My name is Joanna Wyner, and I have been baking for as long as I can remember. Learning at the side of my grandmother, one of the most gifted bakers I’ve ever known, I’ve baked about every sweet treat you can imagine.

I turn to baking for stress relief, so when COVID hit and the world began shutting down, I began baking—first, a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread! Easy enough. Next was challah. Tasty, but dense and doughy. I was determined to improve, so I decided to learn about the science of baking bread. I experimented, consulted other bakers, watched videos, read books—many loaves were “fine,” many were failures, but then…it clicked!

As a way to connect with people during quarantine, I dropped off loaves, bagels, babkas, and rolls to friends and family, sneaking in socially-distanced driveway visits here and there. I began donating bread and baked goods to homeless shelters and other residential facilities.

Then, in the wake of protests, rallies, and discussions about combatting systemic racism and police brutality, I saw a movement on Instagram that I couldn’t stop thinking about: @BakersAgainstRacism, a nationwide bake sale designed for both home and professional bakers to raise money for anti-racist organizations. How empowering to know that ANYONE can help make a difference in their community with something as simple as a bake sale! I thought, why not make this an ongoing thing? And here we are.

We support organizations that work to create change and empower people, and I still donate bread to different shelters and food pantries (you can get in on that too! Check out the order form). There are always challenges, but one thing I’m sure of is this: Bread=Love and my goal is to bring both to the table! Thanks for helping to spread the BreadLove—I am so happy you’re here and am most grateful for your support!