Meet Sophia Gagakuma | Bread Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophia Gagakuma and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wish I could say I had some grand plan. While I have always wanted to follow in the footsteps of my grandma and own a bakery, I never gave it much thought till the pandemic hit and I was furloughed. The pandemic really did a number on my mental health and baking was my safe space. So, I woke up one morning and created an Instagram page and posted a not-so-great video of me making bread. The next day I made another, the following week I posted some easy recipes.

It wasn’t till I took a class at Dallas College on how to run a bakery that I committed to creating my dream neighborhood micro-bakery. I started by selling dinner rolls on my neighborhood Facebook page. A couple of months later, I expanded to cookies and now have a full range of items and offer catering options as well.

It’s not an understatement to say that starting this business saved my mental health.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
First, my small business really is about creating a homey feel with all the baked goods. I try to source from local farms and my own garden. For example, till the storm destroyed my lemon tree, the lemons I used for my lemon crinkle cookies and lemon tarts came from my garden, all the herbs for the garlic and herb dinner rolls came from my garden, I try to find farm fresh eggs when I can and I try to stick to seasonal items so everything is fresh and at its peak.

Second, my offerings are also very collaborative. With the exception of cakes, I will never say no to new menu items. Rather, I tell the customer to allow me to try to make the item. They pay for the ingredients and I get to work. When it’s finally perfect and to their standard, we come up with a fair price and that’s what I charge. I love that my customers allow me to make mistakes and muddle through the learning process. It’s such a great way to improve especially at this stage. I’ve discovered so many great recipes and techniques doing this.

Third and probably the most important. I am actually not doing this for the money. I have a full-time job and only bake on the weekends. What little profit I make, I donate to specific non-profits focused on building schools, providing school supplies and providing medical assistance to communities in my home country of Ghana. I can’t be there physically to participate so this is my way of moving the cause forward. Two years ago, I dedicated a couple of months to a bake sale to build a school. I was completely floored by the generosity of my customers and my small following on instagram. It was a awesome feeling sharing the finished project with everyone who donated.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Klyde Warren park for the food trucks and of course the close proximity to all the amazing eats uptown! And of course, hop on the streetcar. Brunch at Ida Claire because the duck nachos are a whole vibe! I also recently discovered happy hour at Ferrah and I love the vibe and live music at dinner. Wabi House for ramen and top it off with dessert at Bissou Bissou or La Tarte Tropézienne! If you haven’t had the leek and parmesan croissant from the La Tarte Tropézienne, you haven’t lived! forget the pain au chocolat, that leek and parmesan croissant is an experience!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Big shout out to the culinary arts program at Dallas college. The two classes I have been a part of have been incredible. The students, materials and of course the chefs who teach the classes are wonderful.

Website: doughreymi.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dough_rey_mi/