Hannah Tina has been in the military for 14 years. It’s a stressful job with long hours, and she’s gone for weekends and weeks at a time.
However, it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that Tina found baking to be one of her passions.
“We were all stuck at home and I would call my stepmom to get recipes,” she said. “I’ve been able to tweak some of them to make them my own, and I just found the oven became one of my loves. I needed something to settle my mind. I wanted something to relieve stress and that’s what baking does for me. I can come home from a long day and knead dough and punch it if I want to. It’s very therapeutic to turn flour and water into bread.”
She started making quick breads: banana, zucchini, cinnamon and more. Then she moved into sourdough, eventually branching out to bagels, muffins and cookies.
“My family started asking me to bake for them, and now I provide my parents, brothers and neighbors with the daily bread they consume,” Tina said. “After a few months everyone was telling me I should start selling it. So it started out as a hobby, and now I do pop-ups at farmers markets and whatever else I can get into.”
She’s even created a name for her new and unexpected business: The Homemade Touch.
As a busy single parent, Tina said there were additional benefits to baking her own bread. She likes serving her son healthier food and it costs less to make it than to buy it.
“I’ve always tried to get him to eat things with less preservatives,” she said. “I’ve never gone cold turkey with it, but when we eat our bread I know exactly what went in it, and it’s helping in more ways than one. I’ve found, even with the price of eggs right now, it still costs less to make it than to buy it, and it’s better for you.”
She loves to play with flavors and shapes. Her son’s favorite is cinnamon and her neighbors serve as the official testers of a new flavor she’s trying out. Still, Tina said the tried and true is still her bestseller.
“It’s plain sourdough bread,” she said. “It’s so good for you and it works for everything. Whether you want sandwiches or toast, you can have this with breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
In addition to bread orders she receives on Facebook, orders for muffins, bagels or holiday-themed cookies are popular too. She’s also created some fun ways to get the whole family involved.
“I did some Valentine’s Day cookie decorating kits,” she said. “I’ve had people ask me to do some for other holidays. I’m planning on a Fourth of July kit and of course Christmas, but hopefully I’ll have it all perfected by the holidays.”
In the long term, Tina hopes to turn her hobby and small business into a post-career opportunity.
“I would love to one day open a breakfast spot,” she said. “It would be primarily baked goods but maybe I could find a partner who knows how to cook. This small town has been so supportive of people who want to start their own business.”
The only regret Tina has is not getting started sooner.
“I wish I had known how to make my own stuff earlier instead of being reliant on store bought,” Tina said. “I just love baking. It’s helped me in so many ways and helps my family. I love that people come to me to help feed their families. It’s very rewarding.”
