stillbecoming.studio

I have always had a deep love for bread. A thick slice of toasted bread slathered with butter has a place in my heart that nothing else can fill. During my pregnancy, when I couldn’t stomach hot meals for nine months, those toasted slices—topped with whatever I could find—were my savior and my greatest joy.

Every culture has its own relationship with bread, but my heart has always belonged to the dark, hearty loaves of Germany and Northern Europe—especially rye. Light, pillowy white bread never really spoke to me. I’ve always chased the kind of bread that has character; the kind that tells a story with every chew.

Living in Istanbul gave me the perfect playground for this obsession. I wasn’t just a regular at local bakeries; I’d go as far as ordering special loaves from towns like Ayvalık and Bozcaada.

The New Member of the Family: Sourdough

Around 2012, I began my own humble experiments at home, which naturally evolved into a sourdough obsession. Sourdough is a different beast entirely—it’s a discipline. It’s like bringing a new living being into the house. I’ve even been known to pack my starter in my suitcase and take it on vacations with me; that’s how much I cared for it.

The bread I baked at home soon became my signature gift for friends and colleagues. When I invited close friends to join me in this ritual, they’d usually give me a polite smile, knowing they could just buy the “best” bread from a shop. But I had already touched the dough, and there was no going back. On baking days, the aroma filling the house wasn’t just “hot bread”—it was the scent of peace, happiness, and abundance. My son and husband were my biggest fans, cheering me on with every loaf.

When Intuition Meets Mathematics

Then came the pandemic. Suddenly, the whole world was baking bread. Social media was flooded with experiments—some successful, some not so much. I, of course, dove right in. Compared to the newcomers, I felt like a veteran.

It was during this time that my closest friend (and now partner), Meltem, caught the baking bug. Despite her intense work schedule, Meltem has always lived for hosting grand dinners and making incredible food. Though she had always kept bread at arm’s length, once she started, she approached it with a terrifying level of seriousness.

She tracked every step with mathematical precision, sweating me with questions like: “What’s the hydration percentage of this loaf? What’s your autolyse time?”

After eight years of baking, I didn’t even know the word “hydration”—to me, it was just “water.” And “autolyse”? That was just “letting it sit”! We learned so much from each other in that period, blending my intuition with her precision.

The Birth of Joie

As the pandemic began to wane, on the morning of August 30th, Meltem called me with a simple question: “Are you ready?” I knew exactly what she meant. With a massive smile, I said, “Yes.”

In October 2021, joined by Meltem’s brother and my dear friend Mert, we officially founded our company. We knew passion wasn’t enough; we needed professional grounding. We took an intensive Master Chef course from a renowned baker. Looking back at our notebooks from that training still makes us laugh. Meltem’s pages were filled with protein ratios, $H_2O$ formulas, and academic-level observations. My notes? Just one sentence: “Sourdough Starter Setup!” That was it. I’ve always been the type to learn the hard way—through experience and trial and error.

Growth, Change, and “Well Done Us!”

Over the years, we turned our differences into our greatest strength. While Meltem focuses on the minute details, I look at the big picture. It wasn’t always easy; there were days of tension where we worried about our friendship. But our foundation was solid. We argued, we occasionally gave each other the cold shoulder, but we always talked it out. We never shut down.

Today, Joie is in a completely different league than where it started four years ago. What began as a “sandwich bar” concept evolved beautifully into a boutique restaurant. Our secret? Not resisting change and keeping our egos in check.

We went from two people working 16-hour days without a single day off for six months, to a powerhouse kitchen team of eight. Despite the economic challenges in Turkey, we grew a tiny bit of capital into a production center that supplies its own “Joie” corners and provides high-end catering for corporate events and private parties.

Well done us…

I’ll keep writing about the adventures of Joie, but I’d love for you to hear the story from my partner’s perspective as well.

What do you say, Meltem? Will you join the conversation?

With love,

Nazan

About These Piece!

If These Piece had a Color : It would be ”Potter’s Clay”.

If These Piece had a Song : It would be ”Suddenly I See”by KT Tunstall. https://open.spotify.com/track/3U5JVgI2x4rDyHGObzJfNf?si=f9047821d23d42ac

If These Piece had a Scen : It would be ”Fresh Baked Bread”