Popular bakery born out of Kings Beach garage

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - The Tahoe Bread Company has been baking up popular breads and other baked goods since 2019, something that started as a hobby and has now grown into a small business.

“I kind of had the idea of like bread, biscuits and pancakes, even cookies, could be healthy,” said owner Heather Zikas.

A self-taught baker, she started experimenting with different recipes of bread that would appeal to her two kids, substituting whole wheat grain flour for the typical white flour, which she mills herself at her house.

“The grains all have different flavors, different baking qualities,” explained Zikas. “A lot of them give it a kind of nutty flavor.”

Friends began to ask her if she could make more to sell to them, and a budding business quickly outgrew her kitchen, expanding to a newly-built bakery in her garage.

“I went from baking about three loaves at a time to 18,” continued Zikas, who now produces about 150 loaves per week.

And the menu has expanded from the whole wheat sourdough to English muffins, Focassia, Baguette, pastries and croissants. And now cookies.

“They’re one-hundred percent whole-grain. And they have oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chips,” described Zikas. “I kind of had the idea of a granola-bar type cookie, but I wanted it to taste really good.”

The baked goods and bread are available in a few spots around Tahoe, and also served at Christy Hill Lakeside Bistro in Tahoe City.

“You get full sooner, you don’t have to eat as much of it,” added Zikas. “And it’s easier on your stomach; easier to digest. It doesn’t make you feel weighed down.”

Zikas takes orders through her website, and hosts pop-up sales on Saturdays at her home. And everything baked is sold that day, and is typically sold-out.

“It just goes to show that people want to eat whole grains,” said Zikas. “And I think, not only because it’s healthy but they like the flavor.”

You can learn more about the Tahoe Bread Company by clicking the link below.

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