Amid the aroma of freshly baked sourdough, Matt Toman's commitment to learning pervades the air of Back Pocket Bakery.
Toman likes a challenge, and in 2022 he successfully transformed his passion — for bread and bettering himself — into a full-fledged profession with the opening of his co-owned bakery.
Six years earlier, Toman was working at an outdoor equipment gear manufacturer in Seattle. He devoted his spare hours before and after work to the art of baking sourdough, sparked by a few friends who pursued it as a personal hobby.
"I started to realize how difficult it was. That pulled me into it — failing over and over again but then trying to get better," Toman says.
He taught himself through reading baking books and spent years refining his recipes. But despite his growing dedication, baking remained at the periphery of his life.
"While it took the backseat, I knew it was something that I wanted to learn and get better at," Toman says. "Then the thought came to my mind, 'What if I had more time to devote to this...What if I could replace this huge chunk of time that I was doing something else — my job?"
In 2018, Toman took a leap of faith. He and his wife, Krystle, moved to Coeur d'Alene with a vision to launch MAK Bread — a venture that involved baking sourdough loaves from home and distributing them through local farmers markets and a few wholesale outlets.
"It was a whole new world," Toman says. "At that scale, there's tons of opportunity for error, beyond just not being experienced... I went through it all by learning the hard way."
With no professional training at the time, Toman's baking journey had primarily involved a process of trial and error. As he and Krystle envisioned expanding their business to a storefront bakery and restaurant, Toman eagerly sought formal training to enrich his knowledge and skills.
After MAK Bread had been in operation for about two years, Toman attended an intensive course at the San Francisco Baking Institute.
"So much of the business felt overwhelming, like the thought of opening a restaurant. This experience felt like it gave me permission to keep moving forward, knowing that I had formal training," Toman says.
So MAK Bread transformed into Back Pocket Bakery, a storefront just off the main drag in downtown Coeur d'Alene, and Toman continues to hone and diversify his skills, continually expanding his mastery within the realm of baking. The bakery-restaurant provides the perfect medium for such a pursuit, presenting items ranging from a sourdough bagel to pizza.
"With the array of products that we offer, there's always something that I can do, something that I can try to learn to make better. That's very exciting and keeps me very engaged," Toman says.
Growing up, Toman says he would get teased for going through a variety of phases. With baking, however, there are a multitude of facets awaiting exploration and expansion, he adds.
"It's something that I can totally envelop myself in." ♦
