Our bakery partner
About Barely Proofed Bakery
The small Benton City sourdough bakery behind every loaf in the VRG Bread Club.
Meet Kyle & Sarah Kurth
Barely Proofed Bakery is a small, home-based sourdough bakery in Benton City, Washington, owned and run by Sarah Kurth alongside her husband Kyle. Sarah is the baker and owner: naturally leavened, long-fermented loaves made with simple ingredients and baked in small batches out of her own kitchen.
Their days are spent working on the farm, riding dirt bikes, feeding a very active starter and raising their family. Kyle is the one hauling tables and setting up at markets before sunrise; Sarah is the one who has already been up mixing dough. Barely proofed by name. Intentionally baked.
How the bakery works
Naturally leavened
Every loaf starts with a live sourdough starter, no commercial yeast, no shortcuts, and a long, slow ferment that develops flavor and makes the bread easier to digest.
Simple ingredients
Flour, water, salt and time do most of the work. Add-ins are chosen one at a time rather than stirred in from a mix, which is why the weekly menu stays small and seasonal.
Baked at home, in small batches
Barely Proofed is a cottage food operation run out of the Kurths' home kitchen. Batch sizes are set by what two people can shape, proof and bake well in a day, not by what a machine can push out.
Made to order for neighbors
Between the farmers market and standing orders like the VRG Bread Club, nearly everything Sarah bakes is already spoken for before it comes out of the oven.
From the market to your table
Most weeks you'll find Barely Proofed behind a folding table stacked with baskets of sourdough boules and sandwich loaves, sweet breads like banana bread, and trays of cookies, at local farmers markets around the Tri-Cities, including Richland's Friday market.
The VRG Bread Club works the same way, just with the standing behind it. Members reserve their loaf through Sunday evening, the week's order sheet goes to Sarah that night, and Monday is dough day. Everything is mixed and shaped to the exact count that was reserved, which is why nothing here is ever sitting on a shelf.
A closing gift from VRG Realty
VRG Realty clients get a Bread Club membership loaded with Bread Credits. One fresh loaf a week from Sarah's kitchen, on us.
Reserve this week's bread