Have you ever had a hankering for bread? Not just your classic loaf of Wonderbread, but real bread. The bread a family member would make and you would just feel at home? That bread that made fall come alive when you smelled it in the kitchen. Maybe it’s just Starbucks biscotti or the little sweet cornbread loaves you got for school lunches. (These were a staple of my fifth-grade year.) 

Or maybe you’re in a pinch and the girl you like said all she wants is bread. Well, I have the perfect person for you, to get that girl or to remember your childhood. Meet Andrew Griffith, or The One Who Bakes. He’s been in business for the past year, a DCHS senior and podcaster for our amazing newspaper. He’s known for his famous apple bread, peach bread, and cherry bread. In this next paragraph, you’ll hear from Andrew himself, and what his business is about. 

Jenna- So, what made you start your business? Or, first, what is your business?

Andrew- Okay, so my business is a bread-baking business. I go off of one recipe that I started with and then I expanded with it. There’s this place in Indiana that has this apple orchard and a big farm for it. They’ve made a lot of traditional apple recipes like apple pie, apple loaves, etcetera. Well, for years, my mom’s been making this one thing called apple bread, and I really liked it, so for a school end-of-year party, I made it and everyone really liked it. Then, people were like, ‘Hey, can you make a loaf?’ And I was like, I can make money off of this, so then I proceeded to make more bread. I started going to school with a few loaves every day, and they would all sell out. People were like, “Dang, this is good bread.” So I worked on that and I made peach bread and expanded to more types of bread. At one point I tried banana, but it didn’t work out. Besides that I do have a new recipe coming out soon. 

Jenna- And what made you really want to start? Outside of money, did you want to make this your career when you get out of high school, or is it more until you go off after you graduate and do your own thing?

Andrew- Well, this is a side gig that I do that isn’t mentally draining, something I really enjoy, and I have a lot of fun doing it. That’s why I was like, “why not make money off a little hobby of mine?” But it’s definitely not something I want to make something out of.

Jenna- Yeah, okay, that’s understandable. And you do not sell your products out of school? Is it simply for the high school?

Andrew- My main source of business is inside the high school. However, I do deliveries and special orders. Like, you can request a cake, some people request big loaves of bread, and I can make almost a Bundt cake out of the bread. I once made a special order of chocolate muffins. That was really fun. 

Jenna- Oh, wow! So do you have any socials or a phone number, so people can call or text and order through that?

Andrew- As of right now, it’s only my personal Snapchat and Instagram if anyone wants to send me a message. And I can go from there. 

Jenna- Great. It’ll be at the bottom. But, that’s good to know! And that’s the main goal of this interview, to make sure you have as much business as you possibly can. So, do you have an eventual goal with this bread business? Or are you just doing it for fun?

Andrew- I’m doing it for fun, I have fun doing it, and I make money doing it. 

Jenna- The high school dream?

Andrew- *laughs* Yeah. 

Jenna- Oh, wow. Now, is there anything in particular that you want people to know about baking bread or baking in general? And if they want to do it? 

Andrew- It’s very fun and very rewarding. If you listen to the rules and the recipe, it usually comes out well. Baking is more of a science than an art. It’s just . . . You have to get everything to the right amount of ingredients so that things can go right. I’ve had to throw out ten to twelve loaves at times because they didn’t turn out right or the way I like them, so I didn’t want to sell those. I don’t want to sell imperfect products, so to speak. 

Jenna- Oh, wow. I think that’s really it. Is there anything else you want to add? Sales, advice, anything?

Andrew- If you want to start a small business, just do it. What’s stopping you? 

Well, you heard it here folks. For a bread that even Oprah Winfrey would recommend, Andrew Griffith is the person to order from. Whether you want his staple apple bread, or a special order of chocolate muffins, he can whip something up that everyone will love. His social media is underneath to place an order or to find out the prices. And as always, thank you for reading! 

********The interview has been edited for length and clarity

Andrew’s Snapchat and Instagram- @a.griffith1