By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

It’s almost like manna from heaven in the middle of the wilderness.

Tucked behind a farmhouse just north of 240th and Upland Rds. sits a little building that houses an industrial kitchen that produces all kinds of baked goods.

Sam Oborny and Anna Kristek are the bakers.

Kristek, Oborny‘s lifelong friend, had heard her talk many times about having an industrial kitchen. That dream finally came true last fall, when OK Bread Company was established on the Oborny farm.

The kitchen is licensed by the state and is furnished with used stainless steel equipment that came mostly from restaurants that went out of business.

“We found a sink on Craig’s List and had to travel south of Wichita to pick it up,” Oborny said. “As we drove farther and farther into a remote area, I’m thinking, ‘No one will know where we went,’” she said.

She phoned her son, Tom, to let him know their location, and the purchase was made without incident. The three-sink piece of equipment had been stored in a garage on a farmstead.

The first batch of rolicky (Czech crescent rolls), kolaches, cinnamon rolls, and bierocks came out of the oven just in time for Thanksgiving.

Since then, the two friends have spent every Friday baking up a storm to fulfill orders they receive throughout the week. Orders are due by 5 p.m. each Thursday.

The same dough is used for everything they produce. One of their specialties is stromboli, a rectangular cakepan-size turnover filled with hamburger, pork sausage, bacon, and ham, along with provolone cheese, peppers, and onions.

They make four kinds of bierock — hamburger and cabbage, sausage and cabbage, ham and cheese, and a breakfast bierock. They have learned their customers like many flavors of kolaches, a fruit-topped round of dough popular with the Pilsen people.

The women bake extra goods for walk-in customers and to freeze for unexpected orders that can be filled earlier in the week.

They have been pleasantly surprised to gain two or three new customers every week.

“We have more walk-ins than I thought there would be,” Kristek said.

A Centre third-grader, Anna Godinez Vinduska, voluntarily made attractive aprons, kitchen towels, and hot pads for them.

Oborny said she only can devote one day a week to the bakery because her husband, David, relies on her to help with field work and other tasks during the growing season.

The two women are pleased with the success of the enterprise.

“Neither one of us are very organized, so it’s a wonder we get anything done, but that’s what makes it fun,” Oborny said.

Kristek agreed.

More information is available by calling (620) 382-4196.