five years, one starter, and a table big enough for all of you

Today, Haven officially launched. Not “coming soon.” Not “almost there.” Live. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably one of the people who’s been at this table with us since before there was a table at all. since it was just a jar of starter on my counter and a wild idea. So as more of the world gets to meet Haven, I wanted to sit down and tell the full story about how we got here. 

In November 2021, I lost my dad. 

I’m not going to soften that for this post, because nothing about that season was soft. It was the kind of grief that rearranges you. A few months later, I found out I was pregnant with Hayes. Joy and grief sitting at the same table, which is its own strange kind of whiplash. we then moved states and my husband started his internship and we had to create new community and make our house a home before Hayes arrived. Our sweet boy got here and again joy and grief was something I had to relearn on how to make coexist but holding that sweet baby made it a little easier to see the grace in it all. Then, about nine months after he was born and into motherhood, I was laid off. My husband was the best anchor and encourager telling me to stay home and be mom and if you know me, I just cant sit still enough for that. Instead, in October 2023, I stared at the sourdough starter on my counter and it got me thinking. Not because I had a plan but because it was something I loved and felt a sense of peace. So I fed it, I roped my mom into baking with me, and we fed my neighbors and her neighbors. What started as a handful of loaves for friends became 40, then 60 families a week my mom and I baking for and them picking up bread from my porch on Thursdays. That little cottage bakery became the steadiest thing in a stretch of years that had very little steady in them.

Somewhere in those Thursday pickups, something clicked. I kept hearing the same thing from you all: I wish Haven existed in the grocery store. I wish I could get real sourdough without driving across town to you or waiting on a waitlist. And as a mom who reads every label on everything, I felt that same gap myself. That’s the moment Haven stopped being “my bread hobby” and started being a brand. About a year ago was when I started making the sourdough protein waffles for myself and my family. I love health and wellness and I am always trying to make sure we have easy, blood sugar friendly meals in our house. Before I knew it, I was heads-down developing our first product (the one you might be buying right now lol). My mission behind it all was I wanted it to taste good, have safe ingredients, fit into a real mornings with real kids, and never make you choose between “clean” and “convenient.” I ran the microbakery all the way through spring of this year while teaching myself a whole new game when it came to this dream I had. 

It’s easy to write a nice line for a package. It’s harder to earn it. But I think we did, because these last few years have been about taking something that felt like home, my childhood kitchen, my own kids’ mornings, a nostalgic morning that you had as a kid.. remmeber the smell of waffles in the air, messy butter, sticky syrup, maybe some loud yells or singing happening? choas of a family weekend morning. this is what taste like home, ready when you are means. let us take you back to that. and let us help you create this same scene in your family. 

 Today, people ive never met or talked to will find Haven for the first time. They’ll see a clean label, a protein waffle, a pretty website. And that’s a beautiful thing but it’s not the whole story. The whole story is the loss, the babies, two lay offs, the amazing husband, the supportive mom, the village behind me, the porch pickups, the 18 hour dough and bake days, the 60 families who trusted a stranger with their weekly bread and bakes, and the fact that you were all here before any of this. We’re not closing a chapter today. We’re just opening the door a little wider. There’s more room at this table than there’s ever been, new flavors, new families, new mornings we haven’t even imagined yet. Thank you for pulling up a chair before there was anywhere to sit. Thank you for supporting me the last 3 years as Haven Bread and thank you for staying as we grow and dream as Haven Sourdough. 

Make sure to save your seat! what’s coming is going to be even better than everything it took to get here. 

With so much gratitude, 

Breanna 

Founder, Haven Sourdough