I sold more loaves and set a personal sales record at the West Lafayette Farmers Market this past week, in part due to the perfect weather but also because of a new product I came up with almost by accident: miniature loaves.

The idea for Mini Smittybreads came about as a result not of thinking about new ways to market bread but more efficient ways to produce it.

As a small volume baker churning out three large loaves for every 30 minutes of oven time, I’ve struggled with sacrificing an entire loaf of bread to cut into sample pieces. Some days I haven’t offered samples even though they are a great way to engage customers and sell more bread.

The solution to my sample dilemma came to me a week ago: produce enough dough for the requisite number of loaves plus a little extra for a sampler loaf. The first time I tried it, it worked out well, giving me just enough samples for market without cutting into a large loaf.

Then I got to thinking: These little loaves are darned cute. Not only that, they are just the right size for a small dinner, a snack or an appetizer tray. They are also easier to cut and, for market-goers wanting to conserve cash, easier on the wallet.

In the past I’ve frequently had customers tell me they couldn’t possible use an entire 23-ounce loaf of bread. My only response, until now, has been to tell them they can always freeze half for later. In my experience that argument seldom worked.

With miniature loaves, however, I can offer a solution to the too-much-bread dilemma while at the same time appeal to that part of human nature that thinks miniatures are cute (Shetland ponies, tiny houses, toy poodles. Well, maybe not poodles …) A customer unwilling to spring for a large loaf of rye might well buy one small one and a couple more besides.

Incidentally, while I was at the market Wednesday afternoon pushing mini-loaves, a child of neighboring vendor, Holy Cow Farm Fresh, was playing behind the booth with a set of miniature farm implements. The parallel between his fascination with 1/64th scale combines and sprayers and my fascination with 1/3rd scale loaves of seeded sourdough didn’t dawn on me until days later.

To be honest, I worried that the sale of mini-loaves might cut into sales of the larger loaves, but I don’t think it did. I quickly sold out of mini-loaves of rye, multi-grain, seeded and pain au levain, each weighing 7 ounces. Several customers bought more than one. To my satisfaction, most of the small loaves went to new customers while my regulars continued buying the larger loaves. I went home with seven large loaves but was able to sell them all by the next day.

The large loaves sell for $7 each. The mini’s, weighing a third of their larger cousins, sold briskly at $3 apiece, or 3 for $8. I don’t know if I’ll make mini-loaves for each and every market, given that they require a little extra labor to produce and package. But they appear to be a novel and effective way to sell more bread and bring a smile to the faces of me and Smittybread customers.