By Hanna Allen
Photos by Lacey Barnwell
In a quiet neighborhood in Leeds, a backyard bread shed has become a community anchor. Lauren Brown, the woman behind it all, bakes hundreds of loaves each week for families across the Birmingham area and to supply restaurants and shops, such as Corbeau Wine Bar, Cowboys 280 and Howard Family Holiday Farm with fresh sourdough.
“I just want people to realize that they can have clean ingredients,” Brown said. “Instead of store-bought bread, they can have something nourishing and local.”
Though she has seen a good deal of success recently, she did not grow up baking.
“Before I started sourdough, I could not bake for my life,” she said. “I remember trying to make cookies, and they would just go flat every time. I thought, ‘What am I doing?’”
Her journey into baking began while she was a nurse in the intensive care unit. One day, a coworker brought in potato flake sourdough. Brown, who had long been passionate about nutrition and clean eating, was intrigued.
“I was like, ‘I really don’t want to use yeast. I want to do it the cleanest way possible,’” she said. “So I thought, ‘I’ll learn real sourdough.’”
It took months. Lauren started building her starter on Dec. 24, 2023, and it wasn’t ready until late March. In the meantime, she experimented with a dehydrated starter, learned techniques, tracked temperature and hydration and fed her coworkers.
“I think one morning I woke up at 2 and made 189 waffles,” she said.
From there, it grew fast. Brown began baking more frequently, shifting between night shifts and early morning dough.
“I just really wanted to focus on clean ingredients, and I realized people liked what I was making,” she said.
Today, Brown bakes 100 to 200 loaves daily in her home kitchen. Her porch pickups and online ordering system allow her to scale locally without the burden of a storefront.
“People just go online and choose if they want to pick up in Leeds, Trussville or Mount Laurel,” she said. “We offer porch pickups on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, or delivery.”
The bread shed—a tidy wooden structure built after her first pickup stand was destroyed in a storm—is where most pickups happen.
To have the delights ready, Brown’s days start early.
“It takes about two hours for the ovens to heat up, so I’m up by 2 a.m.,” she said. “If I’m not too tired, I’ll print my labels or premeasure all my flour. It’s a whole baker’s math thing. I keep everything at the right temperature. My background is in chemistry, so I’m pretty particular.”
That chemistry background blends perfectly with her nutrition-minded baking approach. Her sourdough includes only organic flour, filtered water and sea salt. Her pastries are made with local A2A2 raw milk, European butter and farm-fresh eggs, and her waffles and pizza dough are fortified with grass-fed, non-GMO bone broth powder.
“Parents love them for their kiddos,” she said. “They’re high-protein and nutrient-dense, and you can freeze them for six months.”
Brown grew up in Gainesville, Florida and studied business economics and finance. While in school, she also became a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. After 15 years working in the aesthetics and plastic surgery industry, she earned a second bachelor’s degree in nursing.
After marrying and relocating several times, Brown and her husband moved to Birmingham in 2021. During the pandemic, she worked in neuro ICU and critical care, later transitioning to hospice and surgical nursing.
She still works as a nurse as needed, but baking is now her full-time job.
“This is my thing,” she said. “I’ll teach it all day long, but the bread, I don’t let anyone else do that.”
Brown started selling at local farmers markets—Leeds, Mount Laurel and Trussville—and the business took off from there. She now handles direct-to-consumer sales, wholesale accounts, porch pickups, deliveries and private collaborations.
“For markets, I bake about 500 loaves a week, plus 1,000 pastries and I don’t even know how many croissants,” she said.
She also teaches sourdough classes from home and is working on a digital recipe book.
“I just thought, ‘Why not show people how to make it themselves?’” she said. “You can do anything with sourdough—donuts, brownies, cakes, bagels, even pizza.”
A fellow sourdough baker in Utah became her mentor during the early stages.
“Casey helped me so much. He really took me under his wing when I got my first commercial oven and mixer,” she said. “The technique is totally different from hand mixing, and he helped me get better.”
Brown is always creating. Her fall pumpkin loaf—made with organic pumpkin purée, coconut oil and cookie butter—has been a bestseller.
“People still talk about them,” she said. “I also made cake jars with crumble and vanilla topping. They were so good.”
Her cinnamon stars, twisted from croissant dough, are another fan favorite.
“I can’t roll a cinnamon roll to save my life, so I twist them and braid them,” she said. “People love them.”
She also sells mini sourdough donuts, brioche buns, high-protein pizza dough and savory loaves like honey oats.
“I’ve played with hydration and soaking grains to make a naturally sweetened honey oat loaf without adding sugar,” she said. “It’s really fun to figure it out.”
As demand rises, Brown remains cautious about how she grows.
“I’m working with a business manager now to figure out how to scale without compromising quality,” she said. “I’d rather go slower and do it right.”
The name Five Loaves comes from the Bible—specifically, the story of five loaves and two fish feeding the multitude.
“We were all sitting around at work trying to think of names,” Brown said. “I wanted something religious-based, not in your face, but close to my heart. It’s about small offerings making a big impact.”
Faith plays a quiet but central role in running her business.
“I don’t go to church here, but I still watch online services back in Knoxville,” she said. “This name reminds me why I’m doing this.”
It’s working. Many customers have followed her since day one. Some message her weekly, and others stop by just to say hello.
“I built the bread shed, so I wouldn’t have to come out, but I always want to see everyone,” she said. “That’s the fun part.”
She often adds extras—cookies, croissants or a bonus loaf—just because.
“It makes people happy, and that makes me happy,” she said.
Some encourage her to open a storefront, but she prefers flexibility.
“I don’t want to be stuck somewhere,” she said. “I’d love to be mobile—go to events, just let people try something real.”
She’s clear about her goals: “I just want people to realize they can have something clean, made by hand. It doesn’t have to come from a store shelf.”
From that quiet corner of Leeds, her dream is already rising.
Five Loaves Micro Bakery is located at 6924 Timber Trail Road in Leeds. It is open Wednesday-Friday, noon-6 p.m. To place a delivery order or ask a question, visit fiveloavesmicrobakery.com, or call or text 205-603-7430.
Baker’s Picks
Sourdough Bread
Pesto Mozzarella
-pairs deliciously with a simple marinara sauce for dipping
Danishes
Lemon, Blueberry and Dubai Chocolate
Croissants
Buttery Delicious Croissants
-for breakfast or with homemade chicken salad
Slow-fermented Sourdough Pizza
Pesto Mozzarella and Garlic Parmesan
Feeding the Multitude
“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to Me,” He said. And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
-Matthew 14:17-20 (NIV)
