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Meet Your Baker - Conrad Winkelman

Meet Your Baker: Conrad Winkelman

Hey everyone! If we haven't officially met yet, I'm Conrad Winkelman, the guy behind Wink's Craft Bakery and those bread flights that have been selling out at farmers markets. But my journey to becoming your local baker? Well, it's been anything but traditional.

From Ghost Hunter to Bread Baker

Let me take you back to 2021. I had just graduated from Ripon College with degrees in politics and government, communication, and economics – not exactly the typical baker's background, right? During college, I lived by the motto "Do what you do, best. Live life with passion and vigor as our days are numbered; focus on what you can control and enjoy the rest." Little did I know how perfectly that philosophy would guide me to where I am today.

One of my favorite college memories was founding the Ripon College Paranormal Investigators (RCPI). Picture this: 25 college students stuffed into a cabin on a 200-acre lot at Indian Mound Scout Reservation in Oconomowoc, armed with ghost-hunting equipment and the directive to "go crazy!" We investigated reports of a dangerous entity preying on wildlife. It was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating, and honestly, it taught me something crucial about taking risks and following unconventional paths.

The Pivot That Changed Everything

After graduation, I found myself working as a social media person at a fencing company. Without getting into the details, let's just say it wasn't the healthiest work environment. More importantly, I felt like I had so much more to offer the world than what I was doing day-to-day. I had this growing passion for creating things with my hands, for bringing people joy through something meaningful. The corporate grind just wasn't lighting me up the way it was supposed to.

The real turning point came in 2020 when I was making fresh pasta from scratch at home. I had put all this care and attention into creating something beautiful, and then I reached into the freezer for store-bought garlic bread. It felt so disrespectful to everything I had just created. In that moment, I thought "I can make this better" – and I did.

That's when baking entered my life, not as a hobby, but as a calling. I became obsessed with the science and art of bread making, experimenting in my home kitchen until I discovered what would become my signature: brown butter. That rich, nutty, almost magical transformation that happens when you take butter just past melting point? It changes everything it touches, and I knew I had found something special.

The Birth of Wink's Craft Bakery

"Eat Good, Be Happy" became more than just our motto – it became my mission. Whether someone's trying our chocolate chip cookies, slicing into a charcuterie loaf, or making their morning sandwich with our bread, there's nothing that makes me happier than sharing amazing food with people.

Here's what I love most about our approach: it's beautifully simple. No sourdough starters or complicated fermentation processes that require a chemistry degree to understand. Just bread flour, water, milk, sugar, salt, and active yeast. The same exact base for all eight of our flavors. But from that simple foundation, we're pushing what bread can be and do.

While homestyle white bread is delicious (and we make a great one!), why stop there? Why not explore Fish Fry Rye that actually tastes like Wisconsin Friday nights? Everything Bread that brings the bagel shop experience to your breakfast table? Dark Chocolate Espresso that makes your morning coffee jealous?

From Kitchen Experiments to Saturday Sellouts

The journey from my home kitchen to selling out every Saturday at Hartford Farmers Market has been a wild ride. Those early days of perfecting recipes, figuring out packaging, learning the cottage food laws – it was equal parts exciting and terrifying. But every time someone tried our bread flights and their face lit up, I knew we were onto something special.

The bread flights themselves came from wanting to solve a problem: how do you let people experience the full range of what artisan bread can be without breaking the bank? Four loaves for $15 became our answer, and watching families make it part of their Saturday market tradition has been incredible.

Building Something Bigger

What started as a home bakery dream is growing into something much bigger. We're exploring commercial kitchen partnerships, developing relationships with local restaurants who want our Fish Fry Rye on their tables, and building a subscription service that brings fresh bread right to your door.

But here's the thing – no matter how big we grow, that core mission stays the same. We're not trying to become the biggest bakery in Wisconsin. We're trying to become the bakery that brings the most joy to our community.

The Community That Makes It All Possible

I'm constantly amazed by the support we've received. To the families who plan their Saturday mornings around picking up their bread flights, to the social media followers who've helped us reach over 270 followers – you're all part of this story.

Every sellout Saturday reminds me that we're building something special together. When someone tells me our Cinnamon Swirl bread made their week better, I remember why I took this unconventional path.

Looking Forward

The future is bright and full of possibilities. Commercial kitchen operations, restaurant partnerships, maybe even that brick-and-mortar location we've been dreaming about. But whatever comes next, it'll be built on the same foundation: quality ingredients, simple techniques, and the belief that good food shared with good people is one of life's greatest joys.

So whether you're a longtime bread flight enthusiast or just discovering us for the first time, welcome to the Wink's family. We're just getting started, and I can't wait to share what comes next.

Thanks for taking your taste buds on this adventure with us. After all, life's too short for boring bread!

- Conrad

P.S. – If you ever see me at the farmers market and want to hear more stories about ghost hunting or the early days of perfecting brown butter technique, I'm always up for a chat. Just don't blame me if you leave with more bread than you planned to buy!

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