Sweet Bread Surprise

It's not every day that you walk into your usual quick-stop-sundries-shop and find a basket full of beautiful, fragrant, homemade bread. For more than 10 years, I've been running in and out of the City Marina Shop virtually everyday for anything from Diet Coke to Gatorade, yet that's exactly the sweet surprise that happened to me a few days ago.

A pretty basket stacked with loaves of artisinal breads wrapped in clear plastic, tied with paper strings adorned with seashells beckoned from the front counter. The clerks raved about it, and despite the fact that I was packing for a short trip later that day, I bought a loaf of simple white bread. It wasn't even five minutes after I got to the house that I broke into said bread. Slathered with butter, the ultra-fresh (it had been baked that morning), pillowy, slightly sweet and aromatic bread, was like a slice of heaven. In short order, I (with the help of my principal taste tester dog, Tann Mann) were easily through a fourth of the loaf.

The baker behind the magical bread is named Alberta Freeman, but she goes by "Berta." The Charleston native has been baking bread most of her life. It really picked up steam when her college roommate's mother gave her a bread starter as a gift.

Berta's bread, like all bread really, begins with a starter. Hers is prepared simply with potato flakes, water, and sugar. In many ways, it was the reason Berta's Bread was born. "If you don't use it or feed it, it dies. So, I have to make bread every five to seven days," says Berta. She and her family couldn't eat all of the bread, so she started giving it away. People were "really enjoying it," so the former professional caterer and recent empty-nester decided to turn Berta's bread into a small business.

Officially one-year old last March, Berta bakes bread one or two days a week, 18 loaves at a time, from her professional caterer friend's kitchen, Caroline's Market on James Island. Her product line currently includes nine flavors: White,($4.50), Whole Wheat ($5), Whole Wheat Walnut Cranraisin ($6), Whole Wheat Pecan Raisin Cinnamon ($6), Whole Wheat Sunflower Seed ($6), Whole Wheat with Rosemary ($6), Seedalicious ($6), Sundried Tomato Asiago Cheese ($6), and Sister's Three Coffee Cake ($7).

The inspiration for the flavors come from all over. Not long ago, for example, Berta was at Harris Teeter and saw sunflower bread there and said to herself, "I can do that," and voila!, she did.

Even through bread is her passion, Berta doesn't look for her business to morph into something very big—she'd rather keep her product line rather limited. "I love that I make some money, but I want my hands to be on each loaf," says Berta. She's so passionate about every aspect of her bread, Berta personally goes out to the beach to find the pretty shells she attaches to each and every loaf. "I watch tv most nights and make my little shell things," she says with a soft laugh.

For now, the distribution is also limited. You can email or call Berta directly to order/buy bread, or stop by Caroline's Market or the City Marina Shop to pick up a loaf. Deliveries are made on Tuesday morning. By the way, the ladies there rave about the Sister's Three (the name of Berta's former catering company) coffee cake. Berta loves to have people come by her house where she keeps a large stash of bread in her freezer (it freezes very well).

Thank heavens for happy surprises, especially when they come in the form of beautiful bread. Here's how to find Berta's Bread:
Call Berta directly at 843-345-7704 or email bertawf@bellsouth.net
www.BertasBread.com

City Marina Shop
at The City Marina, 17 Lockwood Drive, downtown Charleston, 29401
www.charlestoncitymarina.com

Caroline's Market
55 Windermere Blvd, Behind EarthFare on Folly Road
www.carolinesmarket.com