This Sourdough Has Five Pickup Spots. One Is a Wine Shop.

It's Saturday morning, so the hard part is already over. Somewhere around here, a week's worth of sourdough came out of the oven yesterday and is now sitting in five different places across two counties and two barrier islands, waiting for the people who planned ahead.

I am not one of those people. If you're reading this over coffee, you probably aren't either. Orders closed Wednesday at noon. That's how Mikayla Klauber runs it, and after going through her whole setup, I think she's figured something out that the rest of us haven't.

One baker, one bake

Her about page puts it plainly: a one-woman, small-batch bakery. You preorder before Wednesday at noon, she bakes Friday, you pick up Saturday. Every loaf gets 24-plus hours of fermentation, per the menu page.

She has a degree in Baking & Pastry Arts, and her homepage says she started working in her dad's restaurant at 14 and figured out early where she belonged. "While others loved the line, I loved the quiet focus of dough." That is a person who has heard a ticket printer on a Saturday night and made a life decision. I respect it so much.

The bread's Saturday is busier than yours

You don't drive to her. At checkout on her Hotplate page you pick one of five spots:

• The Fox Mercantile, West Bradenton
• Geraldson's Family Farm, Bradenton
• Michael's Wine Cellar, Sarasota
• Harry's Corner Store, Longboat Key
• Anna Maria Island Coffee Shack, Anna Maria Island

A general store, a farm, a wine shop, a corner store and a coffee shack. That's not a pickup list. That's an entire Saturday with bread as the excuse. This week's windows ran from 8 a.m. at The Fox Mercantile to 10 p.m. at Harry's, with the wine cellar going 11 to 6. Hotplate notes that times vary by location, so check yours when you order.

The wine cellar is the one that gets me. Kevin Keys is in the Douro Valley until November, so somebody has to say it: you are picking up a loaf of sourdough in a room full of wine. That isn't an errand. That's dinner making its own arrangements. (Kevin covered that shop's open house back in September, if you want the wine side.)

What was on this week

The batch going out today, per this week's Hotplate menu:

• Classic Sourdough, $13
• Pumpkin Sourdough, $14, made with real pumpkin purée and, according to the description, no sugar or pumpkin spice. In October. In Florida. The restraint is incredible.
• Seeded Protein Sourdough, $16, with golden and brown flax, black and white sesame and toasted pepitas, listed at 8 to 10 grams of protein a slice
• Garlic Parmesan Sourdough Focaccia, $14, with reheating instructions on the package
• Sourdough Pizza Crust, $14, partially baked so you finish it at home and accept the compliments
• Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chunk Cookies, $18 for a six-pack, described as "perfect for sharing…or not"

Sales for this one are closed, and most of the list is stamped Sold Out. The page shows a 4.9 rating from 40-plus reviews, and one of them says, "Bread is the Head of Everything." I'm putting that on a kitchen towel.

How to actually get some

Next week is already on the calendar. On her Hotplate page, preorders for Saturday, Oct. 17, open Monday, Oct. 12, at noon and close Wednesday, Oct. 14, at noon. Drops for Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 are lined up behind it. There's a "Remind me" button and a text-alert signup. Given how this week went, tap it.

If you'd rather raise your own, she has a step-by-step guide to activating a dehydrated sourdough starter: 10 grams of flakes, two jars, about five days of feedings and a float test at the end. The troubleshooting section says that if it smells like nail polish remover in the early days, that's common, just keep feeding it. Most reassuring sentence I've read all week!

Menus rotate, so follow @mikaylabakesss on Instagram for what's coming. More Saturday-pickup bakers: Fruits and Flour's candied kiwi and Bode Bread's pumpkin sourdough class.