Our Story

Hi, I'm Carri, mom of one, avid gardener, budding herbalist, and a certified "will absolutely fall down a research rabbit hole for fun" kind of person. If it involves growing something, learning something, or making something with my hands, I'm probably into it. Sourdough just happens to be the one that stuck.

WHERE IT STARTED

I've lived with food allergies for over a decade now, long enough that reading ingredient labels is basically a reflex. That constant label checking is actually what led me to baking in the first place.

I wanted food I could trust, made with my own two hands, from ingredients I understood.

What started as a way to just feed myself turned into a full-blown love affair with sourdough.

The slow ferments. The stubborn starters. The way a good crumb feels like a small miracle every single time, no matter how many loaves you've pulled from the oven. I've been baking for years now, mostly for myself and whoever happened to be in my kitchen at the right moment.

THE PIVOT

For a long time, bread was the side story. My day job was a career in marketing: small businesses, Fortune 500s, the whole spectrum. It was a good career, one I was proud of.

But life had other plans. Somewhere in the middle of that pivot, the sourdough stopped being just a hobby. Friends started asking for loaves. Then they started asking for more. What had quietly been my creative outlet turned into something people actually wanted and needed enough to keep coming back for.

THE BAKERY

So here we are.

Secret Garden Cottage Bakery is that leap: a home microbakery built on naturally leavened sourdough, small batches, and a lot of care. No shortcuts, no mystery ingredients just flour, water, salt, and time, the way bread was always meant to be made.

Every loaf is a little bit of that same story: someone who needed food she could trust, who fell in love with the process, and who now gets to share it with you.

Thanks for being here, I'm so glad you found the garden.