The Rabbit Hole Press

Learn the kitchen business before you print the sticker.

Honest operating notes for selling sourdough from a home kitchen. No guru voice. Bread first, then the hour.

Free · 2 pages

Before You Sell a Loaf

The checklist: five .gov searches, the label, and the $2.30 kitchen math. Read it before you take money.

$27 · Operating plan

Legal beyond the checklist, production at 20 loaves, a Friday Bread Drop, and wholesale that is not a 900g boule.

Bread is allowed under cottage food law in all 50 US states. Caps, labels, registration, and sales channels vary by state and sometimes by county. Not legal advice. Prefer .gov.
Five searches: cottage food law site:.gov, registration, label requirements, county or city home bakery rules, sales tax on baked goods.
One-line email to the state office: you plan to sell naturally leavened bread through preorders and a farmers market booth — what registration, labeling, and food handler requirements apply?
Label: product name; business name and address; ingredients, heaviest first; allergen (wheat; milk if there is cheese); the required home-kitchen sentence word for word. Net weight is often required.
Hard cost about $2.30 a loaf (flour ~75¢, salt a nickel, bag 50¢, seeds or cheese ~$1). FLIP insurance typically $200 to $400 a year.
20 loaves / 10 hours ≈ 30 minutes a loaf. $12 a loaf ≈ $20/hour. $8 a loaf ≈ $12/hour.
Country and seeded $9 to $12. Flavored $12 to $15. Sell out three weeks, then raise. Never discount leftovers.
Friday Bread Drop: orders Sunday through Wednesday, bake Thursday, pickup or delivery Friday.
Cafes want single-serve, not a 900g boule.