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A customer told me my bread was 'too pretty' and it actually helped me improve
At a farmers market in Portland last month, this older guy picked up my sourdough and said 'this looks like it belongs in a magazine, not my kitchen.' I was kinda offended at first. But he explained he wanted bread that looked handmade, not perfect. So I stopped brushing every loaf with egg wash and started leaving more flour on top and letting the scoring be a little messy. Sales actually went up. Has anyone else gotten feedback that made you change your style?
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gavin2281mo ago
That customer did you a solid. People want bread that looks like it came from a home kitchen, not a factory. I had a similar thing happen with my cookies where someone said they looked too uniform and it made them feel like they were buying from a store instead of a baker. Started leaving them a little lopsided and letting the chocolate chips pop out more and people loved it. Sometimes the rough edges make it feel more authentic and connected to the person who made it.
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kim_ramirez31mo agoMost Upvoted
Hmm I get what you're saying but I don't totally agree... I think there's a line between "rustic and handmade" and "messy" or "sloppy" looking. Like if I'm paying $8 for a loaf of bread I still want it to look like someone put care into it, not like they just threw dough on a tray and hoped for the best. There's a difference between intentional imperfection and just looking lazy. I've seen bakers try too hard to make things look "homemade" and it just comes off as gimmicky.
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adams.uma1mo ago
Totally agree with @gavin228. It's like how people love handmade pottery with the fingerprints still in the clay. We're drowning in perfect, sterile products everywhere. Everything from our phones to our furniture is designed to look like a robot made it. That's why farmers markets are so popular now. People are craving that human touch, that little flaw that says a person was there. Imperfection sells because it's proof something was actually made by hand.
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