EAST AURORA — If you are the type of person who believes a great bagel can change your day, then you have to try Dopest Dough.
Dopest Dough is an artisan bakery in East Aurora that specializes in handcrafted breads, bagels. and more.
"Everything we do is sourdough based," says Joseph White. "We try to focus on using local grains. The majority of our flour comes from Trumansburg, New York."
White is the head baker at Dopest Dough, but is only one half of the dynamic duo behind the popular bakery. The other half is his fiancée Anna Hartzell. Together the couple's passion and attention to detail has created quite the following.
"It's been wild," says Hartzell, "All great things, but it's crazy what Buffalo will do for a great bagel."
Still the road to creating great bagels wasn't necessarily planned.
For years Hartzell worked in restaurants and White was a traveling musician. When his band parted ways, Joe needed surgery to address severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and nerve blockages from years of playing bass. He found both creative and physical therapy in baking.
"There wasn't any good bread around, or bread that I liked," says White. "It opened up this window to create something I loved, but also create physical therapy."
White says his love of baking bread began when his brother gave him a sourdough starter, and the stretching, folding and cutting of dough helped him in his recovery. The result has been music to the ears of bread lovers.
Dopest Dough, which started in a shared kitchen on Chandler Street in Buffalo, expanded to a bakery and store front in East Aurora in 2021.
The bakery offers a variety of sourdough breads, bagels and pretzels which requires both Joe and Anna to work long hours to fulfill rising wholesale and online pre-orders.
It's work they both say they thoroughly enjoy, and the success has been rewarding.
"I was telling my dad we are doing really well for two non bakers," said Anna, "He was like, 'I'm sorry Anna, you are a baker now', she added with a laugh. "It's still hard to accept."
While the kitchen at Dopest Dough is always busy, the retail space at 695 Main Street is still a work in progress.
Customers currently pre-order their baked goods and then pick them up on Saturdays. The plan is to open a café with grab and go options in the near future.
Dopest Dough also has a large presence at local farmers markets throughout the summer.
"One of our main goals is to try and revitalize Western New York's history in grain," says White. "We have such a deep history in grain that goes back a long way. It would be nice to see that restored"
So if you are looking for great baked goods created by a passionate couple using local ingredients. Dopest Dough needs to be your next stop. Joe and Anna will be happy to see you.
"I think the biggest thing to success in a lot of other Buffalo businesses ,they have great relationships with their customers at the end of the day. There is a story to tell with the owners and customers always," says White.
"Having someone come back week after week and tell us how much they enjoy everything, and just how surprised they are that we remember them, is very rewarding," says Hartzell.
