Baking Origin Story
Brett and Christina's bread journey first started in the mid 90s when, as a holiday present, Brett's family received a counter-top bread machine. The cube-shaped loaves that sprang forth like magic awakened something in Brett unknown to him at the time: a desire to figure out how bread works.
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For the next decade or so, he would bake bread and cinnamon rolls from all kinds of cookbooks, learning tricks and playing with recipes along the way. It is likely these experiments may have played a role in wooing Christina, who never seemed to mind assisting and taste testing after they met in the early 2000s.
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It wasn't until 2010, however, that sourdough came into the picture. Brett was going back to school at the time, and it was a very stressful program. Baking bread was always a great stress relief, and they both always loved sourdough, so they decided to make their own starter. They christened it Bilbo, and he's been a faithful companion ever since.
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Given the demands of school and use of baking as a stress outlet, they quickly found themselves with a freezer full of bread. So, in order to support their baking habit and continue their exploration of sourdough, they started Bigelow Bread CSB. It operated similar to a farm CSA -- subscribers would pre-pay for a loaf of bread every week for 4-8 weeks. This would let Brett and Christina get supplies, experiment with recipes, and also experiment with baking on a growing scale.
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They did runs of the CSB for several years, eventually reaching up to 36 subscribers per session, which definitely maxed out the capacity of a standard home kitchen. They also learned another important thing -- they loved working together.
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In 2015, Christina, Brett, and their then 2-year old daughter Julia decided to make a big life change and moved 1000 miles from their native Western Pennsylvania to Tampa, FL. There, they launched Gulf Coast Sourdough, selling naturally-leavened breads at local farmers' markets. During the first couple years they steadily built up a client base of eager bread lovers as well as local restaurants all over the Tampa region while also learning how to scale sourdough baking to satisfy the increasing demand.
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In 2019, they opened the Gulf Coast Sourdough Sandwich House in Tampa, serving Tampa-style pressed sandwiches, pastries, and breads, all sourdough-based. In 2021, after baking in shared spaces for years, they finally were able to purchase their own large-scale baking space as well as move their shop to a prime location in the heart of one of the foodiest areas of Tampa, Seminole Heights.
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Business boomed in the years after getting the new bakery building operational -- the team grew to over 20 employees, the bakery was regularly making 1000+ loaves a day, and the shop became a well-known fixture in the area. Brett and Christina, though, started to feel the need to move onto other adventures and focus more on their family. In late 2024, they sold the wholesale business and building to a local Tampa restaurant group, and the Sandwich House became an independent bakeshop making everything for its operation on site.
Now, Christina, Brett, and their two kids have started a new journey -- traveling the world with their sourdough starter, re-named Gandalf, and baking all along the way! You can follow their adventures in baking on their instagram or facebook pages. A big part of the inspiration for Sourdough Lifestyle is the idea that sourdough baking can fit easily into busy schedules, and there is no better way to demonstrate that than baking in different locations, with different equipment, and new local ingredients at every stop!
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Throughout all this time, Brett and Christina have also taught baking classes to students eager to learn about sourdough baking since 2015. With experience baking at home for years as well as on a commercial level, they are able to demystify the sourdough process that can often be so confusing, especially for beginners trying to learn on their own. However, this ability isn't through being some sort of sourdough savants -- they are able to demystify the process simply because they've made nearly mistake a sourdough home baker can, and they are never afraid to share them!
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