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Pumpkin cinnamon swirl sourdough bread. Grains of Love is available at Celina Farmers Market from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the fairgrounds and at Rockford Maker's Market from noon-3 p.m. Sunday at Shanes Park.
ROCKFORD - For a husband and wife duo, sourdough bread has changed their life.
Megan and Matt Tuttle, who own Grains of Love, are bringing their sourdough business to a more permanent location - a bakery storefront in downtown Rockford.
"Due to the ongoing demand and support of the community, we will be opening a storefront," a post reads on the business' Facebook page.
"We have been blessed with some paths crossing and it was, I felt like, meant to be that somebody bought the building where Subway was in Rockford and (wanted) a bakery there," Megan said.
Someone gave the owners her name and things have progressed fairly quickly.
The all sourdough bakery, which they hope to have open by November, will include a coffee and tea menu and a revolving menu around sourdough. The business will have one to three featured sandwiches and soups every day. The couple is teaming up with a local coffee roaster to create a custom blend.
"We want to give back and support our small community and have (the bakery) be a bright spot on a map," Matt said. "People will go, 'Hey, in this little town, there's this specialty store.' We want to put Rockford on the map. We're just going to just stay in our lane of sourdough and the full line of coffees."
Grains of Love plans to open a storefront featuring only sourdough products.
Other menu options include a pulled pork chili paired with savory bread, house-made yogurt and granola, bread bowls, pastries, breakfast options and spreads and dips that are paired with bread with complementing flavors.
"Our goal is to show people that sourdough has a lot of versatility," Megan said. "Sourdough can go into many applications and be yummy. People (say) 'sourdough cookies?' Yeah. You'll never want another cookie a day in your life."
Megan said she found sourdough three years ago because she was following a Keto diet and said she missed bread. She began baking for her family, then extended family and friends. She started selling products out of her home in October and has been a vendor at the Celina Farmers Market since April.
Now, her business has grown into a larger-than-life production.
Even though she sells the bread and other sweet treats on Saturday, she starts baking on Monday.
"They always say (to) surround yourself with great people," Matt said. "That's what Grains of Love is trying to do, surround ourselves with great people and manufacture a great product. To make that loaf of bread, that process starts on Monday and finishes on Friday. You have to have a lot of love."
On Monday, the couple grocery shops and prepares any produce. On Tuesday, they make the plain dough and shape it into loaves. On Wednesday, they make and shape the flavored dough. In those two days, they prepare about 50-65 loaves.
On Thursday, they make cookies and prepare for cinnamon rolls and muffins. Friday is a baking day when they bake more than 100 products in their oven, which makes for 10-15 hour days.
"It's a labor of love and that's really where the name came from," Megan said. "This was pretty much a labor of love for not only us, then now we're sharing it with people. Hours and house go into it, but the benefits are tenfold."
A pumpkin sourdough bagel. Grains of Love is available at Celina Farmers Market from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the fairgrounds and at Rockford Maker's Market from noon-3 p.m. Sunday at Shanes Park.
Sourdough is considered healthier in that is contains wild yeasts and natural bacteria.
Megan said sourdough is a lower glycemic index carb, meaning it doesn't spike blood sugar levels.
"You will feel satisfied longer and your blood sugar doesn't spike so it doesn't create that trigger of cravings," she said. "Due to the fermentation process of it, it has healthy bacteria, which breaks down a lot of the gluten. Our bodies are not made to break down the amount of gluten that we are taking (in). The fermentation process does all the hard work for us, so therefore, it's more gut-friendly and you're not feeling as bloated as when you eat regular gluten products. It's not a gluten-free product, there's still gluten in it, but the fermentation process definitely helps our body be able to process it easier."
The dough also contains wild yeast compared to commercial yeast which is harder to digest.
The wild yeast in a sourdough starter are present naturally in flour and in the environment, according to information from Colorado State University Extension. The wild yeast consumes the carbohydrates in the flour and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide gas (CO2) as the primary by-products. The release of CO2 in the dough helps create the bread's airy structure.
For some of the couple's customers, sourdough has been a groundbreaking innovation.
"We've had customers say, 'I can eat bread again' and it's changed their life," Matt said. "That's why (we do it)."
The couple hopes the storefront will introduce more people to the benefits of sourdough while also providing a neighborhood gathering space.
"The reason why Megan and I started this business was to bring people together and to share something that's very special," Matt said. "That's what we want to convey in this space. In this day and age, we want to provide a space (where) you can just come in and slow down and be comfortable and safe. This is going to be intentional. We're going to create an environment where you'll say, 'If I didn't work where I work, I would like to work here.'"
"You're paying for the experience, too," he continued. "When you come into our shop, it's going to be an experience. There's the smells, the laughter, in a small town, there's only storytelling going on. There's those types of things."
Grains of Love plans to open in downtown Rockford at 101 N. Main St. sometime in November.
Although the couple will have a storefront, they said they don't want to hang up their market hats yet because vendor markets are what catapulted the business.
"We also don't want to lose who we are at the markets when we go into the brick-and-mortar store," Matt said.
"We are serving people, serving our community," Megan added. "We are people people. We love that interaction with people and making sure that that they're getting what they want from it and just the knowledge of it."
They said they want to continue selling at vendor markets, though it may not be as often once the storefront opens.
"Thirteen and a half years ago, I said I wanted to own a restaurant," Megan said as she smiled. "(Matt) told me I was crazy. My heart has always been in serving people. If I could cook for free and feed anyone and everyone, I would definitely want to do that, It's come full circle. I didn't know it was going to be a bakery, but hey."
To stay updated on the business, visit its Facebook page. The business will be at Celina Farmers Market from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the fairgrounds and at Rockford Maker's Market from noon-3 p.m. Sunday at Shanes Park.
