Kacie Smagacz moved to Charlotte just a little over three years ago. In that short amount of time, she’s left an imprint on the city already with her healthy recipes, vegan baking, and community involvement. Kacie has big plans for 2017, and you can expect to see much more of Move That Dough Baking Co. in the city.
When did you first start baking?
I learned to bake a bit from my grandmother, whose chocolate chip cookies are still the best I can remember. She’s the one who taught me not to touch a hot stove top and I so much remember her getting out a rolling mat and working with dough.
What is your training background with baking?
I had formal training about ten years ago in my first bakery job at a local cookie shop in Omaha, and a few years after that, I helped as the first employee at a startup bakery in Omaha that quickly grew. That’s when I developed a heart for the allergy restrictions of some of the kids, largely based off of my own allergy to a growth hormone commonly found in dairy milk.
How can people get your baked goods? People can find my stuff at my new home! The team at Two Scoops Creamery has been gracious enough to prepare a space for me to bake out of, host classes out of, and come January, I plan on hosting brunches and lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as every other Saturday with a community focus. “Solidarity Saturday” aims to engage a local organization and to bring in donations for said organization. So far we have stood with Urban Ministry Center and want to do so more and more, because without community, what are we?
How did this start as a business?
I was a photographer in Omaha for years, specializing in weddings and doing food photography for my own stuff on the side. When I started learning about how our bodies truly work with the food we put in them, my whole drive shifted. People don’t need to say “no” completely to all forms of sweetness-this is an extreme thing to demand at first, in a culture where sugar penetrates everything from our milk to our jars of pasta sauce.
What drives you?
I want to provide healthier forms of indulgence. I still do photography work and have the pleasure of being a columnist/photographer for My City Magazine. I am a musician. I am an artist. I volunteer to teach nutrition at a local school and am trying to provide a healthy lunch once a week there, through volunteers as lunch people and using donated food from Trader Joes and other local organic farms.
Tell me about your experience with veganism.
I have been surrounded by a lot of passionate vegans throughout the last 8 years or so-from my coworkers and old boss at Caffeine Dreams in Omaha to coworkers at Central Coffee and my best friend, the reason I moved to Charlotte. My interest started because of the health of the human body.
What do you feel like people should know about vegan baking?
With baking, animal products are not necessary… sure it’s the science most bakers are used to, but we can reinforce baked goods with vital nutrients and minerals instead of forcing cholesterol into consumer’s bodies, clogging their arteries and leading to heart disease.
Anything coming up next for you we should know about? Definitely! Growing into the space at Two Scoops after the new year is a huge step-for now the easiest way to keep up with events is by following me on Instagram at @movethatdoughbakingco and January is when we start the Tuesday/Thursday brunches.
