Of course they could do that Metro but the point is as a business, that's a very wasteful thing.

A little bit of waste is acceptable, a lot eats your profits. It's finding that balance point -- which is changing every day -- that is the challenge.


I simply can't imagine the challenges of starting something like this from scratch. And I'm very impressed with how they've handled things thus far.

I would imagine that they just need some time to figure out the numbers and then, if they have leftovers, and if it won't hurt their profit, then they could donate it to a pantry...

Just sayin'.

true

More importantly, if you aren't going to have bread available to sell until 11am (like today), why be open from 7-11? I'm guessing that the stars must be misaligned for me and the PTBC. I've been there four times and successfully come away with bread only once. I've been seriously let down by this place after having such high hopes and expectations.

Moral of the story: If you want to go to PTBC and not be disappointed, go from 11am-1pm M-F.
Making the amount of bread and the assortment of bread they make from scratch takes time. The workers come to work already at 5am. If you have ever made homemade bread then you know you have to mix it, let it rise, shape it, let it rise, bake it, and then let it cool. That takes hours. So you can't have everything out by 7am. I talked to the owner and he has promised to have all of the bread ready by 11 lunch time. If you want everything out by 7 then you would have to get there at 2 or 3 am. If you want frozen bread that has been baked then go to panera bread. If you want high quality made daily from scratch then go to Prairie Thunder. They open at 7 for breakfast. Also there site says that they will open soon on Saturdays. Show me a place where you can get the kind of homemade bread they do at this place. You people need to check your palets.

Does Big Sky Bakery or some of the other local bakeries bake fresh daily? I imagine the other bakeries just get up earlier so it cranks it out in time for the morning crowd.

Does Big Sky Bakery or some of the other local bakeries bake fresh daily? I imagine the other bakeries just get up earlier so it cranks it out in time for the morning crowd.

Exactly. I've visited many large cities that have artesian bakeries and most all of them serve their baked goods as early as 6 AM. It's quite unusual to have products available so late in the morning (almost noon), but apparently that's the choice they made. They'll have to see how it works out for them in the long run. Hope it works out, but I think they're losing a ton of business doing it this way. Just my half a cent worth. :sofa:

They've only been open a matter of weeks... They are still adjusting their quantities, product balance, menu and schedule.

If you were to tour that place as I had, you'd understand the incredible complexities involved in all this. And John McBryde is a very sharp guy. These things are just going to take a little time to work out but it's clear they are in this for the long haul.

The bottom line: The bread is great, and you can't get anything like it anywhere else. I've bought bread from them, and I've simply adjusted the time at which I plan on buying. You can run over about lunchtime and pick it up. Also, I was there later in the afternoon last week, and they still had the bread I wanted in reasonable quantities. So, perhaps they're figuring out the size of their market.

I imagine the other bakeries just get up earlier so it cranks it out in time for the morning crowd.

That may very well be the case. As I've never been behind the scenes at Big Sky or various bakerys around the country, I can't attest to their schedules and practices. As I mentioned before, while our current staffing is limited to ~5am arrival, our eventual plan is to have staff working 24 hours/day. This, however, will come when there is demand enough to warrant doubling or even tripling the number of staff we have. As all of our kitchen staff (but my father, ironically) have culinary degrees, hiring takes some time, so it isn't something we can instantly do. Due to the restrictions, that will probably happen when we have established some sizable commercial wholesale accounts that need deliveries at all hours of the day, which we're working to eventually be more than half of our sales.


It's quite unusual to have products available so late in the morning (almost noon), but apparently that's the choice they made.
Also, as I mentioned before, we almost always have 5-grain levain out at 7am and have had as many as 4 of our breads available when we open. Things happen to delay that plan, such as it's cooler outside than we expect so the bread takes more time to shape, the oven is a few degrees to cool, or a multitude of environmental factors, but it's typically cooling by 6:45 or 7am. If you've been in recently and it hasn't been out, make sure to ask as sometimes it's sitting in the back cooling and not out front.

So, as I said in my previous post, we do, in fact, have bread available at 7am (and at least before 8) pretty much every day.


As other posters stated before, why not sell it at half price the next day or donate it to the food pantries and homeless shelters like all the other local bakeries and restaurants? No need to trash perfectly good bread and other food.
We don't sell it the next day because we hold that everything should be baked fresh every day, and that obviously doesn't hold to that. Some of our excess breads are recycled into croutons for our salads, some are taken home by the staff, some is donated to various shelters, and the rest of it goes to the zoo to help feed the ape and monkey enclosures (a passion of our executive chef). We're normally hitting it pretty even on how much we have left every day, but when, for example, Oklahoma decides to send storms our way (like today :) )we tend to have a bit more left over at which point we attempt to find a beneficial place to take it. However, when you're making 500+ pounds of bread every day, having 5% left over is still 25 loaves. Once our bread is made we either sell it or we don't and, though we'd prefer to sell it all, when we can't we want to do something more than just trash with it. If any of you are in contact with a shelter who would be interested in pickups of bread (the quantity of which is quite inconsistent), tell them to give us a call.

And I remembered just as I hit "submit" that I should thank you all for your positive feedback. I'm glad to know that you're all enjoying visiting us as much as we enjoy baking our bread. :)

And I remembered just as I hit "submit" that I should thank you all for your positive feedback. I'm glad to know that you're all enjoying visiting us as much as we enjoy baking our bread. :)

I was completely impressed with your operation when I went there with my Girlfriend. The stuffed baugettes were absolutely gourmet! The Pastry would put any NYC bakery to shame. The kindness of your staff, and the quality of your product means you should be very proud! You have a permanent fan in me!

Keep up the AWESOME AWESOME job!

Gave a fourth try on monday and was much more impressed. I was there at 5pm and they had a pretty good selection. I definitely think PTBC is improving.

Good news!

Prairie Thunder Baking Company will now be open on Saturdays, starting July 12th. I'll post the exact hours when we get them sorted out.

That's awesome!

I hope the McNellie's traffic is helping you guys.

Update: We will be open from 7am-2pm on Saturdays, starting on July 12th.

Update: We will be open from 7am-2pm on Saturdays, starting on July 12th.

great new . i will be sure to make your place a sat morning routine

great new . i will be sure to make your place a sat morning routine
Good to hear, looking forward to you coming to see us.

Also, just in case people haven't come in recently, one of our bakers has started coming in at 1am, letting all of our breads be out at 7am sharp.

Good to hear, looking forward to you coming to see us.

Also, just in case people haven't come in recently, one of our bakers has started coming in at 1am, letting all of our breads be out at 7am sharp.

You've been very responsive to your customers suggestions and comments. You are to be applauded for that! :congrats:

yes, it will be nice to actually get breads and pastries before the lunch hour. Thanks for bringing in additional help.

I wrote a review of PTBC a while back right after it opened. In my review, I was pretty critical of PTBC. I am happy to say that since then, PTBC has greatly improved. The selection and portions are larger, and the staff is very friendly. I got the Chicken Panini which was just fantastic..

The selection of pastries are also very good and very tasty.

Way to go PTBC!

I haven't heard this place mentioned in a very long time, and the couple of times I've been there I absolutely loved it.

I hope they are doing well; spent some time with the owner a couple of years ago and he showed me the operation with great pride.


It seems we are always ready for the next new thing and sometimes forget places that have been open a while. :)

I buy all my bread there and it's excellent. We're lucky to have such a great source of baked goods.

They supply much of the local bread for the restaurants trying to use local. I enjoy their offerings, but don't care for the owner's sometimes off-putting demeanor. I'm generally a very easy-going person (I never feel slighted, disliked, etc. at Coffee Slingers), but twice I've felt less-than-welcome by the owner at Prairie Thunder. Hasn't stopped me from going in, but I try not to deal with him...

They supply much of the local bread for the restaurants trying to use local. I enjoy their offerings, but don't care for the owner's sometimes off-putting demeanor. I'm generally a very easy-going person (I never feel slighted, disliked, etc. at Coffee Slingers), but twice I've felt less-than-welcome by the owner at Prairie Thunder. Hasn't stopped me from going in, but I try not to deal with him...

I've never had anything but a good experience at Prairie Thunder.

Coffee Slingers has my favorite coffee in town, but sometimes I lack the angst to go in there.

The Oklahoman is reporting that Prairie Thunder has closed, and likely for good.

Their Facebook page confirms it.... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Prairie-Thunder-Baking-Company/57541281879?fref=ts

I met the owner several years ago, not long after they opened.

He had great passion but it was very obvious what he was doing took long hours and was hard work.

They were one of the very first businesses to open in Midtown just as it was starting to come back, and that was a great thing for the area and community.

Really sad to see them go.

well... that stinks. really liked their baked goods (especially the croissants) but can't say that i went often.

Does this leave OKC with any full-fledged bakeries?

Not sure if Brown's fits this description.

Does this leave OKC with any full-fledged bakeries?

Not sure if Brown's fits this description.

Big Sky?

well... that stinks. really liked their baked goods (especially the croissants) but can't say that i went often.

Same here... Didn't go often, mainly because I'm a carnivore and don't eat a lot of bread, but they made a killer breakfast burrito.

Very sad. When I heard I assumed they would keep their wholesale business going but based on their post that is not the case. There are going to be a lot of restaurants around town looking for a baked goods supplier.

Oh no, we love Prairie Thunder! Now I feel terrible, because my wife used to go pick up bread, sandwiches, and pastries all the time. But we haven't gone in a long time for some reason. When the cronut fad came and went, they were the only ones that a made a good version.

Sad deal.

Dont they provide the buns for all the Tuckers?

Dont they provide the buns for all the Tuckers?

They used to, but tuck has switched to another set of buns :p, due to the scale and success of Tucker's.