Meet Jordan Garcia | Co-owner & Head Baker of Gut-friendly Bread

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
It all started while in a food science class in college two months before the pandemic. God spoke to me and told me to open my book to a specific chapter and read about specialty bread. It was there I learned about sourdough. That next weekend I had a dream about the plans of my business to sell sourdough bread in farmer’s markets, and to educate people on the benefits of fermentation. Bread eaten the right way is beneficial to everyone, but the heart of my drive is people with diabetes like my wife.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My wife and I started Gut-friendly Bread in December of 2020. Our business is a home-based business. Our baking and distribution comes out of our back shed which I turned into a micro bakery. Our sourdough bread goes through a long process of fermentation for about 24 to 48 hours before getting prepped for the wood fired oven. It is during the fermentation phase that the benefits of bread start to surface. Teaching people that sourdough bread is not just a flavor but a process of making bread is what excites me the most. Getting to this point in our career wasn’t easy. In fact, the momentum has only just begun. I started by making sourdough at home, then for family. Once I gained confidence I started to sell to my friends and family, and ventured out to the public with social media. As of this month we finally made it into a farmer’s market called “Gypsy Caravan”. All throughout that process we worked on converting the shed into a bakery, getting the oven, finding space for everything, and trying to figure out how to pay for it all. Sticking together as a family unit really helped me overcome the pressure of wanting to give up. All of this took a little over a year. The biggest lesson I learned from all of this is consistency pays off. Every obstacle can be overcome through consistency. I want the world to know that my brand is a seed given to me by God to plant into the world. As I remain in him I will always have strength to overcome and bear fruit. This gift has been given to me so that I may serve the world on his behalf, and all the glory will go back to him.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always find this question difficult because I don’t know a lot of fun spots in Houston. I would have to take them into Tomball on market street to a great burger joint called “Tejas”. We would go on a Saturday so we could enjoy the weekly farmer’s market across the street. Going down the street from the market I will take them to a candy shop called “Craving Kernels Gourmet Popcorn & Sweet Shoppe”. They have all the popcorn flavors you can think of, and my favorite sweet and salty popcorn. From there I would take them downtown to the museums. We have so many great museums! I would take them specifically to the natural science, arts, and the holocaust museum. After that we could go order some food and hangout at the “Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve” off of 249 by vintage park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The first shoutout has to be to Jesus Christ for calling me to this journey. I would never have found the courage to do it without him. The next shout out goes to my family. My wife and her family have supported me since the beginning. First of all my wife believed me when I told her what God told me, and she continued to support me in the darkest times when everything was against us. Her support kept me going when I was on my last penny, and we had to rely on her paycheck from work to get by. The next shoutout goes to a bread company called “Bread Man Baking Company”. I met him through connections from a previous job. It was there where I worked as an intern in the bakery as a packer, and sales representative in markets for his bread. I learned a lot about production service. I’m really thankful for everyone believing in me because without the support from everyone I would not have made it.

Instagram: @gutfriendlybread

Facebook: @gutfriendlybread

Other: jordan.wellness62@gmail.com

Image Credits
Yasmin Cardenas Garcia Sergio Gonzales