A quest to fill a void in Centre County led to a hobby — then a business — for this baker

When Nickol Cleary moved back to Pennsylvania, something was missing — a bakery like the one she’d discovered while living in Montana for five years, which made all its products with a sourdough base. That realization planted the seeds of an idea that would lead to On the Rise Bread Co.

“I decided on a whim that I should try to replicate what I enjoyed,” said Cleary, clarifying that, up until that point, all her bread-baking experience had been with quick breads like banana or zucchini bread, and she’d never made a yeasted bread in her life. “I made a starter and started baking and then realized that I enjoyed it and should probably either start giving some away or selling it…”

After honing her baking skills for four or five months at home, she posted on Facebook that, for a donation, she’d share some of her latest creations. After realizing there was interest, she applied for the right licenses, underwent the correct inspections and has now been officially open for business out of her Spring Mills home for a little over a year, since May 2023.

Just like that initial, inspirational bakery in Montana, everything that On the Rise Bread Co. offers features a sourdough base, and that’s what sets the business apart within Centre County. In addition to traditional sourdough breads, Cleary also sells sourdough crackers and croutons, English muffins and loaves in tempting flavors ranging from rosemary parmesan to cinnamon raisin, cranberry orange to jalapeno cheddar. While the crowd favorite has proven to be the traditional sourdough, Cleary’s personal favorites include a hearty multi-grain sourdough, and a cranberry pepita that mimics one she purchased in Montana and that she says, “sparked the whole thing.”

It’s not just the sourdough flavor that makes these products unique, though (and Cleary does mention that her products tend to be a little less “sour” than many sourdoughs), and that has attracted Cleary’s customer base.

She added: “I think people are very interested in the fact that they know what the ingredients are, that they’re reading on the label. A sourdough starter is purely flour and water. The other thing seems to be that ... there seems to be a lot of people that, for whatever reason, have a lot of trouble with gluten. The biggest and healthiest thing about sourdough is that the long fermentation time helps to break down the gluten and (makes it) more easily digestible.”

Currently, On the Rise Bread Co. products are available at Olde Village Mercantile in Aaronsubrg, with fresh deliveries on Wednesdays; at the Thursday Altoona Farmers Market; and at Centre Markets’ Nittany Mall location, with fresh deliveries on Fridays. Cleary is growing the business slowly, balancing her baking with her day job as a physical therapist; she also has to keep in mind limitations related to oven space and working out of her home — not to mention how long it takes to make sourdough bread, up to 36 hours to make a loaf, from start to finish.

“You have to feed the starter and wait for that to become active. Then, you have to make the dough and wait for that to rise. Then you have to shape it and put it in the refrigerator for that long fermentation time, to help break down the gluten, and you can do that anywhere from eight to 36 hours. ... It’s a time-(consuming) process of waiting,” Cleary said.

Still, it’s been a worthwhile pursuit for the Spring Mills resident, who has her eye on eventually offering a bread subscription.

“I love the idea of providing something healthy to the community,” she said. “Everything I make is homemade, from scratch, and because it’s naturally leavened, and most of it is long-fermented, it’s healthy. I want that for my kids, just like I want that for the community, and it’s a win-win, personally and socially.”

Learn more about On the Rise Bread Co. on Facebook.