If you haven’t heard, the Hudson Valley – much like San Francisco – is a hub for sourdough. While some sourdough producers are professional bakers from the likes of the Culinary Institute of America, others are hobbyists who picked up the trade during the pandemic. For Shiri Reuveni-Ullrich, founder of Rising Above Bakery, the latter rings true as she began her nonprofit baking sourdough out of her home in Chestnut Ridge in 2021. Now, the nonprofit bakery is located on Main Street in Nyack, where it employs around 20 individuals with special needs.
While an avid baker herself, Reuveni-Ullrich is also a speech therapist who has worked with children of all ages for nearly 25 years. Throughout her experience in the field, Reuveni-Ullrich recognized the profound effect that baking had on her nonverbal students. “In the kitchen they found their voice – singing, laughing, chatting, and using whatever other tool they had to express their happiness. I knew it was my next phase in life,” says Reuveni-Ullrich.
Consequently, Rising Above Bakery came to life. Reuveni-Ullrich felt it was her mission to create a bakery that could help individuals with disabilities find their voice and live meaningful and independent lives. The bakery’s crew grew fast, including individuals with autism, down syndrome, brain injuries, and other diagnoses, along with support volunteers who help out in the kitchen.
Rising Above Bakery follows five principles: community, inclusion, empowerment, independence, and love. Each of these principles is reflected both in the kitchen and in the bakery’s own name. “We rise above our challenges, we move forward, and, of course, our signature item – sourdough bread – needs to rise as well,” notes Reuveni-Ullrich.
While the sourdough, which is made from organic flours from local mills, is certainly a menu highlight, the Nyack bakery also serves scones, cookies, granola, brownies, cakes, and gluten-free and vegan goods. Snack items like savory crackers, tea biscuits, and animal crackers are homemade pantry staples, while a newer item that has quickly become popular is the bakery’s biscotti. Rising Above Bakery uses mostly organic ingredients, supports local agriculture, and bakes with the seasons, so there is something new to try at the shop every couple of months, with a few menu mainstays that are available year-round.
In the kitchen, each baker is assigned a task that works with their abilities and interests. While some bakers are completely independent, others work with a partner to follow recipes – which they execute from start to finish. Some bakers love to greet customers at the front and others dread it, so everyone finds their place in the bakery under Reuveni-Ullrich’s guidance – although her guidance is needed less and less each day as the bakers rise above challenges frictionlessly.
Rising Above Bakery currently operates out of Rockland Community College’s demo kitchen, but the nonprofit is looking for a storefront to call home. For Reuveni-Ullrich, the dream is to exist in an open space where customers and crew can bond over everything that Rising Above Bakery has to offer. “I want our customers to enjoy our community and come back for more – baked goods and us simultaneously,” she says.
Rising Above Bakery is located at 70 Main Street in Nyack.
Related: 8 Hudson Valley Locations for Irresistible Vegan Pastries
