SoDo Donuts, the Bay Area’s first all-sourdough donut company, gained a cult following over three years of pop-ups at East Bay farmers markets, flower shops and street fairs.
Owner Elle Cowan has become known for sophisticated flavors like a kaya and coffee (kaya is a Southeast Asian coconut custard flavored with pandan leaves) and caramelized leek and chevre cheese. All with a signature sourdough tang, crusty interior (in a good way, like your favorite sourdough bread) and pillowy insides.
Now, Cowan is ready to bring her toolkit of sourdough starter, powdered sugar, curds, creams and custards to her first fixed location. On March 21, SoDo Donuts and sister company EC Confections are launching a food “residency” at Hammerling Wines in Berkeley’s Gilman District
On Yelp, fans call Cowan’s donuts the most “excellent best-tasting donuts ever,” with “the perfect combination of sweetness with the right amount of flavors.”
Although Cowan was born in Santa Cruz, she has deep roots in the Bay Area; she’s an 8th-generation Californian and is a descendant of the Peralta family, which developed the East Bay in the 19th century. (Check out the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park in Oakland’s Fruitvale District if you want to know more about the Peraltas and their legacy.)
Elle Cowan launched SoDo in 2022, riffing off a sourdough donut recipe she developed while working in Bangkok. Credit: Bex Wyant/Courtesy of Hammering Wines and SoDo Donuts
She attended culinary school and began her career managing pastry and chocolate programs in Los Angeles, New York, and abroad, before moving to the Bay Area in 2020. Two years later, she combined the Bangkok sourdough donut recipe she developed abroad with inspiration and flavors from California’s abundant seasonal produce to launch SoDo Donuts.
“The idea for sourdough donuts started at a cafe I worked at in Bangkok,” Cowan says. “We had a donut on the menu that took too long to prepare each morning. I realized that by switching to sourdough, we could develop the flavor overnight and simply bring the dough to room temperature in the morning.”
“When I moved back to California, I noticed no one in the Bay Area was making sourdough donuts and decided to bring them here. It’s technically healthier (not claiming it’s a healthy food!) with sourdough being better for digestion and easier to eat more than one.”
She has a long history with Josh Hammerling; they’ve collaborated on donut popups at Hammerling on First Fridays at the Gilman Wine Block. Both felt that offering more permanent food and nonalcoholic options would lend to a family-friendly vibe at the winery and allow those who don’t imbibe to join friends for an afternoon of sipping and tasting.
With the residency, Cowan is “bringing savory into the mix for the first time.”
SoDo Donuts rotates flavors based on seasonal ingredients. Credit: Bex Wyant/Courtesy of Hammering Wines and SoDo Donuts
Donut flavors will span a wide range from chrysanthemum vanilla to sour cream and onion, and Cowan will also serve sandwiches and focaccia (vegan and vegetarian options available, along with options loaded with cheese, eggs, and prosciutto. For now, Cowan is offering seven donut flavors, though she may be able to offer more options as she staffs up.
“My recipes draw heavily from my background as a pastry chef,” says Cowan. “Rather than standard pastry creams, I use seasonal custards, curds, and jams. You’ll see a strong influence from both Asian flavors and California farmers’ markets. Our signature donut, the Kaya Jam + Coffee glaze, is actually inspired by Singaporean Kaya Toast.”
“My inspiration is from what’s growing in my backyard and what farmers are growing seasonally. Right now, I am getting lemons from my backyard and from friends and family, so on the menu right now is Backyard Lemon Curd, which is a lemon curd made with olive oil instead of butter and topped with a vanilla bean cream for a lemon creamsicle moment.”
“I want to have rotating specials,” Cowan says about her new Hammerling residency. “Josh and I are trying to build something together that complement each other. We want to make sure we’re making something fun.”
The SoDo offerings at Hammering include savory items, such as focaccia and sandwiches. Credit: Bex Wyant/Courtesy of Hammering Wines and SoDo Donuts
Cowan’s booth will also include nonalcoholic drinks like homemade blood orange and thyme soda and Thai tea, along with cold and hot coffee drinks — she’s crossing her fingers that her new espresso machine will be up and running by launch day.
“We’ll try to incorporate international drinks and change seasonally,” she said.
Cowan relocated her operation from Berkeley Kitchens not long ago and is still settling into a new facility in Emeryville, where, for the first time, she’ll have her own proofer and fryer.
To start, the SoDo/Hammerling residency will operate every Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will also be open during the Gilman Block Party every first Friday of the month from 3-8 p.m. As Cowan trains new staff and gets familiar with her new kitchen, she hopes to extend opening hours on weekends and eventually open on Fridays as well.
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