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Camilla Gibson says she and Jacob Morris-Knower had a simple objective in founding San Juan Bautista’s It’s Alive Sourdough. “We really wanted to start something where we didn’t have to compromise our values at all,” Gibson said. “We are a little bit extreme in our purity of vision ”
The tangible evidence of that purity is what could easily be the best bread in town: a 100% whole-grain sourdough made with heirloom grains and no refined sugars, sold on Saturdays at Vertigo alongside their fermented foods crafted from produce grown by local farmers.
“We’re both really into health and wellness,” Gibson said, “and that has been the guiding value in all of the things that we do.”
It’s Alive is an iteration of Camilla’s Sourdough, a Venice Beach shop Gibson opened in late 2020. Her passion for creating healthful products was sparked by Sandor Katz’s book “Wild Fermentation.”
“I have always been interested in food and cooking,” she said. “I picked up the book and was trying all different kinds of fermentation. Bread was a cool way to experiment—and feed a lot of people.”
Morris-Knower, whom she met two years before in a yoga class, quit his job as a math tutor to work at her shop.
He’d had some experience cooking as a youth, starting with making pancakes from a mix before his mother gave him a copy of “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook” when he was seven, saying, “Put down the Bisquick and make it from scratch.”
Soon tiring of the Los Angeles urban environment, the couple struck out for Big Sur, working as chefs at the Esalen Institute and prepping buffets for up to 300 guests.
“It was cool to be surrounded by nature,” Gibson said, “and all the different artists and musicians who would come through. But we didn’t like serving food that wasn’t 100% up to our standards in terms of sourcing organic or from local farms and using the highest quality ingredients.”
This discontent fueled the next move last September, to a property in San Juan Bautista that was originally owned by Morris-Knower’s great-grandfather, John J. Baumgartner Jr., a local ranching legend and the first president of the San Benito County Cattlemen’s Association.
It is also home to Morris-Knower’s uncle Joe Morris, of Morris Grassfed Beef fame.
“We would come here for vacations from Esalen,” Morris-Knower said. “It was an intense scene in the retreat center, so we really appreciated the quiet of the country. We kind of fell in love with it and looked at each other and thought, ‘Why don’t we have a go?’”
The couple spent last fall building the kitchen and obtaining the necessary permits, including a difficult one to obtain that, according to Morris-Knower, made them the first cottage business with a private water source.
“We learned about nitrates as we went through our water journey,” he said. “By the time we got our license in January, we were extra-motivated to work with the best farmers and do what we can to move the culture towards a place that values regenerative agriculture.”
The bread and butter of It’s Alive Sourdough is, well, bread: wild-fermented sourdough breads made from heirloom grains and without white flour or refined sugars. They are very specific with the grains; they must be California-grown, and they insist on knowing the exact name of the source farm, the specific seed variety and the harvest date.
The base grain, used in four of their breads, is Yecora Rojo, sourced from Pleasant Valley Farm in Pleasant Grove. It is a hard, red wheat with higher gluten and is the only grain used in the Red Loaf.
Used commercially, Gibson said, the bran and germ would be sheared off in processing, leaving only the starchy part of the grain. While this would result in a high-performance flour for white breads, It’s Alive uses the whole grain, which Gibson said makes the bread tastier and more nutritious than the processed version.
The Sesame Ring, inspired by Middle Eastern Koulouri bread, is also made only with Yecora Rojo, which Morris-Knower describes as a “super-crusty, ripable bread ideal for dipping.”
“You find them all over Greece,” he said. “It’s a street food; carts will be stacked with just tons of these, and people just get them on their way to work, then walk along and rip and dip and eat.”
The third Yecora Rojo bread is the Ancient Grain Porridge Loaf, one of the top sellers. It is mixed into a porridge of steel-cut oats, teff, amaranth, flax, and chia, which is then folded into red wheat dough.
“Almost a third of this is the porridge,” Gibson said, “but it has the same performance, the same loft and airiness as the red loaf. So, it has this crazy blend of taste and texture, moist and chewy, and it stays fresh for a week. I’m kind of obsessed with it.”
The Cinnamon Raisin Date Loaf is also Yecora Rojo, richly marbled with cassia and Ceylon cinnamon, California organic raisins, and dates, and having an irresistible aroma you can pick up a block away.
As an entry point for those new to whole grains, Gibson recommends the Gold Loaf, a white bread that is a blend of Patwin and Sonora wheats.
“Maybe you don’t care for the taste of the Rojo,” Gibson said. “Then this one may be delicious for you. Sonora is the oldest wheat cultivated in California and one of the oldest wheats, period. It’s very nutritious and tastes really sweet, almost like cornbread.”
The last bread currently offered is made with Organic Great Basin Landrace Rye from Gonzales Siemens Family Farm. It is a heritage grain descended from the rye brought to California during the 19th-century Silver Rush that the couple mills themselves.
“It’s a lot different than wheat,” Gibson said. ‘It has a very intense flavor; it’s a little bit denser, chewier and very earthy with mushroomy notes. When I take a bite, I feel like I’m taking a walk through a forest glade.”
In just a short time in business, the couple’s focus on sustainable, healthy foods has expanded into a full line of products that will be the subject of a future Eat, Drink, Savor article.
Their home’s serendipitous proximity to the bounty of San Benito County fruit and produce, particularly its short walk from Maria Anna Reyes’ Luna Farms, has been especially inspirational, resulting in sauerkrauts, jams and hot sauces.
And with familial access to Morris Grass Fed Beef, which they sell along with Luna Farms produce at the Saturday Vertigo pop-ups, they offer tallow balms and skin care products made with animal fat.
The pop-ups in San Juan and Carmel also allow the couple to engage in their advocacy for sustainable farming, better nutrition practices in food production, and the value of buying fresh, locally produced fruits and vegetables to help small farmers survive in a landscape where corporations rule.
“Feeding people is something we believe in totally, wholeheartedly,” Morris-Knower said. “The popups are an open invitation to have the conversations we want to be having. It’s like, ‘Please talk to me about my favorite thing to talk about: local economies and wonderful food systems.’”
It’s Alive Sourdough products, along with produce from Lute Organic Farm and packaged Morris Grassfed Beef, can be purchased at the stand at Vertigo Coffee Roasters (81 4th Street, San Juan Bautista) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
The couple also sells at the Carmel Valley Farmers Market from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. on Sundays and can be contacted by email at itsalivesourdough@gmail.com and through Instagram.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and for giving our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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