
00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:29.039
I worked in kitchens in college to pay the bills.
00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:31.519
Never interested in any baking.
00:44:31.840 --> 00:44:39.519
So during early pandemic, my spouse started giving me cooking challenges because I was really bored at home and really sad.
00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:41.519
And then he ran out of ideas.
00:44:41.679 --> 00:44:43.119
So he's like, you should bake bread.
00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:43.920
You don't bake.
00:44:44.079 --> 00:44:45.199
You don't bake anything.
00:44:45.440 --> 00:44:53.440
And I remember making a German chocolate cake for dinner, and pretty sure it collapsed.
00:44:53.760 --> 00:45:02.320
Like we joked about submitting it to the show on Netflix called nailed it and like told me to get on there because it was not presentable in any way.
00:45:02.639 --> 00:45:04.000
That was 2020.
00:45:04.480 --> 00:45:14.800
I made my first layered cake in summer of 2022 because I had a good friend, it was her birthday, and I was like, Oh, I want to bring a birthday cake.
00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:18.960
I did not find anything interesting locally.
00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:25.119
So I'm like, I'm just gonna go buy a book and I'm gonna make something from the book.
00:45:25.360 --> 00:46:07.199
And that was when um Natasha Picklewitz More Than a Cake just came out, and that book changed my life because she had the olive oil cake recipe in there, and I made olive oil cake with housemate cherry jam and then basil olive oil buttercream, which to me is like sweet savory, which I love, and I just decorated it with some fresh basil leaves and fresh cherries, and I just posted a picture to be like, you know, made it for a friend, and the response was insane because people really were interested in the flavors, and you just can't find that anywhere else, and that's how it started.
00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:19.360
And I remember reluctantly accepting my first commission because I was like, oh, I don't do this for a living, I do this for fun.
00:46:19.599 --> 00:46:20.639
She's like, No, no, no.
00:46:20.719 --> 00:46:22.400
I like where you're going with this.
00:46:22.719 --> 00:46:25.440
Like, name me the price, make me a cake.
00:46:25.760 --> 00:46:31.679
And it used to take me four hours to frosticate because I did not have the technique to do it.
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:35.599
And it was and used to scare me to pipe, you know.
00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:37.920
But of course, practice makes perfect.
00:46:38.239 --> 00:46:38.719
Absolutely.
00:46:38.800 --> 00:46:50.480
And you really just need that first person who believes in you and says, I want to pay you for this because it's I understand now why people frame their first dollar, right?
00:46:50.559 --> 00:46:56.320
Because that's such a significant moment of someone thought that there was value in this.
00:46:56.719 --> 00:47:04.079
And the thread that I'm kind of hearing through your entire story is that people really trust you.
00:47:04.800 --> 00:47:11.760
They might not know exactly what they're going to get, but they trust you and they trust your work and they trust your vision.
00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:21.039
And they believe that no matter what it is in the end, maybe it's different flowers than they thought, or a different you know, flavor profile than they had originally planned.
00:47:21.199 --> 00:47:30.239
They trust you enough to complete the job, the collaboration, the cake because of all of the incredible work that you've done.
00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:34.880
And I also hope that people are hearing that you haven't been doing this since infancy.
00:47:35.039 --> 00:47:41.440
You didn't grow up in a house where people were baking and were baking your whole life and you could just have an oven growing up.
00:47:41.679 --> 00:47:45.440
Yeah, I mean, my mom kept sweaters in our oven, like it was storage.
00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:51.360
And you don't have to be doing this for your whole life to be great at something, I think is what you're saying.
00:47:51.519 --> 00:48:10.639
You can learn later in your life or whenever you're ready and pour yourself into it, find a book that works for you, or find resources that work for you, and put your whole heart into it and follow your inspirations and work with people in your community to create something beautiful.
00:48:10.800 --> 00:48:15.679
I think some people don't get started because they feel like, oh, I don't know how, I've never done it.
00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:21.920
But fast forward five years later and you have your um master of your craft.
00:48:22.239 --> 00:48:27.199
So I find that really inspiring, and I hope that our listeners do too.
00:48:27.360 --> 00:48:28.159
I know that they will.
00:48:28.239 --> 00:48:34.000
I mean, and if you're not following Jill on Instagram, uh it's just at Capital Jill, right?
00:48:34.320 --> 00:48:35.679
Capital Jill Baking.
00:48:35.840 --> 00:48:39.360
It is, I mean, what a feast for the eyes.
00:48:39.440 --> 00:48:41.519
I was looking at it before our chat today.
00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:53.039
It's just full of bright colors, reds and pinks and passion fruit and just beautiful cakes and just all sorts of lovely things.
00:48:53.199 --> 00:49:01.199
And even though someone might live far away and not be able to actually eat your products, they can certainly be inspired by it.
00:49:01.440 --> 00:49:06.719
I would love to ask you kind of my closing question and then a follow-up question to that.
00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:12.800
But the first thing I would love to ask you is this podcast is called Saving Bread.
00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:15.519
And you make a lot of things besides bread.
00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:23.840
It doesn't literally need to be bread, but it's more of the idea of making things by hand and slowing down and connection.
00:49:24.079 --> 00:49:28.400
And every person that I've asked, they've had a different, just a little bit of a different answer.
00:49:28.559 --> 00:49:36.960
So I'd love to know for you what is the heart and the meaning behind saving bread?
00:49:37.119 --> 00:49:39.679
What does that mean to you and your life?
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:45.360
I think of myself, I mentioned before as a bread baker and a cake artist.
00:49:45.519 --> 00:49:52.880
And even though I do bread, pastry, and cake, I mean, pastry really is bread, you know, like the dough is the most important thing.
00:49:53.119 --> 00:49:58.159
So I think I spent 70% of my job thinking about bread.
00:49:58.480 --> 00:50:07.199
Even with a team, I still hold my dough pastry or bread dough or brioche dough very close to my heart.
00:50:07.360 --> 00:50:16.559
When I think about saving bread, the first thing that popped into my head was the fact that I think of bread making as a practice.
00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:20.000
Like some people have a yoga, go to yoga as a practice.
00:50:20.239 --> 00:50:22.960
I think of bread to me as a practice.
00:50:23.119 --> 00:50:27.360
There's no bulletproof process.
00:50:27.679 --> 00:50:34.159
You have to consider the temperature, the flower, the humidity, your equipment.
00:50:34.320 --> 00:50:41.119
There's just so many different elements, and you're making decisions every step along the way.
00:50:41.280 --> 00:50:44.719
And some of them might be a great call, some might not.
00:50:45.119 --> 00:50:53.440
You just have to trust when you make that call and let time and the sourdough yeast, you know, do his thing.
00:50:53.679 --> 00:50:57.440
So I really think of making bread for me as a practice in that way.
00:50:57.519 --> 00:51:03.760
Like I'm trying to do a better job than last week, and I will learn new things.
00:51:04.079 --> 00:51:17.199
But also I think of saving bread, I mean, maybe in the most, I guess, common sense, in a sense that it is such a fundamental thing.
00:51:17.440 --> 00:51:26.320
Every culture has their bread, everyone has some sort of bread or sandwich or toast or something that it's like big part of your diet.
00:51:26.559 --> 00:51:30.800
And it's been something we eat and make for thousands of years.
00:51:31.039 --> 00:51:45.599
And why is it still so hard to walk into a local artisanal place to get a freshly loaf of sourdough or pullman or something just so you can have sandwiches for lunch every day?
00:51:45.840 --> 00:51:53.599
And I just it it pained me so much whenever I go to the grocery store and I walk down the bread aisle.
00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:56.159
I hate the smell so much.
00:51:56.639 --> 00:51:59.199
It smells like fake sugar.
00:51:59.519 --> 00:52:03.280
And I have to walk to that aisle that's where the jam is or the peanut butter is.
00:52:03.679 --> 00:52:05.599
I want to keep it local.
00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:31.199
I want the safe bread in the sense that it should be something that's accessible for everyone and honest and simple and seasonal and not just, you know, can't it can't just be the only accessible thing, can't just be like white loaves lies in the plastic bag in the grocery store that like came from a factory with like 30 ingredients.
00:52:31.519 --> 00:52:34.880
That is just like something that still gets me so upset.
00:52:35.039 --> 00:52:36.639
Because I'm like, why is it so hard?
00:52:36.800 --> 00:52:40.719
I live in the capital of this country, like the richest country in the world.
00:52:40.800 --> 00:52:45.360
Why is it so hard to get simple good bread anywhere?
00:52:45.840 --> 00:52:48.159
Yeah, see, I'm mad about it.
00:52:48.480 --> 00:53:06.239
I love your passion, and I I think that all of us are connected in that way, is that we do want to make it more accessible, and it's going to take so many of us, and that's another big reason why I started the podcast to inspire people to do what we've done, have a micro bakery.
00:53:06.320 --> 00:53:15.599
And if they're not baking, seek it out because the more people who want it, if the demand is there, the the market will meet the demand.
00:53:15.760 --> 00:53:26.880
And there has to be a group of people who want to do this job and be dedicated to it and do it in a way, as you said, that's honest and trustworthy and wholesome.
00:53:27.360 --> 00:53:38.000
And so thank you for all of the work that you've done and all of the joy that you bring to the world because you really do bring a lot of fun and color and joy into this space.
00:53:38.079 --> 00:53:42.960
So, where can people go to support you online, in person?
00:53:43.280 --> 00:53:45.280
Where should they go to find you?
00:53:45.920 --> 00:53:56.880
I am capitaljoe baking on Instagram, but also website is capitaljoebaking.com is capital with an O, like Capitol Hill.
00:53:56.960 --> 00:54:11.199
The name started because when we bought this house during the pandemic, I was texting friends like we just bought a house in Capitol Hill, and of course, being my phone, my iPhone kept auto-correcting it to Joe, and I'm like, that's really great.
00:54:11.360 --> 00:54:12.400
I should take that.
00:54:13.119 --> 00:54:23.599
There's a whole link on social or website for pre-order custom cakes, but also I do a lot of fun events around town or informations.
00:54:23.760 --> 00:54:26.000
Most up-to-date is on my Instagram.
00:54:26.159 --> 00:54:33.199
But also, since I have given up on making content, if you want to put to give me a comment or like something, it helps a lot.
00:54:33.440 --> 00:54:38.079
Because I once in a while I feel like posting on Instagram is like screaming into the void.
00:54:38.159 --> 00:54:41.519
Absolutely don't know who is out there is watching beside Allison.
00:54:42.000 --> 00:54:42.320
Me.
00:54:42.960 --> 00:54:43.760
I'm there.
00:54:45.840 --> 00:54:46.639
Well, thank you.
00:54:46.880 --> 00:54:53.920
This has been a lovely conversation, and we'll be able to chat for a few more minutes after I hit stop recording.
00:54:54.079 --> 00:54:56.320
But just for our listeners, thank you so much.
00:54:56.400 --> 00:55:03.840
And thank you for taking an hour out of your day to share more of your creative process with us and your heart and your vision.
00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:05.440
It's really inspired me.
00:55:05.519 --> 00:55:08.719
And I know that it will inspire those who are listening today too.
00:55:09.039 --> 00:55:09.519
Thank you.
00:55:09.599 --> 00:55:12.079
And we get to hang out in McBride in January.
00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:15.679
I am so excited with Grayson and in a really cool place.
00:55:15.920 --> 00:55:19.039
Petaluma is beautiful, and I'm excited to hang out.
00:55:19.280 --> 00:55:19.920
I R L.
00:55:20.320 --> 00:55:20.880
For sure.
00:55:21.119 --> 00:55:21.440
Yes.
00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:22.559
All right, my friend.
00:55:22.719 --> 00:55:25.039
Goodbye for now, but we'll keep chatting, okay?
00:55:25.360 --> 00:55:26.000
Sounds great.
00:55:26.480 --> 00:55:26.719
Thank you.
00:55:26.880 --> 00:55:27.599
Have a great day.
00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:28.239
Bye.
00:55:28.480 --> 00:55:30.400
Thank you again to Jill for this conversation.
00:55:30.559 --> 00:55:37.119
One of the things that I kept thinking about afterwards was how much of her business has been built through trust.
00:55:37.360 --> 00:55:41.920
Trust from customers who are willing to try something they've never had before.
00:55:42.239 --> 00:55:52.239
Trust from other businesses who want to collaborate with her, and trust from couples who give her room to create something completely personal for their wedding.
00:55:52.400 --> 00:55:58.320
And also trust in herself to keep learning and follow an idea even if she hasn't done it before.
00:55:58.639 --> 00:56:02.639
Jill didn't start baking until 2020, and I think that's worth remembering.
00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:11.360
You do not have to have spent your entire life doing something in order to take it seriously, get very good at it, and eventually make it your own.
00:56:11.599 --> 00:56:15.360
I also loved her description of bread making as a practice.
00:56:15.519 --> 00:56:21.039
There isn't a one perfect one size fits all or perfect process.
00:56:21.199 --> 00:56:22.400
You have to pay attention.
00:56:22.639 --> 00:56:27.599
You have to make decisions and you learn from the last bake, and then you come back and you do it again.
00:56:27.679 --> 00:56:30.639
And Jill is just a beautiful example of this.
00:56:30.880 --> 00:56:35.360
I am deeply in admiration for her work and everything that she has created.
00:56:35.440 --> 00:56:41.920
And I just loved spending time with her via Zoom, and I can't wait to spend time with her in person in January.
00:56:42.239 --> 00:56:46.800
You can find Jill and all of her work at Capital Jill Baking.
00:56:47.440 --> 00:56:49.440
And thank you all for being here.
00:56:49.599 --> 00:56:50.480
Thank you for listening.
00:56:50.719 --> 00:56:54.400
Thank you for writing in to me and sending me messages.
00:56:54.559 --> 00:57:03.760
And if you're enjoying the podcast, right now we have about 48 reviews on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
00:57:03.920 --> 00:57:14.880
And if you just have two minutes at the end of this recording to hop on there and just drop a little love note, it really helps out the podcast so much, and I would really appreciate it.
00:57:15.119 --> 00:57:16.559
So that's all for today.
00:57:16.639 --> 00:57:21.039
And we will be back next week with another interview with a wonderful baker.
00:57:21.199 --> 00:57:28.400
Someone I'm very excited to talk with and share their story and just get into something a little bit different.
00:57:28.559 --> 00:57:31.760
So we'll see you all here next week.
00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:33.280
Bye, friends.
00:57:36.000 --> 00:57:39.519
Thank you for listening to the Saving Bread Podcast.
00:57:42.159 --> 00:57:45.599
Music by Joshua from Dope.
00:57:50.079 --> 00:57:55.599
And as always, happy baking and long live Real Bread.