Julian Loue is an early riser.
That statement is true not only in the sense that Loue wakes up early (before 4 a.m. most days) but also because Loue quite literally spends his mornings making dough rise into fresh, fragrant loaves of bread and other pastries.
As the owner of Rise Bakery, a passion project that will open its first brick and mortar location in the Village of West Greenville in early 2022, Loue savors those early morning hours, toiling away in the pre-dawn quiet.
“My mornings just started creeping up earlier and earlier,” Loue said. “I started doing that as a fun hobby after my daughter was born, just because the morning was the only time I had to myself while my wife and daughter are both sleeping. And then it just became my way of life.”
Rise Bakery has just signed a lease in the space formerly occupied by HMF Yoga Studio. Loue said he expects to open in the beginning of the new year.
But those who’ve browsed at the Travelers Rest farmer’s market might already be familiar with Rise Bakery, which sells fresh sourdough loaves and artisan pastries there on a regular basis.
Harking back to his French heritage (Loue is a both U.S. and French citizen), his speciality is naturally-leavened bread.
For those who never hopped on the home-baking trend at the start of the pandemic, “naturally leavened” or “naturally fermented” means the bread rises without the use of packaged yeast. It’s a longer process, with Loue’s bread taking days of preparation before it’s ready to bake, but that patience yields bread that is more easily digested, more nutritious and with a greater depth of flavor.
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It also means some people with gluten allergies might be able to safely consume it.
“It’s more gut-friendly, is how I would present it,” Loue said. “I would never tell them outright that my bread is safe for them. I do have customers with gluten insensitivities and even some celiacs who try my bread and have not had an adverse reaction to it, but of course I wouldn’t make that claim with certainty.”
Loue said his goal is to bring to Greenville the same quality of baking that he experienced in France.
“A big part of why I wanted to start baking my own bread was because I couldn’t find anything that really matches what I experienced there,” he said. “And tapping into the already cool existing artisan vibe of the Village, I feel like it’s a perfect fit.”
Loue’s “chocolate chips for adults”
Rise Bakery’s sourdough chocolate chip cookie are made from sourdough culture, toasted rye flour, sea salt and dark chocolate chips. “I would argue with anyone that it’s the consummate chocolate chip cookie,” Loue said.
