It takes a lot of coffee + hugs to live the life of a baker.
After a stint in London falling in love with the city’s take on bread (shout out to E5 Bakehouse for being an OG inspiration!), Sam took a bread class while Amanda toiled away in grad school, and he decided that upon their return to their houseboat nestled in Sausalito, California, he would start a bakery.
They did return, and Sam made good on his promise. He staged with whoever would take him and practiced baking loaves (sometimes successfully) out of a dutch oven in the galley kitchen of their boat, The Porthole Kid. His first bakery gig started with sweeping the floors and scaling flour and a year later, as a Head Baker. When he felt like he understood how a high-production kitchen and the artistry of baking might meet, he took a leap. With equal parts impatience and skill and with a penchant for risk taking, Portside Bakery was born.
With a love of high-hydration sourdough and carefully crafted pastries using local flavors and ingredients, Sam started Portside from a commercial kitchen, and eventually moved to a kitchen production space just a few blocks from his boat in Sausalito.
Portside now has a crew of more than just Sam– a group of deeply talented bakers and market staff dedicated to the art of making, and who inspire and co-create Portside’s products and menus. He feels very lucky to be surrounded by good folks who are crazy enough to be in this industry, just as he is.
