Riverhead Sourdough is a small, family-run bakery in Riverhead, New Zealand, born in the kitchen of founder Katja, a mother of three who discovered the joy of baking authentic sourdough for her family. What began as a hobby — flour-dusted countertops and the gentle hum of fermentation — has blossomed into a passion for sharing artisanal, made-to-order loaves with the local community.
Every loaf is lovingly crafted using traditional methods and the finest local ingredients, then baked fresh and delivered to your doorstep. Customers can choose Friday delivery, Saturday delivery, or Saturday pickup in Riverhead, and a weekly subscription keeps a fresh loaf arriving on a rolling basis with a saving per loaf. A dedicated restaurant supply service caters to cafés and hospitality buyers as well.
The mission is simple: to bring the warmth and comfort of homemade sourdough to every household in Riverhead and beyond. Each purchase supports a local family — real, honest bread, from their family to yours, one slice at a time.
In Riverhead, New Zealand, some of the area's most sought-after bread doesn't come from a big commercial bakery at all — it comes from a family kitchen. Riverhead Sourdough is the creation of Katja, a mother of three who started baking authentic sourdough simply because she loved it. What began as a hobby, crafting the perfect loaf for her own household, has grown into a small family-run bakery with a devoted local following and a simple promise: real, honest bread, delivered fresh to your door.
It all started, as Katja tells it, in a cozy kitchen with flour-dusted countertops and the gentle hum of fermentation. Juggling the demands of motherhood, she discovered the therapeutic rhythm of kneading dough and the quiet satisfaction of watching it rise. Each loaf became a labour of love, perfected over time with care and patience.
Before long, the aroma of freshly baked bread filling the house began drawing in friends and neighbours. Their enthusiasm for her sourdough creations was overwhelming — and it convinced her she had something unique to offer beyond the family table. What began as a way to feed three energetic youngsters became a calling: a mission to bring the warmth and comfort of homemade sourdough to every household in Riverhead and beyond.
There is no industrial production line behind this bread. Every loaf is lovingly crafted using traditional methods and the finest local ingredients, with the wholesome goodness of simple, natural ingredients at the heart of each bake. Because everything is made to order, loaves aren't baked speculatively and left sitting on a shelf — yours is made for you, then delivered or collected at its freshest.
The range is pleasingly focused. A classic artisan sourdough is offered for Friday delivery, Saturday delivery or Saturday pickup, and households that never want the bread bin to sit empty can take out a weekly subscription for a fresh loaf on a rolling basis at a saving. Cafés and restaurants are catered for as well, through a dedicated restaurant supply service. Batches are small, and popular bake days regularly sell out — so ordering ahead is very much part of the ritual. As the site's banner announces, 2026 orders are now open.
Ordering is done online through the Riverhead Sourdough shop. Choose Sourdough Bread Delivered Friday or Sourdough Bread Delivered Saturday to have a freshly baked loaf brought to your doorstep, or pick the Saturday Pickup option if you'd rather collect around Riverhead yourself. The weekly subscription is the low-effort route: sign up once and a fresh loaf arrives every week, with a saving on each one.
Payment is straightforward, with American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Union Pay accepted alongside Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Shop Pay. If you have a question about an order, the order form on the website is the fastest way to reach the bakery; for everything else there's a contact form, accompanied by a friendly request for patience as Katja balances baking with family life.
Part of what makes Riverhead Sourdough special is precisely that it isn't a factory operation. It's a local family business in the truest sense — every purchase supports a Riverhead family, and every loaf carries, in Katja's words, 'the love of a mother, the authenticity of traditional methods, and the wholesome goodness of simple, natural ingredients.'
Newcomers and sourdough devotees alike are invited to join the 'sourdough family': updates and fresh-bake news appear on the bakery's Facebook and Instagram pages and its blog, and an email newsletter keeps customers in the loop when order windows open. For locals, it's the rare pleasure of genuinely homemade bread without having to bake it yourself — from one family's kitchen to yours, one slice at a time.