When Bread Becomes Part of Healing: Kathy’s Story
Sometimes, a customer walks into your life and reminds you exactly why you began.
If you have visited Bread and More at the Wheaton French Market, you may have met Kathy and her sister, Valerie. Valerie’s daughter, Haven, is the sweet little girl who so often arrives carrying flowers for me.
Their family has become very special to me but Kathy and I share a connection that can be difficult to put into words.
Almost every time we see each other, Kathy becomes emotional. She tells me that my bread has helped heal her. Those words affect me deeply because Bread and More began with my own search for healing.
My Journey Back to Real Food
Years ago, I was diagnosed with lupus and experienced seizures. For a long time, I felt unhappy, unhealthy, and disconnected from my own body.
In 2016, my husband and I began taking greater control of our health. We started looking more carefully at what we were eating and gradually moved away from heavily processed foods. By the end of 2023, sourdough had become part of that journey.
The difference I felt was remarkable.
Sourdough was not a miracle cure, and it did not replace medical care. But returning to bread made slowly, through natural fermentation and with simple ingredients, became a meaningful part of caring for my body. My husband and I felt better, and I began to understand how greatly our everyday food choices could affect the way we felt.
That discovery eventually grew into Bread and More.
I wanted to make the kind of bread I had been searching for: naturally fermented sourdough made without preservatives, seed oils, enriched flour, or a long list of unnecessary ingredients. I wanted to share real bread with other families—and perhaps help someone else feel a little better, too.
I never imagined just how personally that mission would one day come back to me.
Kathy’s Life Before Sourdough
In 2025, Kathy was diagnosed with a significant health condition. Even before receiving that diagnosis, she had been living with exhaustion, chronic pain, hormonal imbalances, and persistent digestive problems.
Eating became increasingly difficult.
At times, her symptoms forced her to rely on very plain foods and even follow the BRAT diet. She reacted to so many foods that deciding where to eat became a family discussion centered around what her body might tolerate.
Bread and baked goods were especially difficult.
Regular bread, donuts, cookies, and cakes could cause stomach pain, sweating, or heart palpitations. Instead of food bringing comfort or connection, it became a source of anxiety. Following her diagnosis, that fear became so overwhelming that Kathy nearly gave up bread completely.
Anyone who has experienced food anxiety understands that it is about far more than missing a favorite meal. Food is part of our celebrations, traditions, family gatherings, and everyday relationships. When eating repeatedly causes pain or fear, it can feel as though part of your normal life has been taken away.
One Loaf and a Cautious First Bite
In early 2026, Valerie purchased a loaf of Bread and More sourdough at the Wheaton French Market and shared some with Kathy.
Understandably, Kathy was hesitant. She had tried so many foods and experienced so many reactions that she no longer expected bread to be different.
Still, she took a bite.
Then she waited.
She expected her heart rate to increase. She waited for her stomach to hurt and for the sweating to begin.
But nothing happened.
She tried the bread again the following day, and then again after that. She continued eating it until the entire loaf was gone and each time, she was okay.
At the next market, Kathy came looking for me. She wanted to tell me herself that my bread felt like an answered prayer.
To her, it had become part of her healing.
More Than a Before-and-After Photograph
Today, Kathy says her laboratory results and bloodwork are normal and that her condition has reached remission. She continues to experience occasional flare-ups, but she is once again able to eat balanced meals.
Sourdough remains part of her weekly routine, usually four to ten slices each week.
The photograph Kathy shared shows an incredible physical transformation. But the part of her story that moves me most cannot be measured by a photograph or a number on a scale.
Kathy is no longer afraid of bread.
After living with pain, reactions, and tremendous anxiety surrounding food, she found something she could eat and enjoy. Bread became part of her life again, not as something to fear, but as something that brought nourishment, comfort, and hope.
Two Healing Journeys Connected by Sourdough
Kathy and I have different medical histories and different bodies. Our healing journeys are uniquely our own. Sourdough did not single-handedly cure either of us, and one person’s experience can never promise the same outcome for someone else.
But there is something meaningful in what we share.
Both of us reached a point when our bodies asked us to pay attention. We began looking more closely at the foods we ate and found value in returning to simple ingredients, slower preparation, and food made with intention.
For both of us, sourdough became part of that return.
That is why Kathy’s words bring me to tears. When she tells me my bread has helped heal her, she is speaking to the very reason Bread and More exists.
I did not start this bakery simply because I enjoyed baking bread. I started it because changing the way I ate changed my life. I wanted to offer other people an alternative to the heavily processed products that have become so common, a loaf made slowly, naturally, and with ingredients they can recognize.
Kathy’s story reminds me that what I make is sometimes more than bread.
It can be the first bite someone takes without fear.
It can be a food they thought they had lost.
It can bring someone back to the family table.
And sometimes, in its own quiet and deeply personal way, it can become part of healing.
Kathy, thank you for trusting me with your story. Thank you for being brave enough to share it—and for reminding me why every early morning, every flour-covered surface, and every loaf matters.
This story reflects Jenny’s and Kathy’s personal experiences. Sourdough is not a treatment or cure for any medical condition, and individual responses to foods vary. Anyone experiencing food-related symptoms should consult a qualified healthcare professional.
About the Baker
Hi, I'm Jenny, the baker behind Bread and More. I run a small microbakery where I bake sourdough breads, bagels, and baked goods for my community.
Here on the blog I share sourdough tips, baking lessons I've learned along the way, and simple guidance to help home bakers feel more confident baking sourdough.
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