Danika Sedgwick holds a loaf of her homemade dairy free sourdough bread. 

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – Enjoy bread, but especially sensitive to dairy?

You might want to try a loaf of homemade sourdough bread available weekly and especially crafted with love by Danika “Dani” Sedgwick, a Citrus Heights home-based bread baker and mom.

Sedgwick discovered that both her husband, Aaron and newborn daughter, Emily are both allergic to dairy and wondered what she could do to help provide for her young family.

The long-time foodie and baker was inspired to start her own business, Get Baked by Danika, choosing to offer a tasty, sourdough-style bread utilizing a nurtured starter, and simple ingredients of salt, water and specialty white flour.

“My husband Aaron encouraged me to find something that I love doing. Making homemade bread has been a great way to prevent my husband from getting sick, and it’s an easy healthy option,” she said.

Aaron, their daughter Emily and Danika Sedgwick at their home in Citrus Heights. 

Sedgwick acknowledged that a high percentage of bread sold in retail markets has a high percentage of dairy in their ingredients or may be contaminated with it.

Creating a dairy-free, bread alternative took time to perfect, she said, but once customers sampled her sourdough loaves, they soon wanted to order more.

Sedgwick said she obtained a cottage industry license from the city of Citrus Heights to bake bread commercially at home and a required state food handler’s card.

She estimated that she goes through six 10-pound bags of flour each week making each batch of bread.

She currently uses her own residential oven and prefers to mix her dough by hand, before baking on average, four individual loaves at a time.

Finished loaves are then cooled and individually labeled and then wrapped for pick up at her residence in Citrus Heights.

Sedgwick estimated that she’s baked and sold at least 120 loaves of bread since starting her home-based business last October and believes that she could bake and sell about 600 loaves by the end of the year, based on demand. Her current product line also includes cookies, cornbread and cinnamon rolls.

Danika “Dani” Sedgwick hosted a recent driveway sale featuring a variety of freshly made bread, cinnamon rolls and cookies for sale. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

Dani’s “Perfect Sour Dough Bread” is available in three sizes, mini, regular and large and priced by size between $5 to $15 per loaf, Orders must be placed on Wednesday for weekend pickup.

Varieties of regular-sized winter seasonal artisan sourdough bread varieties are also available to order and available through March 20. Flavors include cranberry walnut, semi-sweet chocolate orange, garlic and rosemary, maple pecan and sea salt, and bacon cheddar.

“I first sold to just friends and family members, but as more people learned about (our) business through social media, our sales, especially to those who have sensitivity to dairy, have grown steadily,” she said. “I’m honestly doing what I love, and baking is a joy for me, one loaf at a time.”

For specific pricing, general information, or to place an order, visit: https://getbakedbydanika.shop/