How it works...

Leaven Heaven is a cottage home bakery, meaning we don't own a brick and mortar building to sell from, and do all our baking out of our home. As such, our products are prepared in a kitchen not subject to inspection by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. We maintain all production in accordance with Missouri Cottage Food Law.

We only sell direct to consumers via online orders with porch pickup, direct hand-to-hand delivery, or via local farmer's markets or special events (check out our home page for our local event schedule). We do not ship our products via mail, nor do we sell outside of the State of Missouri.

Because we often get asked by new customers what we did to become a cottage home bakery...We are registered as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) and carry home-based business insurance. We hold a Missouri Merchant Business License (posted in our front window for your viewing pleasure) and carry all the licensing and registration needed to run a micro-bakery from home in St. Charles County and the City of O'Fallon. If you want to open a cottage home business for yourself, start with your closest locality's business office and work your way up to the state level so you have all licenses and registrations needed to be legal. Everyone was very friendly through the process. Each level will typically give you the contact info for the next level up if you just ask.

Whether you register your business at the Federal level to get issued an Employer Identification Number (EIN) is completely optional if you are a single member LLC and don't have employees. Multi-member LLCs or anyone who pays even one person, must have an EIN. There are indeed other situations where an EIN is required. Contact your attorney or tax accountant for assistance with proper federal registration - by no means should you believe some lady on a website - meaning me.

Our Payment Process

We accept payment in multiple ways:

To pay at pickup, Cash, Venmo, and physical Credit Card swiping is available.

Select "Cash Payment" at checkout for any of these payment methods.

Cash and Venmo are the two payment methods that don't charge us a fee. Paying with these two methods is like giving us a little tip!

PayPal Online payments, and any major credit cards that can be processed via PayPal, can be processed at checkout by selecting PayPal as your payment option.

Our Pickup Process

We offer a contactless pickup process. When you receive your text or email notifying you that your order is ready for pickup, make your way to our address at 1285 Pinehurst Club Ct, O Fallon, MO 63366. On our porch is a cabinet that will contain your order with your name on it, the total due, if any, a red cash lockbox for cash payments, and QR codes for payment via PayPal or Venmo at pickup (for those who didn't pre-pay). We do have cameras for your safety, and we will typically be home if you have any questions, so just ring the bell if you'd like to chat or need your credit card swiped!

Note: during extreme cold or heat conditions, we may ask you to ring the bell to collect your order to keep the product from freezing or baking in the elements, especially if your order contains chocolate.

Our Baking Process Times

It typically takes from 2-3 days from the point of order before your bread is ready for pickup/delivery. That is due to the process for making sourdough products. Good homemade bread takes time to cold ferment in the fridge for a couple days prior to baking to get that perfect sourdough tang. A typical cycle for a single loaf of bread looks like this:

1. The night before, feed the sourdough starter

2. The next morning, mix dough and wait 1 hour

3. Stretch and fold the dough every 30 min for the next 2 hours

4. Let it sit covered for another 3-5 hours to rise

5. Pre-shape the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes

6. Final shape the dough and put it in the fridge for 2 days

7. Bake the bread & let it cool 4-6 hours before packaging.

When you take sourdough bread out of the oven, the residual heat inside continues to redistribute and evaporates excess moisture. This process is known as carryover cooking. The internal structure of the bread, or its crumb, is still setting as steam escapes. Packaging and cutting too soon prevents this process from finishing properly, and you're left with a gummy texture. This is the main reason if you visit us at a morning market, the bake date on the bread will show as the day prior (we sleep during the carryover baking process). For customers who porch pickup, we bake in the early morning, and you pick up in the late afternoon to allow for this process to complete.

Our Recipes

Our recipes are a combination of our own creations and inspiration from bakers who know their sourdough. For our sourdough sweet treats, we convert traditional icings, glazes, and similar toppings into shelf-stable versions to remain in compliance with cottage food safety standards.

If you’d like to know the ingredients of any of our recipes before ordering, simply send your request via our contact form — we’ll be happy to send you the list. Additionally, ingredients and potential allergens are listed on the labels of all our products.

We do not use preservatives in our recipes, so consumption or freezing within 3 days of purchase is recommended.

Our Most Common Question:

What’s the difference between our plain loaves of sourdough?

✨ Original White Artisan (White Bread Flour)
Refined all-white flour bread

Light, airy crumb
Classic mild flavor
Crispy crust with a soft bite
Best for: Sandwiches, garlic bread, or dipping in soups & stews

This is the base for most of our loaves with inclusions (jalapeño cheddar, garlic rosemary, etc.), as the white flour lets those flavors shine through best.

🌾 Whole Wheat Blend
Whole grain bread + white flour sourdough starter — which is why we call this a wheat blend and not “whole wheat,” even though it’s primarily whole wheat

Rich, nutty flavor
More fiber & nutrients
Slightly heartier crumb (denser than white)
Crisp crust with a hearty chew
Best for: Hearty sandwiches, avocado toast, or pairing with robust cheeses

🌉 San Francisco-Style Sourdough (White / Whole Wheat Blend)
90% white / 10% wheat flour blend

Signature tangy flavor
Balanced crumb — light but with whole grain character (density between white and wheat)
Bold, crackly crust
Best for: Charcuterie boards, sourdough toast, serving with seafood chowder, or bread bowls

Gluten Free

We do not bake gluten-free. Baking gluten-free sourdough presents unique challenges. Without gluten for structure and elasticity, gluten-free doughs tend to be denser and less pliable, making it harder to achieve a good rise and airy crumb.

While there are specialists in gluten-free baking, it’s just not our niche. Sourdough is naturally lower in gluten than other breads, so if you aren’t gluten intolerant (celiac disease) but want to limit gluten, it’s often a good alternative. See our Benefits of Sourdough page for more.

Organic

While we try to use mostly organic products, we can’t guarantee all bakery items are organic. Some organic ingredients are cost-prohibitive, for example, organic salt can cost $8–$10 more than sea salt.

Our most popular flour question is "what type do we use" and "is it organic"

White flour: We special-order King Arthur Special Patent Flour (Organic, never bleached or bromated). It is malted with barley flour for better fermentation and browning, and enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid — in line with U.S. enrichment standards to replace vitamins lost in milling and prevent nutrient deficiencies. This flour is milled from the center of the wheat kernel, giving it low ash and high protein content for a light, airy crumb.
Whole wheat: King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat Flour
Rye breads: King Arthur Organic Rye Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Organic Rye Flour
Sweet recipes: Kirkland Signature Organic Unbleached AP Flour or King Arthur Organic Unbleached AP Flour

Vegan

We offer a few vegan products, such as our Original Artisan Sourdough. Look for the vegan symbol next to the item you’re interested in.

Dairy

Any milk used is 2% lactose-free. Some products contain cream, cheese, or butter (not lactose-free), such as cheesy breads, scones, and cookies. Our scones are made with fat-free half-and-half (not lactose-free).

Look for the dairy symbol on our browse & order page if you are lactose-free.

Note: We never use pre-shredded cheese. All cheese is shredded on-site to avoid anti-caking agents (potato starch, powdered cellulose, sometimes wood pulp). For a list of lower-lactose cheeses, see this helpful article by Tasting Table, which includes NIH links.

Nuts and Seeds

We prepare peanut products in our home, so if you have extreme peanut allergies, please be aware. When tree nuts or seeds are in a recipe, we list them online and on product packaging. Look for the nut or seed symbol if you have allergies.

Jams and Jellies

We don’t currently can our own jams and jellies (one day, maybe!). For now, we source only organic jams and jellies for our scones, cookies, and other filled treats. The full ingredient list from the container is always included on our label.

If you have questions about our process not listed here, call or use our contact form anytime!