It Started With a Winter Storm: The Story Behind Spread the Loaves

When the power finally came back on at Sophie’s house after the Texas winter storm of 2021, she started baking.

Neighbors and friends were struggling to find groceries, so Sophie went to work in her kitchen, baking dozens of loaves of sandwich bread for people who needed them.

Somewhere between the flour, the ovens, and all those loaves, something clicked.

“I found I really loved baking bread in bulk,” Sophie recalled. “And, since I also was a bit lost professionally at the time, I figured it was a great time to give a little cottage bakery a start!”

That little cottage bakery became Spread the Loaves.

What started inside a home kitchen during the winter storm has grown into something Sophie says she never could have imagined.

FROM FARMERS MARKETS TO HELOTES

For the first three years, there was no storefront.

Sophie baked mostly from home, hauling her bread to farmers markets and pop-ups throughout San Antonio, Boerne, and Helotes.

One stop kept standing out: Helotes Market Days.

“It was the market I looked forward to the most because I’d get to catch up with some of my favorite customers,” she said.

During those early years, Sophie also spent time working from a shared commercial kitchen.

That is where she met Justin Sparkman, who would eventually become her business partner.

As the bakery grew, so did the possibility of giving it a permanent home.

For Sophie, deciding where that home should be was not difficult.

“I knew Helotes would welcome me with open arms,” she said. “I had confidence in my product and myself, and when I heard our first building was available, my gut was just screaming it was the right step to take.”

She listened, and Helotes showed up.

THE LITTLE BAKERY THAT GOT TOO SMALL

Spread the Loaves built a loyal following from its original Helotes storefront, but that success created a new problem. They were running out of room.

The original bakery was less than 600 square feet.

“I spent most mornings anxious and stressed because I was almost always overstimulated,” Sophie said. “It’s tough to do what we were doing in a building that’s less than 600 square feet!”

She originally thought they might eventually add a walk-in refrigerator outside and simply make the little building work forever.

“Silly me!”

Spread the Loaves had outgrown it much faster than she expected, so they moved.

Today, Spread the Loaves has a much bigger home at 14743 Old Bandera Road, Building 13, in Helotes.

For Sophie and her team, the difference has been enormous.

“This new building is like a breath of fresh air,” she said. “I feel like we have all just let out a huge breath we were holding for at least the last year.”

A BAKERY BUILT AROUND THE BREAD

Walk into the new Spread the Loaves and you will notice something: it is not overdone.

White walls and high ceilings provide the backdrop, intentionally keeping the star of the show front and center: the bread.

There is finally room for customers to line up mostly indoors, tables where people can sit and stay awhile, and an expanded retail area featuring items from other small businesses. The walls also feature work from local artists.

“We’ve been able to create the bakery I always wanted to create here,” Sophie said.

Perhaps the biggest change is behind the counter. There is finally room for the people making all of this happen to grow, too.

“I really am so proud of the team we are building,” she said. “We all work so hard, but it is so much easier to do so when you are surrounded by people who are kind, supportive, and hilarious.”

MORE THAN A BAKERY

Ask Sophie what she is most proud of, and the conversation quickly moves away from sales numbers.

She talks about people: the customers who come through the doors week after week, the families she has gotten to know, and the children she has watched grow.

“It is such an honor to bake for you, to watch your kids grow, to hear about your travels and your accomplishments and even your sorrows,” she said.

Then she said something that probably explains Spread the Loaves better than any description of its menu could.

“This place is more than just a bakery. It is becoming a community center, and I’m just so proud and thankful for it.”

That matters to Sophie because she knows firsthand how much local businesses can shape the way someone remembers a town.

Having lived in places around the world, one of the first things she would do after moving somewhere new was take her children out to find their new favorite doughnut shop.

There were national chains, but those were not necessarily the places the family remembered.

She remembers places like Tato-Nut Donut Shop in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and Berkemann’s Baker’s Dozen in New Baden, Illinois.

“Supporting local means everything to me as a small business owner and as someone who has lived all over the world,” Sophie said. “There can be comfort in sticking to the national chains, but it’s the small businesses that really make a place special.”

Now she hopes Spread the Loaves becomes one of those places for Helotes.

She hopes the children coming through the bakery today will someday be adults who remember Ms. Sophie and Mr. Justin, much like she still remembers the German baker who would give Sophie and her sister a cookie if they ordered their mother’s brötchen in German.

“I hope Spread the Loaves can be one of the places that makes Helotes special for many, many years to come.”

WHAT SHOULD YOU ORDER?

We had to ask.

Sophie checked the sales numbers for the year, and the bakery’s top-selling item might surprise you: cookies.

Yes, at a bakery built around bread, cookies currently hold the top spot by number sold. Regular sourdough loaves are right behind them.

“I’m constantly surprised by the amount of cookies we sell, but I don’t blame y’all. They’re delicious!”

For someone walking through the doors for the first time, however, she recommends starting with the product that built the business: the sourdough.

If you are looking for something sweet, try the cinnamon rolls or a chocolate chip cookie.

“Both are classics for a reason, and I’m really proud of ours!”

THEY ARE NOT FINISHED YET

Remember the old Spread the Loaves building?

They are not finished with it, and something new is coming.

Sophie is not revealing what it is yet.

“We have so many plans for the future! The biggest being what we are going to do with our old building. It’s a secret for now, but we promise you are going to love it.”

Justin is expected to lead the mystery project once Sophie is fully settled into the new bakery with their bakers.

That is not all.

Spread the Loaves also plans to offer classes in the future. The furniture in the new building is on wheels, allowing the space to be rearranged for different activities.

Sophie has another idea that could be particularly interesting for Helotes: a farmers market behind the bakery.

“I’d also love to start a farmers market in the parking lot behind our new building!” she said.

“It’d be so lovely to be able to provide a space for other artisans and growers to succeed.”

Lots of plans. Lots of dreams.

It has been quite a journey for something that began with a Texas freeze and a woman baking bread for her neighbors.

Spread the Loaves now has a bigger bakery, a growing team, and a community that keeps coming back week after week.

The building may have changed, but the idea behind it has not.

Bake something good. Share it with people. Build a community around it.

That is pretty much how this whole thing started.

VISIT SPREAD THE LOAVES

Spread the Loaves 14743 Old Bandera Road, Building 13 Helotes, Texas 78023

Follow Spread the Loaves on social media for current hours, weekly menus, events, new projects, and updates about the bakery.

Spread the Loaves also offers a weekly newsletter featuring its menu, upcoming events, project updates, and a special offer for subscribers.

Thank you to Sophie and the Spread the Loaves team for sharing their story with Helotes Life.