Jessica Natvig recently moved across the country from Marco Island, Florida, to Bend with her dehydrated sourdough starter in tow. She and her husband are from Oregon. They have a busy household with three sons, ages 7, 4 and 6 weeks, but still manage to operate a small batch sourdough kitchen called Lady Sourdough out of their home.
“Everything that is baked is handmade, rolled and shaped by me,” Natvig says. “I love the aspect of being on social media and creating content around what I do because people can see the love and hard work I put into my craft. I don’t have a large staff who works for me, it’s just my husband and me. We really love what we do and hope to continue to grow here.”
In Florida, she grew a fan base large enough to support her family. She hopes to create the same kind of loyal following here. She sells her sourdough bread, English muffins and cookies at the Northwest Crossing Saturday Farmers Market, usually located near the hummus stand.
Natvig left her busy job as a property manager at a large condominium in Florida to spend more time at home with her boys. She began making sourdough to help her 4-year-old who was struggling with eczema.
“I had read gluten can be a big trigger so I started making sourdough to introduce clean foods to him that he would actually eat because he is a pretty picky eater but loves bread,” Natvig explains. “It doesn’t cause his eczema to flare up unlike most gluten products, due to the natural slow fermentation process and cleaner flour.”
She says her first attempts ended in frustration with a starter going straight into the trash. Through trial and error, she found a recipe and a rhythm that became an integral part of her routine. Online she writes that Lady Sourdough is somewhere between “the beauty of slow, old-world baking and the joy of building something meaningful right in the middle of everyday life.”
Central Oregon has an abundance of micro-bakers, but Natvig feels there’s room. “There are more and more people who are learning the health benefits of real sourdough and want that as an option instead of typical store-bought bread.”
Through her website, she offers instructions on how to make a proper loaf of bread or cookies to empower others in starting their own sourdough journey.
“I’m so happy to be back in Oregon, it will be the very best of both worlds to get to live in the state I love most, doing the work I love, so I hope I get the opportunity to bake for many here in the area. I hope they come out to the market to give us a try.”
Lady Sourdough
NWX Saturday Market 10am-2pm
Mt. Washington Dr. & NW Crossing Dr.
instagram.com/lady.sourdough/?hl=en
This article appears in the Source July 2, 2026.
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