Come by Sunrise Sourdough Bakery this Sunday!
Sunrise Sourdough Bakery in Philomath Oregon is better known simply as “Bill’s Bread” to his loyal customers. The bakery is located at 128 N 13th St, Philomath, Oregon. Owner Bill Hotchkiss has been making organic sourdough bread at this location for 26 years. Semi-retired, Bill bakes just one day a week now, so the only way to buy his artisanal bread is to visit Bill’s eclectic bakery on Sundays from 11 am until 7 pm (if you’re lucky enough to still find bread on hand at that hour). A steady mixed stream of new and loyal customers rolls through each Sunday afternoon and the conversations range from sourdough to politics to Bill’s favorite topic, bicycling.
Bill hand rolls the bread loaves and bakes them European-style in brick lined ovens without pans, giving them something so many other breads lack, a real crust. Bill bakes four types of bread, as well as his famous cinnamon rolls, using 100% certified organic ingredients. Cinnamon rolls are a big favorite and the recipe varies every week. Some weeks they have walnuts, other weeks raisins or apple juice or whatever Bill decides!
The bread recipes vary somewhat week to week as well. The Number 1 bread is usually a whole-wheat bread made out of the same ingredients as the cinnamon rolls without the sugar and spices. Number 2 is always French bread, Bill’s slightly whole-wheat take on the old favorite. The Number 3 bread varies the most, sometimes blue and yellow corn with sweet red pepper, other times whole-wheat with caraway, or French sesame, or flax. Bread Number 4 is usually one of Bill’s many versions of garlic bread. There is really no such thing as a plain loaf of bread at the Sunrise Sourdough Bakery.
The eclectic decor reflects Bill’s deep commitment to maintaining a low-impact alternative lifestyle. The bicycle parked out front is no beauty, it’s a commuter that’s ridden daily. And when you first walk in to the bakery, as you gradually adjust to the heat of the ovens, you take in the collection of so many years of hand-lettered signs and other offerings. It’s an old-fashioned arrangement where you buy your bread from the person who made it and then deposit your payment in the cigar box “cash register”.