Made From Scratch
“We are something totally different. Everything we make is from scratch. It’s hard to explain to people. They’re not gonna come in and see lines of doughnuts. That’s not what we do. We are a bake shop,” Hiesterman says.
Goods are baked as they are ordered, aside from the cookies in jars at the counter, and kolaches and cinnamon rolls, which are kept in the freezer.
The women do not use preservatives, despite constant pressure to meet customer’s demands for food at a moment’s notice.
Hiesterman continues, “Somebody will call and say ‘I want a cake tomorrow’ and Connie will say ‘No’ because it hasn’t been worked into her baking schedule.
“You can’t have both high-quality and the immediate ‘shove it out the door.’”
“Connie’s son-in-law, his worst fear is that she’ll get tired of making pies. She makes every one by hand. There’s no mass production.” Hiesterman says.
About ten percent of Our Daily Bread’s business is online orders, which is extremely seasonal. Many who view the business’ website opt to call in a specialty order, such as custom pies or wedding cakes.
When someone calls to order a pie, Wilkens bakes it, cools it and freezes it for 24 hours. At four o’clock the next day, the pie is carried across the street to the post office where the ladies package it in the bakery’s own special box.
“Everything goes in a refrigerated box,” Hiesterman says. “If you go the classic route of mass production, those boxes cost you $30. So, being the farm girls we are, we started making our own boxes. You make your own in a very short amount of time and it costs us $2. Then we put techno-ice in there and it makes the trip real well. Course cream pies don’t ship well.”
Coconut cream pies are the most popular item at the shop.
The busiest time of the year is Christmas when the mail truck backs right up to the back door of the shop to load the orders.
Family Ties
“We’re all farm women. The job doesn’t end when we go home,” Hiesterman says.
Hiesterman and Wilkens grew up five miles south of Barnes family of five girls and one boy.
“Connie was the cook from the time she was a fifth grader and made her first pie. She said you could have threw it across the yard like a Frisbee. My dad likes to eat and Connie was his favorite. He just about cried when she got married because he lost his cook,” Hiesterman says.
She handles the business side of the shop and works full-time at the school district office down the street. Kate is in charge of the event planning and Wilkens is in charge of the kitchen. Help also comes from Cindy and Connie’s sister Marilyn, their mother Norma, as well as children and spouses.
Barnes, Past and Present
Hiesterman rises from the table and walks to a short hallway at the back of the ‘Garden Room.’ On one side are the bathrooms. On the other side of the wall are pictures of Barnes- how it once was.
Hiesterman knows this town history by heart. She encourages the youth of the town to move away; they need to see life outside of Barnes. She hopes that one day they all will come back but she knows they won’t. The fact that all of her children have returned home is extraordinary.
Finally, the women are ready to leave for the day. Lights are turned off and doors are locked.
People this content, so happy with their lives in a small town, are rare. These women truly do have the recipe for success.
Our Daily Bread Bake Shoppe and Bistro is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Lunch is served from 11 a.m to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Reservations are taken for special events dinners once each month.
Location: 23 North Center, Barnes
Website: http://barnesks.net/dailybread.html
Phone: 866-502-7323
Gallery
