This summer I was scrolling through Facebook when I noticed some delicious looking sourdough bread on my local neighborhood page.  A neighbor by the name of Lara Osmon was selling these gorgeous sourdough boules and even offered to deliver them if we lived locally.  I immediately called dibs on a loaf, and she delivered same day.   When the bread arrived at my door, it was still warm.  I don’t know about you, but warm bread invokes feelings of contentment and coziness for me.  I don’t understand this phenomenon, but it’s real!  I had to try it while it was still warm and fresh, so I immediately cut a slice and smeared some of my favorite Sawatch Artisan Butter on it.  This bread hit all my sourdough requirements: crispy on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside, and just the right amount of tang.  I couldn’t help myself, I had to have another piece.   When my husband got home from work, he tried it and was also very impressed.  We are big fans of sourdough and have tried various varieties from many local bakeries here in Colorado Springs.  This sourdough bread has them all beat. 

That evening, I reached out to Lara and told her that her bread was legit the best we have ever tried.  I asked her if she would be interested in being featured in my blog, and luckily for me, she agreed!  I found her story fascinating and I now understand just why her bread is so dang good!  Read on to learn more about Lara and the secret to her amazing bread.

Tell us about yourself

I moved to the Yukon, Canada shortly after getting married at 18 years of age. Wanting to learn how to make bread, I went to the local library and took out a book to teach me how. I learned that in the Yukon, like Alaska, there is wild yeast that makes great sourdough, so I learned to collect the wild yeast and make my own starter. It wasn’t until I moved to Colorado, 25 years later, that I perfected my sourdough skills. I moved here in 2014 with my starter. The rest is history!

I am now a licensed Health care agent for those on Medicare, I help my husband, Chad, with his life insurance business, own an eBay store and sell baked goods from home!

What inspired you to create Rise & Shine Bakery?

Being an entrepreneur and finding out that Colorado allows home baked goods to be sold out of the home, I decided to try and sell my sourdough bread. I love to share my baking with others, and it helps to supplement my income as a Senior Health Care Advisor, which is more part time for most people. 

Besides your delicious sourdough bread, what other items do you make and sell?

I can bake pretty much anything, but the sourdough is the least time consuming, and most difficult to find in its genuine form, so I primarily sell the sourdough. Periodically, I may list other holiday themed baking, but it is rare!

What is your favorite way to enjoy your sourdough bread?

My favorite way to enjoy sourdough is toasted with Cookie Butter (Bischoff or Walmart brand!)

 What is the most rewarding part of your business?

The most rewarding part of my business is when people try my sourdough for the first time and send me texts telling me how amazing and delicious it is! So rewarding!

What has been your proudest moment since starting Rise & Shine Bakery?

My proudest moment was actually your text, Cara. “I just wanted you to know that we absolutely loved your sourdough bread. We consider ourselves sourdough snobs and yours was the BEST we have ever tried.”

Besides Facebook, how can we purchase your baked goods?

Besides Facebook, you can text me at 720-789-1053 and order loaves for the next day or even weeks away. I make 8 loaves daily unless I’m away. 4 in the morning, 4 around dinner time. I accept cash, Venmo and Zelle.

What are your future plans/goals for Rise & Shine Bakery?

My future goals are just to keep doing what I’m doing now. I don’t want to have an actual bakery-then it would become work. Now it’s still a fun hobby!

Who is your culinary hero/inspiration and why?

My culinary inspiration/hero is my grandmother. She knew how to make all kinds of baking and yeast breads. My mom was a great cook but didn’t do any yeast breads. Skipped a generation but my granny would be proud!

What advice would you give to a woman thinking about starting a culinary business?

If you want to get into the baking business, get lots of hands-on experience! Either with someone you can learn from or by trial and error yourself. 

Can you share any tidbits or stories that our readers might enjoy?

Tidbits: I take my starter with me on short vacations and feed it morning and night to keep it active 🙂 I entered a harvest fair contest in Whitehorse, Yukon 25 years ago and got 3rd prize for my sourdough. I’ve come a long way since then! If there’s enough interest, I’d teach a class on how to make sourdough 🙂

There you have it, the secret to Lara’s amazing sourdough bread is… 30+ years of experience! I am still thinking about how a person catches wild yeast to use in baking. I think I need to gather a group of friends and take her up on a sourdough class! I was also lucky enough to receive a sample loaf of her homemade rye bread too. It was excellent, as I figured it would be.

I have mentioned in past posts that gluten products have been known to upset my stomach. Sourdough bread, doesn’t bother me at all. I decided to do some research on this to understand why. According to “The Sourdough School – Center of Research & Education in Nutrition of Digestibility of Bread & The Gut Microbiome,” There are 3 reasons why sourdough is easier to digest:

1. Phytase Enzymes, release by wild yeast, acidifies and pre-digests the flour.
2. Sourdough bread takes longer to digest and thus helps to prevent bloating and discomfort.
3. Sourdough is a prebiotic which helps to support the gut biome.

So, besides being beautiful and delicious, sourdough is GOOD for you!! Armed with this knowledge, you need to contact Lara and get your hands and mouth on a loaf of her award winning bread today! You will be so glad you did.

Whenever possible, I love to create a recipe to highlight my favorite products. Click on the link below to get the recipe for a Caprese Chicken Melt featuring some of Lara’s Sourdough. Enjoy!