About San Luis Sourdough

San Luis Sourdough was founded in 1983 by Dave and Charlie West.  The company maintains it's facility in San Luis Obispo, CA.  In 1987, San Luis Sourdough was selected as "California's Small Business of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration.  In 1994, San Luis Sourdough was selected as "National Intermediate Wholesale Bakery of the Year" by Bakery Production and Marketing Magazine.  In March of 1998, San Luis Sourdough was acquired by The Earthgrains Company.  In 2001, Earthgrains was purchased by Sara Lee.  Our bread is now available in most areas of California and Western Nevada. 

The secret to the success of San Luis Sourdough is the quality of the product.  Our breads are called hearth breads because they are hand formed and baked on a sheet rather than in a pan.  This process encourages the great crust so desired by sourdough lovers.  Our production cycle requires a full two days from start to finish.  While this limits the amount of bread we are able to produce, it enables our breads to achieve it's unmatched quality.  

After the proofing of the dough, the unbaked bread is marked or "scored."  This is done by hand just before baking so that the expansion of the dough during the bake process will occur in a way that enhances the appearance of the bread.  Each type or shape of bread has it's own unique mark.  This is like a signature...and many bakers can recognize their own "bake" by simply looking at the scoring of a particular loaf.