Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 40
OPERATIONS SLOW DOUGH BREAD CO.
never say no
Slow Dough Bread Co. has found success committing to
slow fermentation and exceptional customer service
by Charlotte Atchley
A long
fermentation
time allows Slow
Dough Bread
Co. to produce
high-quality
artisan breads for
customers looking
for something
authentic.
Heath and Marlo Wendell founded Houston-based
Slow Dough Bread Co. in 2009. The idea was a
commitment to making bread " the right way " via slow
fermentation and a few high-quality ingredients. They
combined Heath Wendell's knowledge from the four
previous generations of bakers in his family with the
education he received in Europe and tailored all of
that to fit the tastes of Texas. In the beginning, there
was definitely a commitment to artisan, upscale
breads.
" When Heath started, he said he would never
make hamburger buns, " said Andrew Sanchez, vice
president of operations and sales, who runs the dayto-day
business operations now. " Two months in, one
of his biggest customers asked for hamburger buns
... now it's one of our top-selling products. "
The bakery has 400 SKUs that it creates out of
50 doughs. If it's bread, Sanchez said they probably
make it: ciabatta, sourdough, baguette, burger buns,
pretzels and more. The bakery even has a line of vegan
products. And every item has one of the bakery's
signature starters in it: a biga or a levain they've had
for their entire 15-year history.
" We slowly ferment all of our doughs, whether
that's a bulk ferment or the starter fermenting in the
cooler overnight, " Sanchez said. " We even put it in
our sliced bread as a point of differentiation. That's
40 Baking & Snack | february 2025 | bakingbusiness.com
our signature, and we're not going to do no-time
dough. That's what made us unique in the beginning,
and it still sets us apart. "
Europe meets Texas
Heath Wendell comes from a long line of bakers.
His great-great-grandfather, Adam Schmitt, opened
the first family bakery in 1886 in Weisloch, Germany.
Adam's son Carl Schmitt immigrated to the United
States and opened a bakery in Chicago, which his
son Henry - Heath's grandfather - grew. Henry
Schmitt opened Deerfield Bakery in 1972, where
Heath Wendell's mother also worked, and Heath got
his first taste for baking.
In his 20s, Heath Wendell worked in a French
bakery in Paris where he learned traditional European
baking skills, which were instrumental to Slow
Dough's founding. Heath Wendell has elevated his
family's recipes with his European training and adapted
them to its Texan consumers.
" Our pretzels are a good example of this, " Sanchez
explained. " Heath learned pretzels in Europe
and tried to sell his incredibly authentic pretzels in
the US, but they didn't do as well because it wasn't
the pretzel Americans were expecting. Add some
butter and sugar, and now it's one of our top items. "
The bakery sells a 13-oz pretzel because as
Photography by Jenn Duncan
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Baking & Snack - February 2025
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - February 2025
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - Intro
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 1
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 2
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 3
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 4
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 5
Baking & Snack - February 2025 - 6
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