Meet Terra Welch | Sourdough Baker

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

Hi Terra, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I ended up as a full time baker simply because I decided to take a risk. This career path was honestly never my plan. I had been comfortable in my career in the dental field for 20 years, I had worked for the same place since I was 19 and I just turned 40. The fiery passion I once had working in my field was dwindling, and I knew it was time to pursue something else. I needed a change.

Shortly thereafter, I resigned from my position of being the “lead” and cut my schedule down to 2 days a week. I also put in a 6 month notice- all without having a clue about what I was going to do or where I was going with my life.

As I searched endlessly for another job (and even tried starting a different business venture), I wondered if I could sell sourdough on the side to get me by until I found another job. I had recently started baking, and had a list too long to keep up with of people who wanted some.

Things started to fall into place so naturally that I couldn’t even deny the path that was unfolding right in front of me. I was gifted baking equipment from people and businesses, stumbled upon machines/equipment etc for a steal, people offered their spaces to prepare and bake my bread in, and behind all of that was a community of people who were standing there to welcome and support me.

I worked 2 other jobs while trying to get my business up and running, and by the end of that 6 months, I had grown enough to move into baking full time. I just had my first year anniversary of my business and hit 9 months of being self employed.

I have always been an advocate for doing what you love… not just because it brings you happiness, but because I truly believe that if every single person pursued what they loved- the world would be a better place. Everyone would be challenging themselves and growing daily in the pursuit of their dreams, doing something that brings them joy, and brings others joy just by watching it happen. Creating in a way that only you can adds a certain kind of sunshine to the world, and there’s just something so magical about that.

Without taking that risk, I would never be here now: working for myself full time, doing what I love, happier than ever, and thriving in creativity and passion for something I could have never imagined becoming a reality. The opportunities that present themselves will almost never come without risk, and that’s a big lesson I’ve learned going through this process.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
There have been so many exciting opportunities since starting my own business, but the thing I’m most proud of is how much I’ve grown as a person. I have terrible social anxiety and thought I’d never be able to talk to strangers at markets, visit stores to pitch my products, or let alone think about teaching a class to a group of people I just met, but I do all of that now. There was a point in my life where my anxiety became so crippling that I couldn’t leave my house or even shop at a grocery store. So, to look back and see how far I’ve come in that respect is pretty incredible in itself.

A super exciting thing for me this year was being able to grow a small crop of my own Khorasan wheat to make bread with. It was such an incredible process from beginning to end. Although it was incredibly difficult to do without modern day machinery, it was really cool to know I did all of that using my own two hands. I would love to experiment more with all of that in the future.

I am currently testing ancient grains to use in my bread. I have always wanted to produce something with more nutrition and with wheat that was farmed locally. As soon as I have my recipe perfected, I will be doing just that, and that is absolutely thrilling to me.

I don’t come from a long line of family bakers. I had never even baked until a couple of years ago. In fact, I used to despise baking. Everything I know is self taught, and I only decided to learn sourdough because I found out I was gluten sensitive. I never thought this little hobby would turn into a full time career. My love for baking grew over time and has become such a therapeutic and creative outlet for me. I never thought I’d say I love baking, but I absolutely love it now.

Starting a micro bakery has not been easy. There have been tons of challenges and hurdles along the way. From recipe and bake fails, to learning how to be a (mostly) one man show. It has made me realize just how much I am truly capable of.

My biggest lesson has been learning to not get in my own way, and realizing how much sooner I could’ve made my dreams come true if I hadn’t. I have to remind myself that I CAN do hard things, and I square up with my imposter syndrome daily. I think most people are scared to start something of their own, but being scared won’t get you anywhere except for the same place you’re already in. For anyone wanting to take that jump- do it. I promise you won’t regret taking that chance on yourself, and I also promise you’ll learn so much about yourself in the process.

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?
If my best friend was visiting and I was taking them to some of my favorite spots to eat/drink, it would be to downtown Mesa. I have lived there most of my life, and have watched it go from a ghost town with abandoned buildings everywhere, to a thriving downtown with so many great places to choose from.

In the mornings, we would stop by Organic Bean Cafe for her famous banana coffee, The Nile or Jarrod’s Coffee and Tea for a breakfast beverage. We would spend the day shopping in all the cute vintage stores and boutiques downtown.

For dinners, I would take them to Espiritu for some delicious seafood and one of their stellar cocktails. We would go to Goat and Ram which has the most amazing and creative pizzas I’ve ever eaten, and Que Chèvre which is a fantastic Venezuelan restaurant that has food unlike anywhere else with a great cocktail list as well.

If we were going out for a beer, we would head to Chupacabra Taproom for a more chill vibe or their sister company Phantom Fox Brewing, because they have a genius brewer who comes up with some of the best beers ever.

For a little bit of fun, we would definitely have to stop by Level One and BRI to play some old school arcade and pinball games, and probably finish it up with a game of darts.

For a sweet treat, we would walk over to Novel Ice Cream- the best ice cream shop in the state!

On the weekend, I would take up them up north to go camping, so that we could go paddle boarding on the lake and go for a hike in one of my favorite areas near the Mogollon Rim. The views up there are stunning!

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?
My biggest supporter from day one has been my fiancé, Chris. He has arranged his entire house and life for my business. He’s been right by my side through 18 hour bake days, sleepless nights, making deliveries, and learning the process of making the bread, so he can jump in whenever I might need the extra help.

He encouraged me to leave my job much sooner than I did, but never asked how it would work or what if… he only asked how he could help. When someone encourages you the way he does me, it leaves so much less room for doubt and fear to creep in, and I am so thankful for him- not just for being so supportive, but for physically helping me chase these wild dough dreams. Sometimes, it only takes one person to believe in you, and he’s the one who made me believe in myself. I will be forever grateful to him for that.

I’ve had several local business owners reach out with advice, take time out of their schedules to help me and support me at my events, but we have one friend in particular (who owns Goat and Ram Pizza in Mesa) that helped facilitate so much of this for me. He even offered me a job when I decided to go down to part time hours, and when I got overwhelmed with the never ending to do lists of running your own business, he reminded me to take it one task at a time, every single day. He would never admit it, because he’s much too humble, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. Thank you, Dan.

Lastly, my community deserves the BIGGEST shoutout! They have been there since the beginning ready to support, share my product and cheer me on the entire time. I feel incredibly fortunate to live in an area that is so hugely supported by such amazing people. I will be forever grateful to them, because without them, this dream would have never become a reality. For the first time in my life I have an actual “community”, and I never thought I’d be able to say that. I appreciate all of them more than they know.

Website: https://TheDoughoe.com

Instagram: @The.Doughoe