Tulsa Teen Helps Launch Redwinter Bakery With His Dad
William Pickard turned a shared project with his dad into a growing family business.
Fifteen-year-old William Pickard spent his summer learning something most teenagers don’t encounter in the classroom: how to launch a business.
Alongside his father, Nathan Pickard, William helped establish Redwinter Bakery, a family business producing whole wheat sourdough bread made with locally grown, organic Red Winter wheat.
“I’ve learned a ton,” William says. “There’s so much stuff that I never knew you had to do to form a business, and it’s been a learning experience.”
Some of those lessons have involved plenty of physical work. Two days a week, William wakes up earlier than your average teenager to help his father bake the loaves.
“I’m not necessarily enjoying it, but I have been adapting to the early hours,” he admits.
The day before each bake day is spent preparing the dough. That task starts around 7 a.m. and lasts about seven hours. In addition, William, who had previously learned some programming basics in one of his high school classes at Booker T. Washington, created a website for the business.
“He’s also been in charge of all the marketing and sales,” Nathan says.
The science of sourdough
Redwinter Bakery operates from The Joinery, the Pickards’ sustainably built property in The Heights. The home was built on the front parking lot of a former Tastee-Freez, while the original building and kitchen now house the bakery’s commercial oven, which can bake up to 12 loaves at a time.
Although Nathan had been baking bread as a hobby for more than a decade, when he began making sourdough loaves from 100% whole wheat a few years ago, it was a real challenge.
“It’s really hard to get it fluffy and not like a brick,” he says.
Undaunted, Nathan threw himself into the science of sourdough, reading books and baking countless loaves, which received positive reviews from those who tasted his efforts. The idea to turn his passion for baking into an actual business arrived last spring when William declared he wanted a summer job to save money for a car.
“We started ramping up a little bit because doing a couple loaves in the oven is very different than bigger batches,” Nathan says. “I also wanted to make sure he enjoyed it enough to keep going with it.”
When William stuck it out, they made the investment in the commercial oven, and Redwinter Bakery was born.
Where to find Redwinter Bakery products
Delivery for bread subscriptions is available. Their products can also be found at Natural Grocers and CHOP Grocer.
With William in school and Nathan working full time as Tulsa’s city auditor, there are no immediate plans for a big expansion of the business.
In the meantime, William plans to balance school and work.
“I think I’m going to try to figure out how to do both,” he says. “I really like being a business owner. It’s been fun for me.”
For more information or to order, visit redwinterbakery.com.
Julie Wenger Watson is a freelance writer who’s worked in all aspects of music promotion. She’s also Co-Director of “Live From Cain’s,” a public radio show pilot.
