For Jonelle Peters, a local in Slave Lake, a loaf of sourdough bread is about more than something to put on the table.
It is something she can make with her own hands, share with someone else and, hopefully, use to bring a little joy to the community.
Peters recently gave a longtime idea a try by setting up a bake stand in southeast Slave Lake under the name MJ Grace and Grain.

“I have been wanting to do a bake sale for a long time already,” Peters says. “I also wanted to earn a little extra cash for my husband and me.”

But money is only one part of what draws her to it.

“I love to bake, to meet people, and to share Jesus with them,” she says.
So far, Peters has only operated the stand once, which took place on July 31 this year.
She quickly discovered just how much work goes into preparing a large selection of homemade baking.
Everything Peters sells is baked by her, with offerings that currently include different flavours of sourdough bread, cinnamon rolls, sourdough bagels, pies, scones, and premium giant cookies.

The menu may continue to evolve as she experiments and develops her baking.
Eventually, Peters hopes to add bread made using freshly milled flour.

Before that happens, however, she says she needs to purchase a flour mill and learn how to bake with freshly milled flour.
For Peters, the quality of what goes into her baking matters.
As the project grows, she says she plans to continue using high-quality ingredients.

The response to her baking has been encouraging so far.

“The few people who have given me feedback love my bread, so I’m happy,” she says.

Those who saw Peters’ first stand may have also noticed garden bouquets, iced coffee, and eggs alongside the baking.
Those items belonged to friends who joined her in selling some of their own products.
If Peters sets up the stand again, she says it will most likely focus exclusively on her own baked goods.
Exactly how often that will happen is still being figured out.
Peters describes herself as having a busy life with plenty of projects, but hopes to begin holding the stand twice a month starting in September.

She wants to take some time beforehand to prepare and determine a system that makes the workload manageable.
One possibility is taking preorders through MJ Grace and Grain’s social media pages rather than preparing a large amount of baking without knowing what will sell.

“A big bake sale is a lot of work,” she says.

For now, Peters plans to keep things small. Farmers’ markets could potentially be part of the future, but she wants to see how much interest there is before making that commitment.

“I would like to get into farmers’ markets, but I want to generate enough interest first to find out if it’s worth it,” she says.

As she figures out what MJ Grace and Grain might become, Peters says community support can be as simple as following the business on Instagram or Facebook and, importantly, telling her what people really think of the food.

“I would love it if people would give honest feedback about my baked goods,” she says.
She also plans to continue using high-quality ingredients, so customers know they are getting good products.
Behind the bread, cookies, pies, and cinnamon rolls is something Peters values just as much as baking itself: the people who stop by.

“I love meeting people in the community and bringing smiles to their faces,” she says.
For anyone interested, visit Peters’ website at instagram.com/mjgraceandgrain/ and facebook.com/mjgraceandgrain.

Julia Magsombol
Lakeside Leader