Noble Bread in Phoenix, AZ

Jason Raducha, Owner

Origins

I was working in IT and I had a love of baking. I wondered if people loved baking as much as I did. I grew up around family events that revolved around food. I never went to culinary school. I was trying to scratch an itch I didn’t know I had. I used Kickstarter and I raised $20,000 in 30 days. I was baking out of my house, but somebody complained to the HOA that they didn’t like the smell of bread. They sent a cease-and-desist letter to the HOA. So I moved to my parents’ garage, but they weren’t really set up for breadmaking. I finally found a place I could rent, bought the building next door and got started. Then in 2014 I opened [Noble Bakery’s companion establishment] Noble Eatery, which was voted best new restaurant by Phoenix Magazine. We have a lot of sandwiches with Turkish pide dough.

Company Mission

We try to keep a commitment to quality craftsmanship. We want to nourish the body and nourish the community around us. We go to 12-15 farmers’ markets a week and get to hand our bread to the customers. They come back and tell us how they used the bread: family meals, gifts, gatherings. They tell us how our bread filled their baskets, and that’s a great connection.

Production Tip

Be consistent. Try to do the same thing every day. That’s the fun of baking. When you don’t quite get it right, you have to ask, “What did I do?” But if it isn’t exactly right today, you have tomorrow.

Signature Products

Our organic, naturally-leavened country bread takes 36 hours to produce. It put us on the map. We bake a lot darker than everyone else. Ours is crispy, with the sweetness, the lactic acid in it, the bitterness, the char. And I’d say definitely our scones. People buy them by the dozen. We also make a multigrain bread that has eight seeds in it. It’s really good.

Equipment ‘Must-Haves’

I love a really good spoon, a really great scale and also a ThermoWorks thermapen. You get an instant read. It’s very accurate whether you put it in water, starter or dough for temperature. Literally from the start to finishing, it’s great.

Future Plans

We’ve grown out of our current space. We have 200 people working with us [including contact staff and full-time employees] Our goal is to find a new location, so we can par bake. Each day I pinch myself that I get to do what I do, to take the alchemy of flour, water and yeast and make something special.

For more info, visit www.instagram.com/noblebread

(This article appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)