Two brothers from Michigan found their niche when they left college and moved to Anniston to open a bakery. Martin Paudrups, 28, and Teddy Paudrups, 24, opened Artisanal Baked Goods in a modest space attached to Mata’s Greek Pizza and Grinders on Quintard Avenue in January. Martin said he and his brother grew up playing travel hockey in Michigan and learned to love different foods at an early age. The Paudrups’ mother, Alice Rodopoulos-Paudrups, would also insist on eating at “non-franchise” restaurants. Teddy said their mother also has skills in the kitchen and she inspired her boys to experiment. Alice still supports her boys’ dreams by working as the bakery’s cashier. “She really encouraged us to try new flavors,” Teddy said. Martin recalls being allowed to use the stove at a young age and remembers making sunny-side up eggs when he was 6 years old. The brothers chose Anniston because their aunt and uncle own Mata’s Greek Pizza and were willing to help them with their entrepreneurial venture. “If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have that opportunity,” Martin said. Martin and Teddy were both attending Central Michigan University when they decided they were going to throw caution to the wind and open a bakery, rather than finish their degrees. Martin was taking hospitality services classes and Teddy was a sales and marketing major. “School is just tough right now with finding jobs out of college. So we decided to go for it,” Martin said. The Paudrups’ breads and sweets are made from scratch daily with no artificial preservatives. Martin said it was important for them to “take back” what it means to be an artisan. There’s three things, he said, people want when they go to a bakery or a family restaurant. “You want things from scratch. You want things that are done from start to finish in house and of course, quality ingredients,” said Martin. The brothers decided to start their business and grow slowly, promoting the bakery only through word of mouth and Facebook. Their goal, they say, is to someday open a made-from-scratch soup and sandwich café. “We’ve got to lay the foundation first before we get there,” Teddy said. “And we’re learning everyday.” The brothers rely on books, web research and cooking classes at the Baking Education Center in Vermont for inspiration and new recipes. “Our goal is to be a neighborhood bakery,” Martin said. “People can come here and get homemade bread, from start to finish. We know exactly what’s in it and what the process is.” Martin said a lot of places advertise their products as baked fresh, but that doesn’t always mean the food was crafted in the store. “We can say mixed, shaped and baked fresh,” he said. They use King Arthur Flour, which is unbleached and doesn’t have added chemicals, and grow a lot of a their own herbs, such as rosemary. They’ve also gone to several local farmers’ markets to look for fresh ingredients to incorporate into their baked goods. Teddy said their current production is relatively small. Most bakeries make around 180 loaves of bread per oven load, he said. Right now they bake 16. Artisanal Baked Goods produces between 32 to 45 loaves of bread each day, which usually sell out by closing time at 6:30 p.m. The menu changes daily, but often featured are a Bama sourdough, brioche, olive loaf, four-seed multi-grain and asiago cheese breads. Teddy and Martin are also expanding their cookies and cakes selections and currently offer chocolate macaroon cookies, lemon pound cake, red velvet cake and Italian amaretti cookies. The bakery has four employees who are also learning to craft breads and sweets under the Paudrups’ tutoring. Teddy said the bakery is waiting to make sure there is enough demand before the brothers increase their production, which might not be that long since the bakery just extended its hours and already boasts several regular customers. Artisanal Baked Goods is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Photos and up-to-date information on the Paudrups’ tempting treats and savory breads can be found on their Artisanal Baked Goods Facebook page. Staff Writer Rachael Griffin: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @RGriffin_Star.

Long-distance recipe swapping. That’s what my niece, who lives in Bryant, Ark., and I have been doing for many years. Of course, we’d rather be in the kitchen together trying out these new ideas, but since that is not always possible we rely on email. Marcella loves to experiment with new recipes almost as much as I do, so you can just imagine the fun we have when we do get together. It’s not unusual for us to stay up past midnight just looking through her large collection of cookbooks. Recently, she sent me a recipe called Strawberry Cheesecake Salad. Just the title made me smack my lips. What’s better than the flavors of strawberries and cheesecake? This is one of those stir-and-serve salads that’s really more of a dessert than a salad. After mixing together the first three ingredients, I tasted it and I could have stopped right there. It was wonderful. Of course, I must admit it was a little better after adding the fresh strawberries and bananas. When Marcella sends me a recipe she’ll usually say, “I just wanted to see what you might do with this one.” She knows I will probably change it a little. This particular recipe called for miniature marshmallows but I didn’t have any on hand so I started looking through the kitchen pantry to see what I could use instead. I found some glazed walnuts and added them. Great choice. Even though these walnuts are sweet, they added a slightly salty taste to the mixture and gave it a crunch, which I liked. This is such a versatile recipe. You can try a different flavor of pudding or yogurt. I made one version with piña colada-flavored yogurt. I added some drained crushed pineapple, frozen coconut and roasted macadamia nuts then dipped small scoops into miniature filo cups. A few days ago, Marcella sent me a recipe (if you can call it that — it only calls for two ingredients) that I can hardly wait to experiment with called Ice Cream Bread. You just stir together two cups of any flavor ice cream with one and a half cups of self-rising flour and bake it in a loaf pan. I can just imagine breads of all flavors lining my counter top. I wish she were here right now — we would certainly get to work on it. The following is my version of Strawberry Cheesecake Salad. Since I enjoy it as a dessert, I replaced the word “Salad” with “Delight.” STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE DELIGHT
1 box cheesecake instant pudding mix
Two 6-ounce Yoplait strawberry yogurt (NOT low-fat or fat-free)
8 ounces Cool Whip
Bananas (as many as you want), sliced
Strawberries (as many as you want), sliced
½ cup chopped glazed walnuts (or more if desired) Combine cheesecake pudding mix with yogurt and Cool Whip. Whisk until blended. Refrigerate until time to serve. Just before serving, stir in sliced bananas, strawberries and glazed walnuts. Mix well. Serve immediately. Email Prudence Hilburn at prudencehilburn463@att.net