Meet Becky Grace of The Beckery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Grace.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I developed a love of baking as a child. I come from a large family and individual time with Grandma was hard to come by. She always baked on Sundays while everyone was at church and as often as I could, I would stay home with her to bake. I think it was my sneaky way of getting one-on-one time with her. It created a special bond between us and she showed me how she expressed her love by baking. That love has stuck with me and continues to push me to bake today. Each bake day I feel like I’m getting to spend time with Grandma all over again.
In 2019 I decided to take the plunge and open my home-based bakery with cookies. While I enjoyed it, I quickly saw that it was not my passion. Shortly after that I switched to bread and my heart has been happy since. There is something magical about taking basic ingredients (flour, water, and salt) and creating something delicious – a loaf of bread!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’m a busy girl, by choice. I work full-time, go to school part-time, and run my home-based bakery. All these things can collectively make free time hard to come by, but I also wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love that I found a way to share my passion with others while continuing to grow and learn.
My love of baking allows me to continue to push The Beckery forward however its important to note that being a small business owner means doing all the work. I am the baker, bookkeeper, marketing director, and janitor. It’s a lot to juggle but I am able to accomplish it with the support of my amazing husband and many friends and family who jump in as needed. I love the community I have built. Going to a market and discussing bread with customers is my happy place.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
While the love of baking bread has been with me since childhood, I didn’t develop the skill for sourdough until I was an adult. However, once I mastered sourdough, there was no turning back. The concept of utilizing wild yeast that is in the air all around us to create food is something that continues to fascinate me. I am continuously amazed by nature and feel privileged to be able to participate with it by using it to create bread.
Food insecurity is something I am passionate about and I’m proud to partner with organizations that support that. My bakery business allows me to contribute in meaningful ways to food resources for my community. (I’m not sure if I’m allowed to add plugs here but Food Rescue and Kent Social Services are two organizations I have worked with in this regard and both do incredible things to help fight food insecurity and waste.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I don’t just sell bread, I also teach classes on baking bread. Like my grandma, I love sharing my passion and watching others excitement when they learn about the art of bread baking. I teach both focaccia and sourdough classes. Personally, it seems like the internet has made bread baking seem scary and intimidating and I like to remind people that it doesn’t have to be that intense. Bread has been made without thermometers, scales, and regulated ovens for many generations and doesn’t need to be overly complicated. It also doesn’t have to be a perfect loaf to make it worthwhile, friends and family will appreciate the deliciousness of homemade bread regardless. (I once baked a loaf without salt which tasted terrible and my family still ate it!)
While I love the name, I didn’t come up with the name The Beckery myself. A friend of mine suggested it years before I opened my bakery and it was so clever I had to use it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hotplate.com/thebeckery?referralType=reminder
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057648960985