Sourdough Bakery Moving to Peter Sciortino Space

Peace and Love Sourdough. Photo submitted.

After launching Peace and Love Sourdough from her home kitchen in 2022, Maria Mickschl is preparing for the leap to commercial production, taking up residence on the lower level of Peter Sciortino Bakery.

The new location, 1101 E. Brady St. offers ample oven space and a direct connection to the street-level business, where Mickschl could eventually display her own loaves while also offering them wholesale and vending at area markets.

Though she once envisioned a future rooted in cottage baking, the business’s steady growth and increasing demand—plus one natural disaster—set the shift in motion.

Last month’s historic flooding event caused water levels to rise “to the ceiling” in Mickschl’s basement, leaving her without electricity or heat, and ruining two custom ovens built by her boyfriend, Ryan.

“We lost everything,” she said. “This year has been a challenge for us, and Mother Nature is the one that’s been making things a little difficult.”

In the aftermath, however, a chance connection with an oven repairman offered a way forward. He provided a lead for Peter Sciortino, which was looking to fill its lower-level kitchen following a previous tenant’s departure.

Now, Mickschl is working through the permitting process to make the space her bakery’s official home base. “After the storm, there’s always a rainbow, right?”

The former preschool teacher ran a home daycare prior to becoming a full-time baker. By 2022, she had a new project that demanded almost as much attention: a sourdough starter.

“Sourdough teaches you to be patient,” she said. “You have to work a little extra to make it right.”

At first, Mickschl baked only for her family, but later began giving away loaves to friends and instructors at her gym. That Thanksgiving, she posted her first sale and received 14 orders almost immediately. With Ryan’s help, she launched a website and began selling bread at markets across Wisconsin—still using her non-commercial home oven.

That often meant limited sleep—or none at all. “I think my max was 90 loaves,” Mickschl said, noting that her oven accommodated only three at once.

In 2024, Peace and Love Sourdough made the switch from conventional bread flour to a Meadowlark Organics blend—a meaningful step for Mickschl, who values health as much as flavor in her loaves.

“Everything is a learning process, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she said, noting that the new flour has “been like a miracle” for many customers with health and digestive issues. Mickschl also baked with natural spring water, sourced weekly from Dousman. “The secret is in the water,” she said.

Updates on Peace and Love Sourdough—including planned market appearances—are posted regularly to the bakery’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Those interested in partnering with the bakery for wholesale can find additional information on its website.

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