“Everyone needs and deserves fresh bread, and if I can do it, I will.”
That’s the mission of Southeast Sourdough, a bakery located in Joseph McPherson’s home in D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood.
With his bakes, McPherson is creating and selling unique twists on fresh, artisan breads to communities across the District, especially food deserts found in Wards 7 and 8.
All of his breads and other bakes are naturally leavened, slow-fermented, sourdough-based and free from preservatives. He uses a mix of spelt, rye and whole wheat, from his focaccias to his soft sandwich loaves to sweets like brownies, blondies, Danishes — and even his cookies are sourdough-based. But what makes his products especially unique is that he freshly mills the wheat because he said it helps increase the flavor and nutritional value.
“The small steps do end with a big result, and I do think truly it’s because I mill fresh wheat that gives it more of a flavor,” McPherson said.
Along with freshly-milled wheat enhancing the flavor of McPherson’s bakes, the baker also often combines familiar flavors in unexpected ways. For example, topping a whole-wheat Danish with a homemade banana pudding or enhancing a babka with flavors of sweet potato.
“What I do is I take flavors that people are used to and force them to try something new,” he said. “I just want to make things that people really like, push the boundaries a little bit, but be creative.”
Southeast Sourdough began in 2025 and has since expanded to two community supported agriculture, or CSA, programs: the People’s Market DMV and Dreaming Out Loud. His products are also available on his Southeast Sourdough website and at Bloomingdale Farmer’s Market on Sundays.
McPherson has also partnered with Calvin “J.R.” Hines, Jr. of D.C.-based urban farms EightFold Farms by providing naturally-leavened focaccia dough for Hines to create pizzas with. These pizzas, which are topped with golden oyster mushrooms, are available at the UDC Farmers Market on Fridays.
But it’s not a rare sight to see McPherson carrying his many breads and other delights door to door to his neighbors in Anacostia.
“One family became two became five, and we realized there was a need for fresh bread in the neighborhood,” McPherson said. “It kind of became a really great way to be even more of a neighbor.”
McPherson comes from a long line of prestigious restaurant experience, including working at Chez Panisse and Zuni Café in California as well as Mirabelle and Palena in the District.
When he worked at the now-closed Palena, McPherson credited Chef Frank Ruta’s attention to detail for teaching him that “everything deserves love.”
“The loaf was always perfectly toasted,” McPherson said about working with Ruta.
About his time at Zuni Café, McPherson said, “They had this fixation on the bread as another extension of their generosity.”
And their focus on the freshest, most seasonal ingredients inspired McPherson as a baker as well.
Another local baker also impacted McPherson. Rick Cook of Manifest Bread in Riverdale Park, Maryland, gifted McPherson a mill with no specific instructions, recipes or special help provided.
“He really didn’t give me a recipe. He just said, ‘Try it all. Don’t be scared. Ask questions. But run with it,’ and that’s kind of what I did, for sure,” McPherson said.
Now that Southeast Sourdough is on the rise — with a growing clientele and more partnerships in the works — McPherson hopes to eventually increase the capacity of orders he can take on because, “I want people to have great bread all the time.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
