Hi Everyone! My name is Mary and I founded Sourland Bread in 2013 after I went on a trip to France that changed my life. For years, I was unable to eat bread without feeling very sick. I went to several specialists who determined I had a "gluten allergy" and I should steer clear of it in order to feel my best. But while I was in France, I took a risk and discovered I could eat every type of bread without any issues.

 

I came home determined to figure out why so many people in the United States had a problem with gluten. I borrowed a friends bread machine, used French flour from my travels, and created my own sourdough starter to make that first loaf of bread. I was instantly hooked and began to discover that it wasn’t the gluten that was the issue, but rather the way that commercial bread was made that caused many people to not feel good after eating it. After all, bread had been made for thousands of years and gluten had never been an issue before. 

 

At the time I was in graduate school studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and was interested most in Nutrition. I became determined to find out how people could benefit from the vitamins and minerals that organic, whole grain bread gives and discovered through a ton of research that the KEY to great, healthy bread was fermentation and the use of a sourdough starter or “mother.” 

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I began baking loaves for family and friends who began wanting some of their own and requested that I teach them my methods. Later, I obtained a Cottage Food License and began selling bread at Farmers Markets in Los Angeles. I also began teaching my user friendly, simple methods right on my picnic table in my family’s yard in late 2013. 

 

For over seven years now I have taught over 1,500 people to bake their own nutritious bread in the comfort of their own homes using simple methods. 

 

My ultimate hope is to educate people about the importance of eating whole grains, to simplify the art of baking bread, and to unite us, one loaf at a time. I truly believe that each and every one of us has the innate ability to heal ourselves and it is through this connection of the earth through whole grains that I believe it can happen. Thank you for joining me on this sourdough journey!

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