We are blessed in Central Oregon to have so many locally owned businesses offering food products that are fresh, healthy, and free of common allergens like gluten and dairy. There is truly something for everyone and we say the more the merrier! Kiaya Woulfe, owner of Luce’s Bakehouse is an Inspired Health patient whose bright spirit, humility, determination, and innovation has impressed and inspired us and we want you to know about her! Read on to learn more about Kiaya’s journey and why you’ll want to get your hands on her delicious artisan gluten-free bread and bagels!
IHM: Hi Kiaya! We’re excited to chat with you. Dr. Weintrob called you a “super innovative woman who created a product she needed.” We’d love to hear more about the inception of Luce’s Bakehouse.
KW: I am deeply flattered to hear that! I adore Dr. Weintrob, so that means a lot. I can’t take credit for all that is Luce’s Bakehouse today – a lot of luck and good timing went into this! About a year after my husband Sean was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, and just before I got my own diagnosis, I found an ad in the Locavore member newsletter from Charles Luce, looking for someone to take over the recipes he’d developed over the years and build a new business with him. Everything we’ve launched has been heavily influenced by Charles’ innovations in gluten-free baking and his hard work.
That being said, I approached this from day one with a single mission – to provide people with a sense of normalcy. When we first went gluten-free at home, I remember being flabbergasted at how bad all the substitutions were. Not only did they taste bad, but they were full of artificial ingredients. And what’s worse, no one wants to eat it if they don’t have to, which makes sharing a meal with friends and family very difficult. I love connecting with people over shared food, it’s such a core part of how humans come together, so we had to find a solution. Our goal is to give people an option so good that they could share it with their gluten-eating loved ones and everyone would enjoy it just as much as the glutenous stuff.
IHM: Tell us about your signature products. What can customers expect?
KW: Our most popular product by far is our gluten-free sourdough loaf. It’s also the most widely available (for now). It’s a classic round boule, with a real “crusty” crust and soft interior. My favorite thing about it is that a fresh loaf doesn’t need any toasting, which is incredibly rare in gluten-free breads. It’s a true sourdough bread using natural leaven and no preservatives, so it’s not designed to last forever. We always recommend freezing if folks aren’t going to eat it within five days or so.
We’re really excited to get everyone to try our bagels, though! When Sean and I went gluten-free at home, the number one disappointment I had with the gluten-free products available were the bagels. I remember one day after spitting out another terrible excuse for a gluten-free bagel, I told Sean “I’m going to learn how to make the best gluten-free bagels at home and they’re going to taste just like real bagels.” This was about 6 months before we met Charles! This is the closest I think you can get to a fresh, New York bagel, while being gluten-free in Bend. We’ll be selling them all summer (along with so much more) at the Northwest Crossing Farmers Market. I can’t wait for folks to get their hands on these. I think it really fills a need.
I want everyone to know that in terms of what they can expect, we’ll always use organic grains and starches, whole grains where we can, and we’ll always keep our ingredients simple – meaning you could buy each ingredient in a grocery store. And I always tell people that we do every single thing by hand, from the measuring to the shaping, to the packaging. So you can expect artisan quality, and a little bit of cosmetic imperfection. No two loaves or no two bagels are going to be exactly the same because they’re not getting punched out by a machine. But they’re all going to taste amazing!
IHM: You recently celebrated your one-year anniversary, congratulations! Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart. What have been your greatest learnings over the last year?
KW: Thank you! It’s crazy to think that it’s only been a year, when it’s been such a wild ride! One of the things that’s made the biggest difference in getting us so far so quickly is partnership. I think when people start a business, they often have this image in their head of the solo entrepreneur doing everything on their own. But in connecting with other small business owners in Bend, I’ve seen that everyone is so eager to share what they know and help each other out. The best example I have is our dedicated gluten-free kitchen – there’s no way I could have afforded a space on my own, but in partnering up with these other women, we were able to make it happen!
Another big lesson has been that you can’t be everything for everyone. We have to focus on just a few things and have a tie-breaker. Being celiac-safe is the most important thing to us – it’s of equal importance as creating the best flavors and textures possible. Then comes quality ingredients and simplicity. There are a lot of dietary restrictions out there and we do our best to meet as many of them as we can by being free of gluten, dairy, nuts, and soy.
IHM: You share a celiac-safe kitchen with some other powerhouse women-owned businesses. Tell us about how these partnerships have impacted you.
KW: We share our kitchen with some amazing partners, including Fixa Foods, Kitchen Heartbeets, and Rio Good – all great resources for someone who’s transitioning to a gluten-free or dairy-free diet! It’s so amazing to have the constant moral support of other women who are experiencing or have navigated through the same challenges and growing pains we are. I lean on them for an ear constantly! We all cross-promote each other when we can, and we love to partner for events and tastings, for example pairing Fixa Foods nut dips with our bread.
I have to call special attention to the incredible partnership of Stephanie at Kitchen Heartbeets! Not only has Steph been so supportive and collaborative in our time sharing a kitchen, but she’s also added our bread as a purchase add-on to her weekly gluten-free, dairy-free menu of prepared meals! So someone with dietary restrictions can get delicious gluten-free, dairy-free meals and bread all made in a dedicated facility, picked up or delivered in one order. It has been a game changer for us and for both of our customers.
IHM: Charles Luce, who inspired your company’s name, is a pioneer in gluten-free baking and a Bend local. Tell us more about this legend and how he has inspired you.
KW: The Luce’s Bakehouse story really starts with Charles Luce’s story – Charles was diagnosed with celiac disease back in 2002 and the way he tells it, after tasting what gluten-free bread was like then, he thought “if this is how I have to eat for the rest of my life, it’s not worth it.” So he went to work combining this knowledge of photographic chemistry and arts with a scientific curiosity applied to baking. Then Luce’s Gluten Free Artisan Bread was born in New Jersey, where Charles ran the company for six years, constantly innovating and selling out of bagels! When Charles retired and moved to Bend with his wife Leslie, he started searching for someone to take on his recipes, which are really his legacy, and he found us!
Now Charles and Leslie are some of the most important people in our lives. I meet with Charles weekly where we catch up, share the woes of running a bakery, and he drops new baking knowledge on me. I’m proud to call Charles my mentor. He has a vision that one day we step out of creating replacements for traditional gluten items and do something totally new – that keeps me inspired to always be thinking of different things to try and creative flavor combinations.
IHM: We’d love to learn more about your journey with Functional Medicine.
Functional Medicine has been a game-changer for me! I had a lot of gut health issues that were impacting my mood and energy. When I first saw Dr. Weintrob, she got right to it with labs she wanted to run and wasted no time. She took my concerns seriously, and I just don’t think that’s something you always get in a traditional doctor’s office. I love that in Functional Medicine, you don’t just treat symptoms, but you get to the root of the problem to eliminate it. Their approach takes your overall wellbeing and quality of life into consideration, looking at the whole picture. I’m really grateful for that. Getting diagnosed with a gluten intolerance isn’t something anyone wants to hear (or adhere to). But the way I feel now makes it clear that I was walking through a fog before. My mood, energy levels, mental focus, everything is better now. My only regret is that I didn’t come to Inspired Health sooner!
IHM: Which products from the Inspired Health Apothecary have been game changers for you?
KW: A huge one is Max Relax. My husband and I use this all the time to make sure we get quality sleep. There’s a lot going on in the back of my mind constantly and I used to wake up at 3:00 in the morning pretty consistently. Max Relax helps Sean fall asleep and it helps me stay asleep. I recommend it to friends all the time! The other one has to be Herbal GI Defense – this is one of the big ones that helped get my SIBO under control, but I still use it from time to time, especially when traveling! It’s just one of those products that does it all – from fixing a tummy ache, to keeping your well defended against the food and water in suspect places.
IHM: Are there any music, books, or podcasts that have inspired you lately?
KW: I wish I had time for more books – mostly I’m reading a lot of baking books for work, and a little bit of fantasy fiction to help me wind down at night. As far as inspirational music, though, I listen to a lot of Russ – he’s a chill rapper with a lot of music about being entrepreneurial and building something, so it gets me fired up! I also listen to a lot of affirmational music in the mornings. It sets me up for a good day – Toni Jones, Sri Kala, Londrelle, etc.
IHM: Which of our 8 Pillars of Inspired Health are you personally giving extra attention to these days?
KW: Sleep and nutrition are the two that I’m paying attention to every single day right now. I get a lot of movement in the kitchen naturally, but running a business requires my brain to be firing on all cylinders every day so good sleep has been crucial. Similarly with nutrition, good nutrition keeps my energy up and supports the all-day activity of my mind and body.
IHM: And as usual, let’s share some Central Oregon love! Can you share a couple of your favorite local businesses?
KW: This is such a hard question to answer in Bend! We have an awesome small business community. We visit Central Oregon Locavore weekly for our grocery shopping – they’re the best resource to get local grass-fed meats, produce, and all sorts of other things. They are also one of the locations that sells our bread and I have to say, they are such a great partner for local food producers! They help a lot of small businesses get in front of people for the first time, and their mission and non-profit work makes it impossible not to love them!
I love buying coffee beans from Bohemian Roastery. They’re organic and they have a sustainable roasting system that’s petroleum-free – we love all of that. And of course, it tastes great!
And lastly, for cleaning products, I get a lot from Wallowa Valley Cleaning Products. That might not be Central Oregon, but you can find them locally and I haven’t found much else like them produced in our state. They do a lot with nontoxic ingredients and have a lot of unscented options. That helps us stick to the “non-toxic home” pillar.
Thank you Kiaya!
For more info, visit the Luce’s Bakehouse website, and be sure to give Kiaya a follow on Instagram @lucesbakehouse and Facebook for all the latest happenings. You can buy bread/bagels and say hi to Kiaya every Saturday through the summer at the Northwest Crossing Farmers Market.
Luce’s Bakehouse delivers fresh, artisan GF sourdough weekly to the following locations:
Central Oregon Locavore: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Newport Avenue Market: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Market of Choice: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Local Acres Marketplace: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Schoolhouse Produce: Tuesday
Sisters Oliver Lemon’s: Wednesday & Friday
Local Pre-orders (Pickups): Tuesday & Thursday
Northwest Crossing Farmers Market: Weekly during the Summer
