Aaron Chournos

I remember as a little boy, making bread with my mom. She had a large bread mixer and wheat grinder on its own table in the laundry room. She would let me pour in the fresh-ground flour, yeast, honey, salt, and oil. I still remember how good the warm, fresh bread tasted - right out of the oven. We ALWAYS covered it with butter and honey or jam. My love for warm bread grew thanks to our sweet neighbor, Sister Peterson. She knocked on our door 3-4 times a year with a pan of warm rolls and a jar of homemade raspberry jam. Our family of nine would devour her delivery in minutes. I didn't think anyone could make rolls better than hers. By 2023, I had baked several hundreds of loaves of bread. Warm bread had become an important part of our lives. That year changed my baking life and neighborhood relationships forever. A physician told my daughter that, because of her health condition, she needed to only eat sourdough bread. After years of avoiding the sourdough fads, I reluctantly started my journey . . . for my daughter. The first recipe I found made two loaves. After a couple weeks of our family eating fresh bread every other day, we realized that we no longer needed the second loaf. I followed Sister Peterson's example and delivered the extra loaf to the neighbor next door - right out of the oven. They were so excited because it was so hot and fresh that they became emotional. It was so much fun to see their excitement! I decided I would deliver WARM SOURDOUGH BREAD to everyone on the street. One time I delivered a loaf of bread to a family that didn't know me. They invited me in to their kitchen to sit at their table, eat the bread with them, and get to know one another. Three weeks later, my company announced that our team was going to be dissolved, beginning an 11-month unemployment journey. As the situation became more difficult, I realized there was ONE THING I could do that would lift my spirits. Keep delivering warm bread. Over the past three years, I knocked on doors and delivered over 200 loaves of warm bread. I tell friends that a more powerful tool to breaking down a door doesn’t exist! Nothing opens doors . . . and hearts better than warm bread.