Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Drucker.
Hi Adam, 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 on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Doctor Dough was created during the pandemic. We couldn’t find dough meant for a regular home kitchen oven at the grocery store. Not wanting to invest in a costly backyard pizza oven, or, “dough forbid,” order takeout, I got busy researching and developing. After 18 months of weekly pizza night “testing,” Doctor Dough was born.
Doctor Dough is a NY-style pizza dough that bakes up in your regular home kitchen oven with a sturdy base, puffy/airy crust, the perfect amount of chew, a wonderfully charred booty, and a “doughstanding” amount of flavor. The dough can remain in your freezer for up to 3 months until you’re ready to unleash your inner pizzaiolo.
Doctor Dough sells frozen dough balls that make a 10-12″ pizza and baked-to-order pizzas at pop-ups throughout the Los Angeles area, along with special events and catering services.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No one in the history of dough, pizza, and home kitchen ovens, has struggled more than Doctor Dough. Every Friday night, for a painful year and a half, my poor family was unwillingly subjected to pizza. Often times, friends and family were recruited for pizza. And the types of pizza that all of us in the early Dough Nation were forced to test: plain; pepperoni, BBQ chicken, Oh My! Sometimes the Doctor would go full malpractice and use ingredients like Lap Xuong, kimchi, and hoisin.
Other than those “hardships,” a lot of the struggle revolved around testing and learning. Since my dough cold-proofs for a full three days, there was always lag time between making a batch and baking it. Often times, biting into that first slice of pizza would bring disappointment and signal a failed recipe change. Granted, there’s no such thing as bad pizza. However, there is pizza that tastes better than other pizza. So another week would pass until I got to see the results of my next batch. There was also the small matter of learning everything about dough; a subject about which I knew nothing.
Beyond that, bringing Doctor Dough to life was not so much of a struggle, but rather, a labor of love. Going forward, the struggle has shifted to a familiar theme for all new small business owners: selling the product. Getting the Doctor Dough name out there, building a reputation, growing the business, and dealing with all the little moving parts that are involved in successfully juggling all that. It’s a struggle that requires a small business owner to be nimble and adaptable, which in itself can be a struggle. I’m fortunate that I have amazing people in my life that are more than happy to answer any questions, express opinions that I may not have considered, and just lend a hand when needed. Then again, payment in pizza is one of humanity’s great motivators, pretty much making everyone an early investor in Doctor Dough… a “doughvestor,” if you will.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I could do anything! Like what? Well, anything! Great, like what?
As I was about to graduate with my degree in Economics, that was the conversation I had with several of my professors. Ugh. I graduated college and immediately got a job in IT. IT turns out (pun intended) that the analytical nature of economics translated very well to IT. After plenty of years in that industry, I no longer enjoyed it.
Enter my amazing wife who encouraged me to leave my job and pursue my passion– restaurants and food service. A friend of ours happened to own a little place called Paradise Cove Beach Cafe in Malibu. Bob Morris, the owner, threw me in the dishroom for the next two weeks. I was exhausted. And in love.
After about two years of mentoring at Paradise Cove, I moved on to The Border Grill and managed their food truck operations. From there, a business partner and I opened a cafe called Big Mango Cafe, and eventually another. We ran those for over 7 years. As luck would have it, I exited the business just before the pandemic hit the world and shut us all down. It was during this time that Doctor Dough was born.
The secret, which isn’t much of a secret, of what sets me apart from others, is my wife. Not to get all doughy and cheesy, but her support, encouragement, marketing smarts, design smarts, and general smarty smarts are a big reason why Doctor Dough is able to move forward.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Go talk to people who are doing what you want to do. I spoke to so many different vendors at farmer’s markets, night markets and people who were serving from a popup on the sidewalk. If you are genuinely interested and not asking anything specific to their operation, people are very willing to share information with you. A thank you, a hand shake, and a dose of respect can go a long way.
Pricing:
- $5 Solo Ball: A single Doctor Dough ball makes a 10 inch pie.
- $25.00 It’s A Party: Buy 5 and the 6th is on the good Doctor!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.docdough.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doc_dough
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/doctor-dough/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@doc_dough
Image Credits
Mrs. Doctor Dough (Rita Drucker)
