Rising Star

When Rafael Morillo pulls a golden crusted loaf of his sour dough bread fresh from the oven, he sees something magical.

“Sour dough bread is a transformational food,” Morillo said. “It’s bread as bread should be. When it comes out of the oven, well, it’s a beautiful thing.”

For almost ten years Morillo has been baking his loaves of sour dough bread from scratch and delivering them to restaurants and retail establishments all over Long Beach Island, NJ.

It’s no wonder customers clamor for his bread. Interest in sour dough bread baking is on the rise in 2026, and the proof is in the research.

In a study done by MarketsandMarkets, an independent market research company located in Delray Beach, FL, people said they like sour dough bread because of its taste, nutritional benefits, and lack of additives. “People are also more intentional about what they eat and how and where their food comes from in 2026” said a representative we reached out to for comment. “Sustainability isn’t just a trend anymore. It’s a conscious decision.”

Morillo said the decision to make sour dough bread is simple since it isn’t complicated to make.

“But it does require time and patience,” he said. “You can adjust the process to whatever conditions you have, but you must understand there is no instant sour dough. Sour dough is the work of enzymes that produce the sugars in the wheat and enzymes take time.”

The process of baking sour dough bread begins with something called a starter or mother. “I guess it’s called mother because it is the mother of the bread,” Morillo said.

Starter is a combination of a few simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, and time. Of course, mother knows best when it comes to what she wants which is attention. Morillo said he feeds his starter once a day with water. Every day.

 “If you keep it at room temperature you only need to feed it once a day,” he said. “But it is very easy to kill sour dough starter. It is a commitment to keep something like this alive. It’s a long-term relationship, like having a pet you are responsible for. If you don’t feed it, you are in trouble.”

Morillo admits starter can be a bit of a diva when it comes to her care. “Let’s just say vacations can be hard to arrange,” he said.

Morillo, however, doesn’t mind. For him, starter is his connection to generations of bread bakers who have come before him. One of his starters is 170 years old and dates back to the Oregon Trail in 1847.

“I got it from a family that had a business that preserves sour dough culture,” he said. “I wrote to the man and asked him if I could buy some of that starter and he said no, you cannot buy this starter, but I will give you some if you write a letter in your handwriting where you promise me that you will not let this culture die. I have kept my promise for 18 years. It’s amazing to think I could use starter that dates back to the days of Lewis and Clark to make pizza today.”

Morillo firmly believes sour dough bread nourishes not only the body but the soul as well. “Kneading the dough is meditative for me,” he said. “The bread is organic. It comes from nature and it is a connection to the past. Nowadays you can go into a supermarket and buy something with additives and artificial enhancers that looks like bread, but it is not.”

The preparation process required to make sour dough is something Morillo takes very seriously. “I believe it is important to respect the process of slow fermentation, the effort and the artistry that goes into sour dough bread baking,” he said.

And when it comes to sour dough bread baking, Morillo said it’s personal.

“Sour dough is just a method to making bread.,” he said.  “But bakers can use the starter to make a particular flavor or profile by adjusting the temperatures, the acidity, etc. in ways that makes it very difficult for someone else to duplicate it. I can give you my starter, I can give you my recipe, but you and I won’t make the same bread. You could come in here and steal my recipe book, but I am not worried. You will not be able to make my bread.”

If you’d like to try your hand at baking your own sour dough bread Morillo does offer classes where he will teach you how. “We don’t do it all the time so check MKT Eatery on Facebook for the schedule.” he said. “We only do classes in the off season because during the season I am too busy. But in the off season we try to do at least two classes a month.”

Morillo’s freshly baked organic sour dough bread is also available for purchase. On Long Beach Island, NJ you can find his sour dough bread at Wallys in Surf City, NJ, The Cheese Shoppe in Surf City, NJ, Agnello’s in Manahawkin, NJ, and Sassafras Hill Farms in Barnegat, NJ.

To order his organic sour dough soup bowls, baguettes, loaves and more online, visit agnellosmkt.com.

Images: Marjorie Amon