Home baker sharing his passion for bread making

For Trey Thompson, baking bread feeds more than just his culinary passion – it nourishes his creativity and keeps him connected to the community one loaf at a time.
Facing the decision to retire from the workforce, Thompson needed something to fill the days. He started small, making bread for his family and friends. It wasn’t long before he discovered the practice of kneading the dough was fulfilling a need he didn’t know existed.
“I hate to say that it gives me a purpose, but it’s something I look forward to,” he said. “Each thing that I make is basically art. It’s a product that is made with time and patience, and I really look forward to the end-product and everything in between.”
Last fall, Thompson established The Daily Knead and set to work making fresh, organic sourdough bread offerings for the local community. He specializes in naturally-leavened bread products from artisanal sourdough loaves and focaccia to sourdough cinnamon rolls.
He launched @thedailyknead, where he updates his followers on his scheduled bake days, menu changes, pricing options and pick up details. It wasn’t long before he needed a spreadsheet to keep track of the orders pouring in for favorites like the rosemary garlic and parmesan focaccia, and jalapeno and cheddar sourdough.
This Christmas, Thompson is offering gift certificates for sourdough-making classes in his home kitchen. Classes are $100 and include hands-on instruction, a starter kit with the tools needed to bake at home and the know-how to bake bread students will be proud to share. They will also take home their own dough whisk, a proofing basket called a banneton, a device used to score the bread, and two scrapers used to shape the dough and clean the bowl.
“I was kind of nervous at first," Thompson said. "Sourdough is not a three-hour process. It’s an artisanal product. It took a lot of planning and understanding the processes.”
Thompson capped the capacity at four people per class to ensure every participant benefits from one-on-one instruction. Each station will be equipped with pre-measured ingredients students will use to make their own batch, stretching and folding the dough every 30 minutes. Thompson makes his own batch the day before to provide a glimpse into every phase of the process.
Students will learn how to create their own dehydrated starter kit by weighing and bagging the ingredients which they will also get to take home to bake later. Thompson will also teach the participants how to score the dough and bake it in a Dutch oven. It’s more than just a gift, he said; it’s a skill that lasts a lifetime.
So far, he’s held two successful sessions in his home kitchen. Thompson said he hopes to hold two classes per month. Vouchers are available by direct message on @thedailyknead.
“I can comfortably fit four people at a time and that gives them ample space on the kitchen island to do their stuff and roam around freely, so they don’t feel cramped or rushed, because there’s a lot of education going on,” he said. “I want them to get as much out of it as possible.”
Thompson is getting as much out of the experience as those participating in his classes. In September 2023, he underwent surgery for tumors on his brain stem. It was the fourth recurrence he’s endured over the course of the last decade. He has undergone multiple surgeries, dozens of rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to manage his diagnosis.
Thompson officially “retired” from his job as a medical social worker at Brooks Rehabilitation Center last spring. The summer months were full of activity with two school-age boys, but when they started back in the fall, he felt like something was missing.
“I tried to go back to work in November of last year and I worked for like five months, but I just couldn’t do it all," he said. "So, between myself and my wife, we sort of laid out our options. With everything going on, we decided that I would exit the workforce. It took me a long time to come to that realization and bite the bullet. This is my daily need.”
Today, his “hobby” is a thriving business that keeps Thompson moving forward. Creating crusty, golden loaves from scratch is not only delicious, it’s also a solid form of physical and emotional therapy. During a recent class, Thompson cracked a fresh loaf in half to demonstrate how a properly baked sourdough crust should sound.
“It still had the crunch and I just got goosebumps,” he said. “That feeling is what I strive for. It’s just so good. I can’t believe that it’s so simple yet so amazing.”