Hi! I am Zaida and I’m the founder of T2 PAN Sourdough Boutique. Thank you so much for visiting this site and most of all for reading this story.

Humble Beginnings

T2 PAN is a numeronym in memoriam of my beloved father Tito.

The very first molecules of PAN PA BO RUMAN must have emerged from MACHETAZO’S PLACE, my father’s mini convenience store. It had a sign, handwritten by him with paint on a piece of plywood that said:

 

Machetazo’s Place

Aki Tito ta

Pan pa bo ruman

 

which means something like, “Tito’s got bread for you my brother/sister."

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My father passed away when I was 13. Since my family wasn’t wealthy I asked my mom (who is a real cake boss!) to teach me how to bake cakes so I could earn a little pocket money. With my mom’s recipe and my father’s sales skills, I started to sell cupcakes at school and in my neighborhood. I made it through High School, then through College and University in the Netherlands, and ended up teaching at the same school that I went to as a teenager.

Science and Health

T2 PAN is my home-based micro-bakery that came to life after I made the decision to stop teaching biology at secondary school. After being a teacher, I became a student and took courses to learn the basics of bread baking. After an intense period of study I discovered that bread is not only nutritious for our bodies; it also feeds the soul with intense happiness.

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My start in baking could have happened the same way as Charles Darwin, the most well known of biologists, once theorized about the origin of life, known as abiogenesis: the process by which life arises naturally from non-living matter.

 

I bake what I call “real bread." The main components of my baked goods are my love, energy that I transmit into every piece of dough that I craft with my two hands, my passion for science, and my respect for quality ingredients. T2 PAN is my channel to connect with my community and strip away the undeservingly poor health reputation of bread. In fact, sourdough contains many nutrients that benefit our gut microbiomes.

The Cycle

Today, the same spaces that used to be my father’s convenience store and my mom’s kitchen are where I bake from scratch. However, I no longer sell my baked goods only at my school and my neighborhood. T2 PAN is savored everywhere!