Edwards baker launches intimate sourdough workshops to build confidence

At a kitchen counter in Edwards, Jennifer Rose was turning the hardest part of sourdough into something manageable: feed the starter, mix the dough, shape a loaf, bake it once, and take the rest home. The founder of Alpen Dough launched Dough Drops as intimate four-person workshops, a three-hour format built less like a lecture and more like a confidence lesson for people who have only watched sourdough online from a distance.

Rose’s pitch is simple because the barrier is simple too. Sourdough can feel mysterious, full of trial and error, especially for home bakers who have never actually handled a sticky dough or watched a loaf rise. By keeping the class small, she made room for repetition, questions, and the kind of hands-on teaching that turns a trend into a usable kitchen skill. The model also fits the way sourdough is learned best in real life: one starter feeding, one shaping session, one bake at a time.

That approach grew out of Rose’s own path into bread. She started sourdough work during knee-surgery recovery in 2025, then launched her first Dough Drop later that year through social media and Next Door. Since then, the business has leaned into both teaching and selling, with rotating loaves that include OG sourdough, roasted Colorado green chili and gruyere, chive and white cheddar, French onion, and butter with Icelandic black sea salt. The workshops put the technique first, but the loaves show the payoff.

The timing makes sense in Colorado, where altitude can make baking harder than it looks on a feed. Colorado State University Extension has long noted that lower air pressure affects how dough rises and can make breads rise and collapse more quickly, and its resources include sourdough starter best practices and sourdough basics. Around the state, other bakeries have followed a similar path. Rebel Bread in Denver has built a teaching kitchen into its bakery model, and Bodhi Tree Bakery in Littleton offers a beginner sourdough workshop for $140 per person that includes a starter and a Colorado baking guide.

Dough Drops fits that same community-first lane, but in a much smaller room. Instead of asking beginners to absorb sourdough in one big masterclass, Rose is breaking it into the few moves that matter most, then repeating them until they stop feeling intimidating. In a place where bread can collapse as quickly as it rises, that small, steady approach may be the secret that sticks.