Crooked Oak Sourdough
About This Baker
Description
Jay Bardessono – Chief Sourdough Nerd
Solvang, Ca.
I’m a grain-obsessed, fermentation-driven baker in the Santa Ynez Valley, focused on bread that starts with the grain—not the recipe. Much of my flour is milled fresh for each bake, using organic and regeneratively grown wheats chosen for flavor, structure, and how they behave in long fermentation—not just protein numbers on a spec sheet.
Dough development is deliberate and restrained, relying on proper hydration, gentle mechanical mixing, and fermentation to do the real work. I pay close attention to extraction rates, fermentation curves, inoculation, and pH, letting the dough tell me when it’s ready rather than forcing it to meet a schedule.
This is a small, local cottage bakery by design. No frozen dough, no additives, no shortcuts—just careful process, thoughtful grain selection, and bread made for people who care deeply about where their food comes from and how it’s made.
@crookedoaksourdough
What began as a curiosity about sourdough turned into a deeper fascination with grain—where it’s grown, how it’s milled, and how different wheats behave in fermentation. Baking at home became a daily practice, then a constant experiment. Flour wasn’t just an ingredient anymore; it was the variable that changed everything.
As the process evolved, so did the approach. Commercial flour gave way to organic and regeneratively grown grains. Whole berries were milled fresh. Fermentation was tracked by temperature, time, and pH instead of the clock. Each bake became less about repeating a formula and more about responding to the dough in front of it.
Before long, neighbors started asking for loaves. A few extra bakes turned into regular drops. The bakery stayed small on purpose—focused on quality, local sourcing, and bread made with intention rather than scale.
Today, everything is still done in small batches in the Santa Ynez Valley, with the same curiosity that started it all. The goal hasn’t changed: make honest bread that reflects the grain, the process, and the place it comes from.
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