Let There Be Bread: How-To-Proof It In A Cottage Industry

Proof Bread used to be located in Downtown Chandler at Market Square a few years ago. Sometimes their products were sold at Farmers Markets in Gilbert and sometimes here in Downtown Mesa for a while. At some time later, one of the people behind the table selling the breads told your MesaZona blogger they were now baking in two shifts as a home industry in a garage "near Pioneer Park". Whether true or not, one thing is clear to someone who's been in the food-hospitality-public relations industry for years in a different place and time that the proof is in that the company makes really good handmade artisan bread - some of the best. It's hard to consent to pay $5.00 for a baguette, but that's the asking price and I say yes. It was very nice talking with one of the owners and her mother during the third Saturday when the company was selling its products in Pioneer Park.

Why? Because it's hard work (some bakers work all night dusted with flour), it's a premium product, and they use local souces.  Proof Breads Sour Dough Starter is a living organism and has be fed and nurtured all the time
Furthermore the stories told me are true, as you can see reading more . . .
Shall we call it Phase 3? Let's catch up with this story  from Phoenix New Times almost two years ago

Proof Bread Enters Phase 2.0

Chris Malloy | November 9, 2017 | 7:00am             

"Over the summer, baking wizard Jared Allen sold his brand, Proof Bread. Proof had a hard-won reputation for excellence. Allen crafted bread by way of laborious, old-school techniques such as natural leavening and long fermentations. Proof was bread the hard way. Following news of the sale, repeat Proof customers worried how quality would fare under new non-Allen ownership.
Well, new owners Jonathan Przybyl and Amanda Abou-Eid are doing Allen proud. . .
The husband-and-wife team — themselves longtime Proof customers — have continued to adhere to ancient bread-making traditions. Following the sale, Przybyl spent four weeks at Allen's side. He observed. He baked. He learned bread the hard way.

Proof 2.0 isn't all that different from its original incarnation. The new owners embrace the hard way, use Allen's starter, and still bake in a chaotic garage.
On a recent morning, flour hung in sunbeams coming into Proof's garage in Mesa.
Przybyl was busy moving from refrigerator to dough to oven, all while overseeing the workings of two other bakers. One was bagging sliced loaves. Another was baking vegan burger buns, putting ciabatta on cooling racks, and shaping a duffel-bag-size mass of dough into raisin-walnut loaf portions. The portions would proof in baskets before baking.

There will be a few different Proof baked goods available at farmers markets. Sourdough. Chocolate croissants. Proof sells at the Phoenix Public Market, Gilbert Farmers Market, and at Agritopia on Wednesday nights. New as of Proof 2.0, the bakery distributes to three retail locations: Tempe Farmers Market, Mezona, and The Uprooted Kitchen.

Proof will be selling 20-plus baked goods at each of these groceries.
When you consider that sourdough's journey from starter to dough to rising to forming to proofing to baking lasts 30 hours, and when you consider that sourdough is just one baked good Proof offers, it's clear that putting out 20-plus old-school products will take a lot of time and coordination.

The garage operation is controlled chaos. The three bakers are busy, ovens hum, new dough is being shoved into the world at a rapid rate, and burnished loaves deck the cooling racks.

Proof's new owners are in the market for a brick-and-mortar spot (beyond a garage, that is). "We are exploring options for a place to call home, whether for retail or production," Pzrybyl says. It will be interesting to see how, given the slow, hard nature of good bread, Proof 2.0 will continue to grow.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Here's a recent 2-minute upload after such a long post with so much information

Published on May 7, 2019

Jon and Amanda didn't grow up as bakers but fell in love with Proof bread. They now own the cottage bakery and are expanding their reach across the valley.https://www.instagram.com/proofbread/
https://proofbread.com/ 

________________________________________________________________________________

Website: Proof Bread

https://proofbread.com/

Proof is an artisan sourdough bakery in the Phoenix Metro area. We are known for our Sourdough loaf, and sourdough pain au chocolat. Find us at local farmers markets.

Know Your Baker

Proof Bread is a modern throwback to a way of life that values small-scale craftsmanship, local community, and creativity. 

Baking is Our Craft.

Proof consists of a small group of passionate bakers. We work in our garage in Mesa, Arizona (thanks to cottage laws) which has been converted into a micro bakery.
Everything you buy from us is made by hand with no short cuts.
Most of our products are leavened only with our own sourdough starter named "Harriet" by Proof's original owner, Jared Allen.
Jared started Proof in 2014. His dedication and skill led to loyal local following and much recognition including being a finalist in Martha Stewart's "American Made".
Jonathan Przybyl and Amanda Abou-Eid were avid regulars of Proof pursuing corporate careers when they suddenly learned that Jared was moving out of state. Just a few days later they decided to keep Proof going, and showed up to Jared's garage to learn the craft. 

Local Grains

We have a relationship with our local stone mill. This age old process does not heat up flour like a roller mill, thus preserving nutrients and eliminating the need for later "enriching". Arizona is home to fine grains like Red Fife, White Sonora, and Durum. Our most important ingredient is sourced locally, and milled with passion at Hayden Flour Mills