A successful spell: The Witching Flour Bakery sets the bar high in creating delectable creations

Things keep rising up at The Witching Flour Bakery.

Owner and baker Kelly Gee frequently sells out of her confections every weekend. Her baked goods have cast a spell of sorts and have turned first time customers into regulars at the bakery located at 1431 Eubank Blvd. NE.

“I wanted to create something unique and that directly reflected my personality and style of baking while also incorporating elements of alchemy and witchcraft, which is something that I’ve always sort of been into,” Gee said. “I’m more of and intuitive baker, I’d say. I rely a lot on my senses rather than the science behind baking. I wanted people to have sort of a magical experience and to taste the love and passion that I core in each pastry.”

Gee combines unique ingredients that evoke a sense of nostalgia and enlighten people’s taste buds.

“I really love using florals and herbs, teas especially,” Gee said. “All of my pastries are also naturally leavened. I use sourdough starter in my croissants and in my doughnuts so that creates a different texture. People say that my doughnuts are pretty cloudlike. It’s a good vehicle for the different glazes and stuff like that.”

The sourdough process is elaborate and requires patience.

“You’ve got to make the dough and you’ve got to let it ferment and then it takes me like three days to make a croissant,” Gee explained. “Sourdough, I think, is what makes my pastries stand out along with all of the fun flavors.”

Since opening her bakery in October 2023, Gee has the freedom to create whatever inspires her. The Witching Flour does not have a set menu.

“I have the freedom to make whatever I want, whatever I feel,” she said.

Gee enjoys changing things up and surprising her patrons with new items. She recently featured a hibiscus orange glazed doughnut, a jasmine rose sugar doughnut, a pink lemonade meringue Danish, and a spicy sweet potato Kolache.

“I’ve realized people sort of enjoy coming in and seeing the menu change so often,” Gee said. “They get really excited for all the new things. But then there are some people who are like ‘Oh man, I missed out on this flavor’ so I try not to change them too often.”

The Witching Flour is a one-person operation with Gee performing all the duties of running a bakery. However, her parents and fiance do help run the front of the store during its hours of operation from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Gee will close the bakery earlier when she sells out of pastries.

“I’m still figuring that part out,” she said. “It is just me so I think I make about 300 to 400 pastries on a Saturday and on a Sunday. I’m trying to make more and I’m still trying to figure out what people are looking for when they come in. Seeing what works and what doesn’t.”

Baking is something Gee has enjoyed since she was a child. She also loved to cook. After graduating high school, she attended culinary school for cooking and quickly realized she did not want to work in the kitchen.

“Baking was truly where I thrived,” she said. “After I went to culinary school I did internships at bakeries and then I got jobs working in restaurants or bakeries, places where I really was lucky enough to experiment on my own and sort of teach myself all the elements of baking and kind of discovered what I was really interested in.”

Gee is able to showcase her baking talent at The Witching Flour.

“It’s been very nice and welcoming and it’s all happening organically,” she said of opening her bakery. “I get busier every weekend. I have regulars already and everybody seems happy to be there. It’s really sweet and humbling. And I’m just grateful that people want to eat my treats and I’m able to do what I love. I’ve come a long way to get here.”