We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Catlow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I’ve been lucky enough to grow up surrounded by exceptional cooks and bakers, but my food-loving journey definitely began with my grandparents and their traditional Italian cooking.

I was inspired a few years ago, before my Nonna passed, to translate her recipes and capture her cooking in the kitchen (I was a photographer for 10 years before venturing into food). What followed were hours of laughter and entertainment, countless nibbles of my favorite dishes, and a family cookbook that I cherish and use regularly.

To preserve these simple – yet important – family recipes has been my greatest work to date, but I have always had a yearning to share these delights with more people. Thus when my family made a move to Texas in early 2021, I decided that it was time to start fresh and finally pursue this food journey.

I had grown up on so many rich and delicious Italian delights, but after having my babies, I developed a sensitivity to lactose and egg protein that made it incredibly uncomfortable and painful to consume my favorite dairy-filled foods. While I’ll never turn down a heap of pecorino cheese topping on my noodles (we all have our exceptions!), I’ve chosen to focus on dairy and egg-free products to offer more allergen-friendly options to the community.
It’s taken time, effort and many many many recipe tests to find the perfect blend of premium ingredients, but I like to think I’ve finally crafted the baked goods and pastas that make my heart (and tastebuds) sing!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

“Mangia” (which means ‘to eat’ in Italian) should have been my first word as an infant. In my household, the word was a way of life more than a request to eat, and in many respects, it was an expression of love. As a first generation Italian, I was raised on the foundation that food feeds both your body and soul and now I am on a mission to help spread that very ethos to all that I can through my products.

For the past decade, I made a career of photographing food and the amazing faces that cook it. With time I came to realize that I’d rather be the one wielding the dough instead of the camera.

The Salty Dough Company is a micro-bakery based in Rosenberg, TX specializing in dairy-free Italian-style baked goods and pastas utilizing local, sustainable and seasonal ingredients.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

As a small food entrepreneur, focused on utilizing local ingredients, there has been no better source of customers than my local farmers markets. The community that attends these events share the same ethos and mission of knowing where their food comes from, what goes into making it and who is the one producing it all.

These markets have given me the opportunity to help educate and enlighten folks on the profound difference fresh ingredients play in flavor and nutrition. It has been incredible to witness, first hand, the impact of taste when someone new samples a product and is forever a fan. And the feedback has been endlessly valuable, as I can tailor my new products to the requests made directly from customers.

My community is my greatest customer, and I am so grateful to be able to share these nutrient-dense and locally-sourced products directly with them.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Crafting food is a job I take very seriously. To do it well, you truly have to focus. With that said, I find that food is the great equalizer when it comes to business, and while I endlessly want to feed the masses (it’s the Italian mother in me), I have also found a sincere love for teaching the masses how to make their own food too.

I’ve been so lucky to have been invited to teach pasta-making with some local storefronts and suppliers, and the reaction has been so positive. Educating others on how to craft their own Italian dishes at home has been so fulfilling, and has been a very welcome addition of income to help offset cash flow issues that can arise in the food industry.

The balance of production and education has been ideal.

Contact Info:

• Website: thesaltydough.co
• Instagram: instagram.com/thesaltydoughco

Image Credits
first portrait by Katie Jackson Photography…all others by me