Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Letendre
Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A little introduction of me:
My name is Ashley Letendre, the owner and sole baker behind Baked by Ashley. I was born and raised in the Grand Rapids MN area and now run my cottage bakery in Marble MN where me, my husband, two step kids, and our 5 pets reside. I also work full time as an administrative assistant for a local Redi mix and excavating company. I fill the rest of my free time with all things sourdough and baking!
I had a bit of an unconventional start to baking. Growing up my mom would encourage me to help in the kitchen, but I never wanted anything to do with it. I actually avoided it at all costs. It wasn’t until I was living on my own in the Twin Cities that I began to enjoy spending time cooking and baking. At this time, I was working in banking and would bring in mini banana bread loaves for my coworkers. One of my favorite moments was getting a video from a coworker’s son saying “Miss Ashley, will you please make me some more bread?” This is when the seed was planted to start a bakery.
In June of 2021 I moved back to my hometown and started dabbling with sourdough. I first tried creating my own sourdough starter from scratch but failed many times. Eventually in 2022, I ordered a dehydrated starter from a gal off Etsy- and I now have an amazing starter that is named Gladys!! Over those next few months, I mastered my basic sourdough recipe and developed some of my own. I started dreaming about opening a mobile bakery to travel around with selling my goodies. Slowly that dream started evolving to opening a brick-and-mortar bakery (which is still a dream!)
In March of 2023, I made the jump to being a registered cottage food producer and began running my bakery under the name of Ash Marie’s Bake Shop out of my home. Taking that step took a lot of planning, research, and hundreds of hours dedicated to my craft.
2024 was a year growth for my little bakery. I really focused on my social media pages to promote my products, while still relying greatly on word of mouth. I also focused on building connections in my community. In November I was a part of my very first craft show hosted by my local bar and sold out! I also made a big change- my business name! At the start of 2025 I launched my official menu and new name: Baked by Ashley. The start of my third official year of having my bakery has been incredible so far, and I cannot wait to see what the next several bring!
Since my opening, I have had the privilege of creating several custom cakes for friends and family, have had many of my breads be a part of holiday meals, had my products gifted at Christmas, and gained an amazing following and customer base. Without the never-ending support from my friends, family, and community I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I will forever be grateful for all of them!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part – it has been. I have taken the process of building my little business slow and have had an amazing support system behind me. but- there have been some hiccups along the way.
Trying to establish my own sourdough starter really tested my patience. (Anyone who has done so knows what I mean!) After probably 5-6 failed attempts I was ready to give up completely. My husband was incredibly supportive and suggested that I get and already established one to build off. I am stubborn and didn’t want to for a while, but then I caved. It has been one of the best things I had done.
Sourdough in general can be very picky. It is really reliant on your environment: the temperature and humidity of your home, they type of flour you use, and your technique. Now, that makes it sound very daunting-but once you find what works for you, it’s worth it! When I was prepping for the vendor event in November I burnt an entire batch of cranberry wild rice loaves. They are my best seller, and I felt defeated. Since then, I haven’t burnt a loaf!
As I said earlier, I started my bakery under the name Ash Marie’s Bake Shop. When I registered as a cottage foods baker picking a name was the absolute hardest part. I could not pick something to save my life and ended up settling with Ash Marie’s Bake Shop. This name will always hold a special place in my heart, but it was no longer serving me. After many more trial runs on names, I chose Baked by Ashley. I love the simplisity and the fact that it leaves me a bit of room for additional growth, like a website/blog or *hint hint* future cookbook title!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Although I bake a lot of things, my specialty is my artisan sourdough loaves. Sourdough really is a labor of love; to make one loaf it takes about 12 hours of time from start to finish. I take great pride in putting my all into each and every loaf I make. I also dedicated so many hours into curating amazing flavors. Currently, my sourdough loaves are available in original (plain sourdough), garlic and herb, jalapeno cheddar, cranberry wild rice, rosemary parmesan, blueberry lemon, and double chocolate. I also put out special edition flavors throughout the year, like peppermint mocha at Christmas, and chocolate strawberry for Valentine’s.
And item I am most proud of would be my sourdough flights. Each flight come with four mini sourdough loaves in a customer’s choice of flavors. Not only are they cute, but they are a great way to sample new things. They have become my #1 bestselling item since I began offering them last fall.
What matters most to you?
To me, providing my local communities with homemade goodies is so important. Marble is a tiny little town with an amazing population that has supported me along the way, and I am honored each and every time I get an order.
I also love that through my little bakery I get to teach my kids about baking. They love when I have recipes to test because they get help. While making goodies, they are also learning about kitchen safety, etiquette, and what is going into our bodies. It’s been one of the most rewarding parts if this entire journey.
Pricing:
- Sourdough Loaves ranging between $10-15
- Non Sourdough breads starting at $8
- Sourdough flights $25
Contact Info:
- Instagram: bakedbyashley_sourdough
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558242236540
- Other: ashmariesbakeshop@gmail.com
