More than twenty-five years ago, Colleen Worthington built a baking empire out of her own kitchen. Together with her husband, Gary, the Worthington’s pursued their interest in scratch-made artisan breads by training at both the American Institute of Baking and San Francisco Baking Institute. They worked closely with Lehi Roller Mills to develop an exclusive flour mixture and located an ideal, traditional Italian hearth-stone oven.

Their first bakery opened in Orem, Utah, in 1997, where they served European hearth breads. Within a few months, they expanded to offer a variety of sandwiches, soups, salads and pastries. Since then, Kneaders Bakery & Café has grown to over 50 locations in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Texas and Utah, including the original café, still headquartered in Orem and operated by the Worthington’s.

The history of the business is celebrated with a newly-released book, Kneaders Bakery & Café: A Celebration of Our Recipes and Memories by Colleen Worthington ($34.00 by Shadow Mountain).

After mastering old-world bread baking techniques and testing countless recipes during the early days of the business, Colleen, Gary and their growing team of bakers moved onto their signature artisan bread. Now they have gathered their best recipes in this commemorative cookbook, which includes Rosemary Focaccia, Jalapeño Cheddar, Garlic Mushroom Bruschetta, Irish Soda Bread, Sesame Semolina Bread and many more.

For the first time, home cooks also have access to popular recipes such as Chunky Cinnamon Stuffed French Toast, Hot Artichoke Crab Dip, Three-Cheese Cauliflower Soup, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Blueberry Sour Cream Pie. Beautiful and appetizing food photos accompany each recipe.