Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kaitlin Porter Cortes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kaitlin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

My desire for raison pan is to change the way we think about food, and I really mean THINK. Eating should not simply be about consumption but rather about mindfulness. What are we putting in our bodies, what are the subtleties of flavor present in the simplest ingredients; how is the food we eat benefiting our overall health; how are we using our consumer purchases to support sustainable, nutritious practices for not only ourselves, but also for our communities and our environment as a whole? At raison pan we are different in that we use simple, whole, local ingredients. And that is a compromise I will never falter on. I don’t make a lot of money with raison pan, in fact, most of the time, I break even, but because it is my passion project and not my full-time work (for the moment), I’m okay with that. I want healthy, unprocessed foods to be accessible to our community, I want to support local farmers and purveyors even if that means paying higher costs for the ingredients we use. This is how we support ourselves and our community, and my contribution is through a love of sharing tasty bread made with three ingredients: local Arizona-grown heritage flour, water, and salt.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Kaitlin Porter Cortes. I’m an adjunct professor in the French and English department at the U of A and I am also the owner and baker at raison pan. I started this microbakery, operating under the Arizona Cottage Food Act, out of our (teeny tiny) home kitchen near downtown Tucson. My passion for nutrition, simplicity, and bread led me to push forward and make this dream a reality even though I was juggling finishing my dissertation, working, and being a new mom at the time. I have an amazing, supportive partner, along with a lovely community of friends here that encouraged me to keep moving forward. Although there are many amazing woman bakers here in Tucson (and elsewhere), the realm of sourdough bread baking seems, at least in my opinion, very heavily dominated by men. I wanted to be a woman-owned bakery that was about bread, sourdough bread, bringing fresh, tasty bread to the community. I especially wanted and want to continue focusing on making bread accessible. Right now, that means sandwich style loaves (in the form of a square or rectangle) that resemble what you can buy at the grocery store in familiarity, but only have the three ingredients necessary: flour, water, salt. I want parents and people with little time on their hands to have a convenient way to eat, and what’s more convenient than a slice of toast or a pb&j on some delicious sourdough?

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Instagram has been my mode of operation and it’s been great! The community of makers, bakers, producers, and eaters that support via instagram is really amazing here. At the moment, I don’t know how I would even promote of sell without it!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth. Nothing is more valuable than a person telling another person, especially one they trust, that a product is good. When you produce something you are proud of, I think others see that and they want to share that passion as well by promoting and encouraging others to try it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.raisonpan.com/
• Instagram: @raison.pan
• Other: https://kaitlinporter.squarespace.com/