Over the past few months Adel has welcomed many new businesses to the commercial landscape. In addition to downtown locations, home based businesses in Adel have been growing. This month we spoke with Elaine Nederhoff, owner of Pies Bread & Beyond, a new home-based bakery in Adel!

For the past 20 years Elaine Nederhoff lived in Earlham with her husband Ron.

The long time sweethearts ran a construction company while raising 100 head of longhorn cattle before a tractor accident took Ron's life in June of 2009.

They had been married for 38 years.

Ron's death brought about major changes in Elaine's life. In a tornado of activity, she closed the construction business, sold her home and cattle, purchased a new home in Adel, and started Pies Bread & Beyond.

For the last 15 years Elaine has been interested in starting her own bakery. In November of 2010 she met with City Administrator Chad Bird to find out what was needed to create her dream, going home with a few forms and big ideas of what would be.

Two days later, John Petosa of Brick Street Books & Cafe visited Adel City Hall, in search of a local baker to supply the coffee shop with fresh baked goods. John was directed to Elaine, and the two met a few days later to discuss how they could mutually benefit one another's sprouting businesses. Elaine was frank, she still needed to fill out the forms and receive her licenses for her home based bakery. John smiled and said, "I have Faith in you."

Not long after speaking with John, Elaine was contacted by the Adel Chamber of Commerce and asked to participate in the Holiday Open House. Elaine was still in the process of acquiring her licenses. The committee member smiled and said, "I have Faith you'll get them." And she did. Elaine's bakery is State Inspected and Licensed. Just a month after deciding to start her dream business, Adel got their first taste of Pies Bread & Beyond in the shape of Reindeer Cookies.



Pies Bread & Beyond is an old fashioned bakery, offering traditional and artisan breads, muffins, scones, and bagels, cookies and bars, pies and more! Check out the new Office Packages for your next morning meeting.

At this time, there are a few items Elaine does not bake. These include "high risk items" such as Cheesecakes and Cream Pies which are prohibited in a home based kitchen, and decorated cakes. Elaine prefers to avoid the fad/ trend items so that she can focus on top quality, nutritious products.

Did you know that your favorite loaf of Store Brand white or wheat bread loses 90% of its nutritional value in the first 72 hours? What's left is a lot of hard to say preservatives. Whole grains increase the overall value which is why Elaine grinds her own grains, especially for her Artisan Rye bread. She hopes to start adding these hand ground grains to all of her products in the future.



Artisan Breads are one of Elaine's main focuses. She enjoys the delicate process, enriched flavors, and intriguing process the recipes lend. Elaine plans to purchase a European Mixer that will prepare 10 delicate loaves at a time verses other commercial mixers which overwork the dough.

The biggest challenge she faces is timing. Many recipes need time to rise and the varying Iowa weather can have a major effect on how long it takes for bread or rolls to rise. This is a step that was rushed due to the fast time line the business has taken which Elaine plans to resolve with the next purchase of a Bread Proofing Box.

Elaine believes in using real ingredients for a better quality and taste. Her recipes use high quality flours, real unsalted butter, and fresh fruits. Before starting the bakery, Elaine loved to bake for her family. She would visit local orchards for fresh apples then bake 200 Turnovers made with butter pastry.

Her family and friends would visit the farm, leaving with bags of delicious Apple Turnovers to enjoy. This recipe has been receiving rave reviews for the past 25 years, which Jim playfully took credit for.

Elaine laughed as she explained. When the couple was first married, Jim sent her to his mother's house to learn how to make all the baked goods he had enjoyed as a child. Whenever someone complimented Elaine on her baking, Jim would say "I taught her how to bake." Elaine would reply, "you didn't teach me to bake" and then Jim would say "Well, I sent you to my mother!"

Elaine knew how to cook and bake at this point, but did learn some great recipes like Oma's Coffee Cake, Peek-A-Boo Bars, and Revel Bars which she still uses today. Jim was always Elaine's fan, building a storage shed on their land that was dedicated to, and stocked with, her baked treats.



During the whirlwind process of starting Pies Bread & Beyond, Elaine decided to design a website to accept new orders and online credit card payments. The website, www.piesbreadbeyond.net, outlines all the products and packages available. The site also includes a business blog where Elaine hopes to answer baking questions and announce upcoming events and new ventures like her membership in the Bread Bakers Guild.

This association of top culinary chefs teaches new and traditional European baking styles and techniques to the nation. It also allows Elaine access to online forums where she can continue to learn the Artisan process with the same Culinary professionals.

Elaine's latest news is that she has added a new member to her staff, Cindy Price! Cindy shares a passion for quality baked goods and will assist Elaine in the kitchen as she prepares orders for clients and Brick Street Books & Cafe. Hopefully Cindy will also help Elaine catch a few more zzz's! To this point, Elaine has been doing it all, working into the morning hours to prepare the baked goods which she makes fresh for each order.

Orders should be placed at least 24 hours in advanced and can be picked up Tuesday-Friday from 6:30am to 6pm, and Saturdays from 8am to noon.

Faith and Family play important roles in Elaine's life and the bakery's creation. Elaine is the mother of 4 children and 7 grandchildren who visit her on the weekends. She is also very involved in the Women's and Youth Ministries at New Hope Church in Adel. "I see this as God's Bakery. That God led me here to Adel, to this community, and has given me these new opportunities. I'm the manager of His bakery!"

Pies Bread & Beyond
Adel, Iowa 50003
Phone: (515) 993-2080
Website:www.piesbreadbeyond.net
Email: elaine@piesbreadbeyond.net

Adel Auto Parts (NAPA) earned the highest honor, the exclusive NAPA Five Star Excellence Award for the second year in a row in February 2011.

More than 3,000 independent NAPA store owners in the U.S. compete to earn this distinction each year.

Five Star excellence status is awarded based on achievement in sales growth, store presentation, wholesale marketing, and education and training.

"Five Star Excellence means a store is among NAPA's elite- the very best of the best," said NAPA President Bob Susor. "A considerable amount of hard work goes into achieving this level of recognition. Five Star Excellence stores are committed to exceeding their customers' expectation every day. At the same time, they maintain a critical focus on meeting their Key objectives."

"Earning Five Star Excellence is an incredible honor," says John Standley, owner of Adel Auto Parts, Corp. "We couldn't have done it without our customers and community. Their loyalty to the NAPA brand helped us reach this level of success."

Congratulations to John Standley and his staff on receiving this award again in 2011!

Adel Auto Parts Corp.
809 Main St.
Adel, Iowa 50003
Phone: (515) 993-3212
Cell: (515) 979-5976

Adel is proud to present a new photographer to our community, GraceJuliet Photography!

Photographer Meghan Nardini's goal is to capture the unique and individual emotions of the day.

"I have a Bachelors degree in Art with an emphasis in Photography from the University of Iowa.

I believe we must capture blink of an eye moments worth remembering for a lifetime. Our photos tell our legacy. Our photos become history to those we love. Our photos are the most precious of things."

Meghan chooses to focus on outdoor photos, while her indoor photos span creative locations around the Adel area and Des Moines Metro.

Right now, GraceJuliet Photography is offering two great discounts!

·Receive 20% off Senior Picture Packages booked before April 1st for any date this year.

·If you are getting married in July, August, November or December of 2011 or any date in 2012, receive 20% off your package if booked in the month of March!

Join us in welcoming GraceJuliet Photography and owner Meghan Nardini to Adel!

GraceJuliet Photography
Adel, Iowa 50003
Phone: (515) 971-0547
Email: Gracejulietphotography@hotmail.com
Website: www.gracejuliet-photography.blogspot.com