Thriving with Sourdough: “The Bread Lady”

By Marise Redmann

(Originally published in 2023 Door County Go! Guide)

As the Door County food scene continues to diversify and specialize with the creation of new sustainable food items, Cultured in Sister Bay (the corner of Cty. Q and Hwy 57) has appeared as a special gem. The creation of local entrepreneur Mattea Fischer, the business is a micro sourdough bakery and fermenter that offers deliciously authentic sourdough and other baked goods.

Mattea notes that many people have no idea that sourdough is not a flavor but a process and is also the oldest way to make bread. “Most sourdough you might find in the grocery store has additives to create a sour flavor and is also leavened with yeast, whereas real sourdough is leavened with a starter, which is only fermented flour and water,” she said.  “Real sourdough should have only three ingredients—flour, water, and salt.”

I did a taste test comparing Mattea’s bread to sourdough from the store, and I can attest that her bread had a deeper flavor, a less compressed texture, beautiful color, and no additives. “I’m constantly learning and having to adjust the process, based on temperature and different flours, but it’s a delight watching flour, water, and salt transform into a crusty loaf of bread,” Mattea said. Her breads also use 100% organic flour, and the fermented vegetables are either organic or locally grown and pesticide- and herbicide-free.

The Cultured menu varies as the season changes and could include breads such as country white, cranberry walnut, cinnamon raisin, rustic rye, olive rosemary, Parmesan and roasted garlic, jalapeño cheddar, elote, and cheddar chive. There are also assorted focaccia breads with toppings like brie cranberry, parmesan olive, and tomato garlic. She also makes bagels, bialys, cookies, sticky buns, rolls and fermentations of different varieties of kimchi and sauerkraut.

Most of us think of sauerkraut as German, though it was developed in China, Mattea informed me. “Fermentation is the oldest known way of preserving food, which is why sauerkraut and kimchi (which is Korean) came into existence,” she said. “Sauerkraut is crunchy and tangy, much the same as its shelf-stable counterparts, which are preserved with vinegar.”

Mattea doesn’t use vinegar; hers are traditionally fermented with cabbage and salt. “I love fermentation because the magic is in the bacteria, which exists naturally in the air and on vegetable matter — sourdough bakers and fermenters simply give them a place to thrive.”

An exciting addition to Cultured is the storefront on County Q, open for walk-in service Thursday through Sunday, offering bagel sandwiches and drip coffee along with baked goods and her famous sourdough. More items will be available as the season’s vegetables grow. “I always knew I wanted to be self-employed, and Door County happened to be where I discovered this passion of fermenting. I’m lucky to be surrounded by so much talent in other small business owners and an amazing community of people who support each other,” Mattea said.

She found her way to Door County with a friend from Green Bay who worked here for years and suggested she give it go. “My first job was working as the gardener at Wickman House,” she said. Before that she spent time travelling to farms that needed extra hands through Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). “I made my way to Milwaukee to intern at Growing Power (an urban farm there) and worked at Twin Elm Gardens north of Green Bay before migrating to Door County.”

Mattea’s bread can be found at Waseda Farm Market, Healthy Way Market, Madison Avenue Market, Clario Farmstead Pasta, Door County Chocolate Design Cafe, and Henriksen Fisheries. You can order online for a pick-up (cultureddc.getminimart.com), but stop by even once and you’ll quickly enjoy repeat visits to Cultured’s aromatic new shop!