My project is a local, home-based sourdough micro-bakery, accidentally born from the challenges of the past 3 years—sudden illness and loss of work—and driven by passion to make gut & blood sugar-friendly bread/baked goods accessible in our community.

In my search for low-glycemic index foods, I discovered sourdough fermentation. Extended fermentation process significantly reduces gluten & starch content, making it a safe for those with specific gluten sensitivities and hypoglycemia.

Recognizing the time-intensive nature of maintaining a strong starter and fermenting bread for 30+ hours, I realized that most people don’t have the resources (time, skill, equipment) to access this essential nutritional staple: bread.

So I set myself on a mission to make sourdough bread accessible locally. Over the past 7 months I’ve focused on perfecting starter maintenance, refining baking techniques, and testing out recipes tailored to our climate.

As I shared fermented bread, cookies, scones, crackers, with friends and community, I started getting requests for orders, prompting me to pursue a cottage industry license and ways to expand my reach in the FMWF-Dilworth community.

Named after the Palestinian national flower: the poppy, Hannoun Sourdough symbolizes resilience through connection to our ancestral practices. My 130-year old starter named Bisan, is a namesake honoring the 25-year-old Palestinian journalist, symbolizing hope and determination amid adversity.

Sourdough fermentation echoes all of our ancestors’ traditional methods of baking bread before advent of the commercialized active yeast. Hannoun not only brings joy to my customers and community through health-conscious baked goods becoming accessible, it also serves as a pathway to my own healing and resilience.

This project represents layers of resilience & healing—my own recovery, a revival of Indigenous & ancestral practices, and a responsibility towards making healthy food accessible.