Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaley McNeil.
Hi Kaley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was in college, I experienced a multitude of autoimmune related issues and after changing my eating habits, my health improved drastically. So for a whole decade, I stayed away from eating anything with gluten. Then about 5 years ago, I learned about sourdough and how the fermentation process breaks down the grains & some of the gluten proteins – making it easier to digest for people who are gluten sensitive. So I figured I’d give it try! Spoiler Alert – it was not only delicious but I had no symptoms after eating it and that blew me away! SO we became a sourdough family and every bread product in our home was made by me using sourdough starter.
One day a dear friend was having a tough day so I brought some sourdough bagels I had just made to her at her office to try to brighten her day. She ended up sharing some with her co-workers who then started asking me if they could buy these sourdough bagels! That’s where the business began – formed from wanting to make healthier bread for my family & my love of nourishing my friends (and now our whole community)!
Turns out there is a big need for organic Sourdough Bagels in Orlando and so our little business has been growing faster than I could have ever expected!
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?
our biggest struggle was demand growing so fast and quickly and learning how to provide larger quantity of bagels. We bought a bread oven & large mixer on Facebook marketplace and that helped a lot!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We specialize in Organic Sourdough bagels! We are known for using organic unbleached, non-enriched flour always. The thing that makes me the most proud is the way these bagels bring community together. We have a community giveback program where community members can be nominated to receive a free bag of bagels – a nod back to the the way we started, using bagels to uplift or celebrate a friend in our community.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Showing up in the spaces that feel good to you and where you feel inspired. Ask questions to the people who are inspiring you. When you show up and show interest in others people’s successes, those same successes have a better chance of finding you!
Pricing:
- $10-$12 per bag of 5 Sourdough Bagels depending on the flavor
Contact Info:
- Website: https://slowrisesourdough.co
- Instagram: @slowrisesourdoughco
Image Credits
Elaine Herrera
