On a given night, Ashton Woodward bakes approximately 1,500 buns, 200 loaves, and 3,000 rolls in an unassuming strip mall along an I-30 access road in Benton. You have likely eaten Woodward's bread before. That you didn't recognize it as a Woodward creation — not to mention that you've likely never heard of Ashton Woodward until now — is not because he's not a star, whose bread is habit forming. He is, and his bread is fantastic.
His relative anonymity is a consequence of his business — he works entirely in wholesale. Since he opened Arkansas Fresh Bakery in February 2012, he's built a client list that includes Argenta Market's cafe, Big Orange, Boscos, Bray Gourmet, Capriccio Grill, The Pantry, Savoy 1620, White Water Tavern, Verizon Arena and ZaZa. And it's growing.
Woodward, 29, comes with an impressive pedigree: He graduated from the culinary arts program at Kendall College in Chicago, worked under renowned baker Jory Downer at Bennison's in Evanston, Ill., and trained under Scott McGehee at Boulevard Bread Co. But it's his persistence that's helped him gain such a foothold in the market.
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