When the sun sets over Rock Hill Beach and most of Pasadena begins winding down for the night, Christine Leiben is just getting started. Long after her shift at her day job ends, her kitchen lights flicker on, dough begins to rise, and the unmistakable crackle of a hot sourdough loaf signals that Sourdoughlicious – Pasadena’s rapidly beloved cottage bakery – is open for business.
Leiben, who has lived in Pasadena since she was six, grew up walking the halls of Sunset Elementary, George Fox Middle, and Northeast High. Her children later did the same. Baking was always in the background of her life – she worked at 3B’s Bakery in high school, constantly made treats for friends and coworkers, and filled weekends during the COVID-19 pandemic with marathon baking sessions. But it wasn’t until she felt burned out from work in the medical field that she finally paused long enough to consider an old dream: having something of her own.
The idea didn’t start with sourdough specifically. She imagined a meal-prep business or some kind of small food venture, something that would let her create and connect with people. Then a friend brought a loaf of sourdough to a party, and curiosity struck. She tried baking her own, failed twice with a borrowed starter, then created her own from scratch. It took weeks – feeding, waiting, discarding, starting again – but eventually, it came to life. Before long, she was baking not just loaves, but flavored breads, cookies, bagels, and pastries. She experimented with every recipe she could get her hands on, often inspired by TikTok creators and requests from neighbors. Slowly, one loaf at a time, an idea began rising into a real business.
That idea became Sourdoughlicious. The name wasn’t her first choice, but once she discovered her original pick was taken, she settled on something playful, memorable, and easy to say. Orders started through Facebook Messenger. Neighbors spread the word. And when she began participating in markets at Sand & Silo Marketplace, her following exploded. This past October, Sourdoughlicious was voted “Best Bakery” in Real Pasadena‘s Best Of Pasadena poll.
Her first market was an eye-opener – she brought 50 loaves and sold out in an hour. For the next market she made 75. Now she brings at least 100 loaves to big events, and they still disappear quickly. Her bagels, a weekly staple she bakes 250 of, have become a local sensation. Her classic sourdough remains the top seller, followed closely by jalapeno cheddar. Everything else rotates based on her inspiration and what customers ask for. She sources ingredients from local stores and warehouse clubs, always choosing organic when possible, and insists on grating all her cheese by hand. If she wouldn’t eat it herself, she won’t sell it.
A typical week for her would exhaust most people. On Wednesdays, she starts mixing dough as soon as she gets home from work, staying up until midnight. By early Thursday morning she’s shaping loaves before leaving for her day job, then baking late into Thursday night so everything is ready for Friday deliveries. On weekends she’s up by 3:30 a.m., preparing batch after batch of dough, baking nonstop, and delivering orders throughout the day. She runs Sourdoughlicious with one residential oven, occasionally borrowing her daughter’s oven across the street for cookies, and often operates on little to no sleep. But she says the joy of baking – and watching dough transform into something beautiful – keeps her energized.
The Sourdoughlicious menu includes plain and flavored sourdough breads, bagels, English muffins, sandwich bread, cookies and scones, mini loaf cakes, muffins, donut holes, pretzels, croutons, bread crumbs for seasoning, pizza crusts, candied pecans, brownies, stuffing kits, cinnamon rolls, and special orders of bread pudding. Her exact menu changes weekly, but she keeps a few staples year-round: sourdough loaves, chocolate chip cookies, and those now-famous bagels. For the holiday season, she’s adding cranberry orange scones, cinnamon star bread, and cranberry orange walnut loaves. She’ll be selling all of them at Sand & Silo’s Kris Kringle Jingle Market on December 21.
The support from the Pasadena community, she says, has been overwhelming in the best way. Customers have become friends. Small businesses like Sand & Silo have given her space to grow. And her family – who tolerate the constant hum of ovens and the round-the-clock schedule – pitch in whenever they can. Running a home bakery while holding a full-time job is challenging, she admits, but it’s also her passion. Baking makes her feel alive, she says. It gives her purpose.
Looking ahead, she hopes to one day open a tiny brick-and-mortar bakery – just a warm, cozy space where people can smell fresh bread, sip coffee, and enjoy a scone. For now, she’s content letting her business continue to rise organically, one loaf at a time.
“I’m so thankful to anyone who has ever bought anything from me,” Leiben said. “I just hope to continue baking because I love doing it so much.”
Orders for Sourdoughlicious can be placed directly through Facebook Messenger, and weekly menus are posted online. For now, the heart of the business remains right where it started: in a Pasadena kitchen, late at night, as a woman’s passion turns simple ingredients into something unforgettable.
