What's the buzz in Fostoria?

Look around at one of the Fostoria Farmers' and Artisans' Markets and you'll typically find local resident Stacey Avalon. And she's unlikely to be alone. She readily acknowledges that the Fostoria markets have been good for sales of her homemade sourdough breads and other products, sold under the business name Buzz Worthy Sourdough. And, with her products also having been able to find footing in places such as Bowling Green, Tiffin and Findlay along with Fostoria, she's become something of an unlikely success story. That's not to say she wasn't successful, pre-Buzz Worthy. Ten years in nursing, certainly, is not nothing. But her sourdough products became so marketable that she was able to convert one of the her three grown children's former bedrooms into a work area and become a full-time baker/businesswoman. "For about the first year, I did both," said Avalon, a former emergency-room nurse at Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay. "I've been baking for Fostoria for about two years now. ... It was tough; it was like having two full-time jobs. Then I started baking for (the store Inspired Mindz in) Bowling Green and it got a little tougher. Then, when JAMS Markets (in Tiffin) approached me, I had to make a decision of what I would like to do, and I decided that this is my business. "I'm still a nurse. I'll keep my license, just in case. I told my husband, 'If this ever falls through, I'm still a nurse.'"But adding Thistle Exchange in Findlay to her customer list and fielding pop-up proposals from fellow entrepreneurs certainly don't indicate any pending doom. Her husband, Steve, indirectly played a role in her gaining expertise as a sourdough baker. "Actually, I never liked baking, though I love to cook," Stacey Avalon said. "... A couple of years ago, my husband — he really likes sourdough bread, so I wanted to see if I could (make it) because I knew it was a more difficult bread." Sourdough gets its tangy flavor from a fermentation process in a starter mixture of flour and water. And, she noted, those who taste her bread will find its taste noticeably different from what they may purchase in a grocery store. "When you get a loaf of sourdough in the store, that's not really sourdough — it's flavored," she said. "There's no way they could keep that in a store, on the shelf, for days without adding to it. So, they have to give it a sour flavor. That's why some people think they don't like sourdough — because it's different. "Mine is not a real strong, sour flavor. I could probably ferment it longer so it could be, but people seem to like it (as she does it)."As many food entrepreneurs have, Avalon found a market for her product after it appealed to people she knew. Do the names Harland Sanders and Orville Redenbacher ring a bell? "I'm self-taught with it," she said, noting that she's gotten some ideas from watching online videos. "I've never had classes. I just learned by researching and doing, and I started passing out my bread and people were, like, 'You should sell this.' I'm, like, 'What?' So, when I started selling here in Fostoria, I found that there wasn't anybody (else) around who makes fresh, good bread. So, it was a demand, and I've stayed quite busy. "When I started, a busy week would be 10 loaves. Now, I average 85 loaves a week. ... People are very happy to have fresh-baked naturally leavened bread. It's healthier, and that's a big deal for people right now." In addition to bread, she uses her sourdough to make such items as bagels, cookies, scones, soft pretzels and cinnamon rolls. And she's found enjoyment in working with other local business people. "I work really hard to keep my prices down for people because I want everyone to enjoy it," she said. "So, I find locally sourced (products) the most that I can." Avalon said she continues to be surprised and flattered by how popular her products have become. "When I sell out at a market, it's so humbling," she said. "Because — it's just me. And just the fact of seeing people who love it and come up to me — I went to the Findlay Flea Market, and this girl came in with her husband and said they only came to the flea market because I was there. I was, like, 'Oh, that's so sweet.'" And that sweetness — and, sourness, of course — has prompted her to think about the future for her children."I keep track of all my recipes so that maybe some day I can hand whatever I've done to my children," she said. Avalon maintains Buzz Worthy Sourdough accounts on Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook. She may be contacted by calling 419-619-5056 or emailing to staceyavalon4@icloud.com.