Life & Work with Erica Miles

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Erica Miles.

Hi Erica, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed with your story and how you got to where you are today.
I married at 22 and immediately got pregnant. The babies came quite close together after that, and with many mouths to feed and few dollars to spend, I learned how to make our grocery budget stretch, first by baking our bread and then expanding to fun things I simply didn’t have the money for. Making my first batch of bagels by hand actually put me into labor! 

Through our church, I met a woman who loved my cookies and offered to take them to work with her to be sold in the break room of the police station. My oldest daughter was probably 3. After the kids were all tucked in for the night, I’d start baking cookies and muffins. I’d wrap each item in plastic wrap, place them in the only basket we had, tuck a money jar in the middle, and take it early the next morning to leave on the hood of her car before she left for work. A day or two later, she’d bring by an empty basket and a full jar of money. Little did I know then what the future held for me, but I was hooked. 

About 7 years into our marriage, my first husband did a side job of installing a sprinkler system for Chef Brad Peterson. For his work, we were given my first mixer, a Bosch, and a massive cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen, Best Recipes. By then, I had learned to make different kinds of bread, cookies, muffins, donuts, and even crackers. Baking at night had become hard on me, so I quit sending baskets to the police station, but the fire had been lit. 

Armed with this new mixer and all the science and recipes from this almost textbook-style cookbook, the possibilities seem endless. As I learned and experimented, we fed more than ourselves. The neighbors loved me. It was common to see my kids walking in the neighborhood carrying a bag of freshly baked bread or a plate of muffins. It was during these years that I truly discovered the cinnamon roll. 

This monster of a cookbook had a cinnamon roll recipe in it that I considered the Holy Grail of cinnamon rolls. When I made them, people swooned, and I glowed with pride of achievement. Of course, I listened when people told me that I could sell them, but how to do that I didn’t know. I already knew from awkward experience that people weren’t apt to buy much from you when you’re selling baked goods from a stroller filled with babies. That memory still makes me cringe, but you don’t succeed without failing, now, do you? 

With the advent of Facebook came my opportunity. My little home business has gone through many names: Erica’s Home Baked Goods, Crumblee (you can imagine why I got rid of that one), The Dough Hook, and now Rolled Out Bakery. I sold everything and everything that people wanted to buy. I’d have those marathon baking days that only finished when the last person had picked up their orders. Sometimes, I simply baked what I felt like, THEN posted what I had. On these days, if I had leftovers, I either gained a couple of pounds, or we sent it to the neighbors. 

I had 5, 6, 7, and then finally 8 kids when I was doing all this baking. It was extremely satisfying for both my creative self and my inner entrepreneur, but with all of the responsibilities, it was also massively stressful, and there were periods when I shut it down. I still took occasional orders. My teenage daughter and I got quite adept at decorating sugar cookies, and just because people knew I baked, I occasionally got asked to make a cake. I never charged enough, but I loved it. 

It turns out that a marriage between a people pleaser and a person with control issues is a marriage on a slippery slope. We slipped all the way off that slope, and the divorce process was long and hard. I didn’t really do much baking during that time. I didn’t feel comfortable in the house I’d been a homemaker in for 17 years, so I got odd jobs and cleaned other people’s houses. It was a rough patch, for sure. I could not have foreseen what God was preparing for me on the other side of all hurt. 

Fast forward to today; I married my best friend 1 year ago. He is not only my biggest cheerleader but my business partner. He’s owned and run his own recording studio, producing music, for almost 20 years in Fort Worth, Texas. He has business experience in areas where I have little. With his home base in Texas and mine in Arizona, we have found it a challenge to be together as much as we like, but we make it work. We are some of Frontier Airlines’ best customers! 

Last summer, 2023, my husband did a Google search for coffee shops near us, and for whatever reason, the shop that came up first was Beanchain Coffee, 5 miles away. It turned out that this coffee shop was not even open yet. David Baxter had his coffee cart out front while the interior was being remodeled. He welcomed us like old friends (he mistook us for someone else) and told us their story. Later, I brought them a pan of my cinnamon rolls, and they were all in. When their doors opened in July, our sweet rolls were on their menu. 

I was still baking at home when the alliance with Beanchain Coffee started. We currently utilize Beanchain’s kitchen to bake their rolls as well as a couple of other items that their customers love, like crustless quiche and gluten-free cookies. We love our Beanchain customers and will continue to bake there, but we are expanding our bakery! 

We have found a second shared kitchen to rent and will soon be offering our amazing assortment of sweet rolls to other coffee and retail shops as well as getting ourselves set up with local events where you’ll see us under our pop-up canopy behind a table. As our business grows, we look forward to expanding to a trailer or food cart that we can bring to events and catering opportunities! Eventually, it culminated in our very own storefront, a bakery cafe! 

The Holy Grail of cinnamon rolls recipe has been tweaked and improved by me enough times that I can truly say that my rolls are made from one-of-a-kind recipes. I have expanded our offerings from just the classic cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting to raspberry rolls, orange rolls, lemon blueberry rolls, chocolate chip cinnamon rolls, and savory options like bacon ranch, cheesy garlic, and cheesy pepperoni. Our gluten-free neighbors have raved about our gluten-free cinnamon rolls and cookies, even calling them the “best in the valley!” 

The sky is the limit! I’m so happy and thankful to be where I’m at with this dream. From selling cookies made at midnight from a basket in the police station break room to being the proud owner/partner of a bakery that is selling thousands of dollars worth of rolls a month from a coffee shop with the clear hope of more, it’s a truly amazing blessing. I could not have done it, and I cannot do it alone. I have been truly supported on all sides by a loving husband, patient children, family from all sides, and wonderful, faithful friends and customers. 

Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
I learned to bake and grow a business while also having and raising 8 children. My first husband was not excited about the mess and was not happy that I was selling anything, so there was not any support there. 

One of my biggest struggles lately is the learning curve of the business part of owning a bakery. I’m a creative-brained person, so numbers and linear thinking are not things I’m naturally great at. It’s a struggle I’m overcoming, though. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m also a portrait artist and a writer. I try to incorporate those parts of who I am into my business. When I create recipes, I really rely on my creative problem-solving skills and my years of experience in the kitchen. 

I pride myself on creating an outstanding product, one you can’t get anywhere else. On top of that, sometimes I have a little fun by creating a cinnamon sugar portrait right on the dough before I finish filling it and rolling it up. So far, I’ve done Ryan Reynolds, Marilyn Monroe, and Taylor Swift! I’ve also started blogging about my bakery experience on my website. 

I’m most proud of my cinnamon rolls! They are soft and perfectly balanced with intense cinnamon and tangy cream cheese flavors, but I could sit in happy bliss eating any of my rolls. I love the flavor, and I make what I love! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t believe in just luck. The way that my life has played out cannot be chalked off to simply “luck.” If God hadn’t been putting certain pieces into play, I really don’t believe I would be where I am. 

From sending me a partner who built me up and pushed me to put us in front of a fledgling coffee shop looking for a baker, even to sending me an employee, an experienced baker, who didn’t need many hours when she started but will be able to grow as we do. 

There are too many “coincidences” to call it luck. Many prayers have been answered, and I believe they will continue to be answered. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rolledoutbakery.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/rolledoutbakeryus/
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/rolledoutbakery.1