Rhonda is a professional artist with many talents. When she was younger, she made her living any way she could – by hanging wallpaper, waitressing and cleaning houses. Now, she’s a painter, a potter, a jewelry maker, a yoga teacher, a bass player, a whole grain sourdough bread baker and a cheesemaker.
On top of all that – When she was living on Ocracoke Island in 1994, she won the North Carolina Release Award for catching the most Citation Red Drum Fish in one year. She tagged and released 87 big fish. To be a Citation they had to be 40 inches or longer(!)
Rhonda’s Story
I’m in North Carolina on the OuterBanks on Hatteras Island. I’m married and I have two grown boys and one six year old granddaughter.
In 2000, we built our wood burning kiln and my painting studio and then our house in Frisco. We’ve been here for 20 years.
Twelve years later, after renting different retail spaces, we finally bought an old cottage that had been lifted up after Hurricane Emily in 92. The whole underneath is a big open space that we turned into a theater and now it’s a yoga studio. It also has a kitchen where we might do some bread baking and cheese making classes.
My husband, Wes is an amazing banjo player and plays guitar and has a beautiful voice. He also writes songs. Did I mention that he teaches yoga? Yes, he’s a yoga instructor!
I’ve been making whole grain sourdough bread for about 5 years. Cheese making is very new.
Pottery and painting are my job. I have a shop called Red Drum Pottery and a website – reddrumpottery.com and another one – Batesgallery.com.
In my studio, I’m always coming up with something new. I’ve created over 600 molds to make our relief tiles (and over 100 ornament molds).
Last August I had a showing of my paintings sponsored by our local arts council in the old court house in Manteo, NC (on Roanoke Island). Painting is my true love!
My bread is mostly whole grain spelt. I have a Mockmill so I can buy fresh organic grains and grind my own. I make a young levain with rolled oats and a rye starter I make the night before.
I also bake with Kamut, Emmer, Einkorn and different white and red whole wheat. Sometimes I add all of them. Sometimes I add other things like buckwheat millet and sorghum.
I make cinnamon raisin bread with spelt. And I add pumpkin seeds and other seeds and nuts to some of my loaves.
In 2021, some of my bread friends on Wholegrain Sourdough Baker (Alfiya Todd and Shirley Hampshire) started making cheese and posting pictures and I became intrigued.
Years ago I had made some yogurt cheese (I guess back in my old hippy, back to the land survival days. Back then, I had a big garden and canned a lot. I started making bread, too, but I didn’t get into sourdough until the last 5 years.
So, now, I’m hooked on making cheese.
I’ve been collecting tools and cultures, etc.
I have a cheap press I got off of Amazon. I’ll eventually get a better one. It’s kinda flimsy.
I happened to already have the cheese cave.
Mainly, I like learning new things and I love a challenge. And it’s opening up a whole new world. I’ve been watching videos and I’ve bought 3 books so far. I’ve bought a lot of my supplies from New England Cheese Making Supply Co. (Thanks for being there!)
It’s a new challenge for me. And I find it really interesting and kinda like caring for a pet. I flip my cheese and wipe it and watch it change. It’s fascinating.
I started with Belper Knolle, cream cheese, feta and whey ricotta.
Then, I got bold and made a blue cheese from Stilton Crumbles – a type of crumbly delicious blue cheese with a natural rind which I bought at Fresh Market. I took a few pea-sized pieces and broke them up into tiny pieces and whisked it into my milk when I put the mesophilic culture in. I also took some and smeared it on a piece of sourdough bread and let it grow on the bread. Then, I dried it out and put it in a jar.
Now, I have blue culture to inoculate future batches. I have a blue cheese ripening in my cave right now. It’s been in there for 12 days and it’s getting blue. I’ll poke holes in it today to get the blue veins to form. I made it with the blue mold I grew on the sourdough bread. It worked really well, much to my amazement!
I’m going to share some of my blue cheese with a friend this weekend. She’s a cheese enthusiast. So, I hope she is impressed.
I’ve signed up for the Blue Cheese Challenge in the Learn to Make Cheese group of Facebook. It’s so much fun.
I also just got a yogurt maker and some special bacteria that’s supposed to help you in every way (L-Reuteri). It has to be cultured at 100F for 36 hours. My friend’s husband who has Parkinson’s is eating it and it’s supposed to help with autoimmune diseases and osteoporosis and dementia and it makes your skin young again. I had to try making my own.*
My goal is to have a cheese tasting party. I am in a meditation group. Every Tuesday night we meet and every time, I bring something to share – gluten free cookies or homemade bread. And I’m wanting to share something different. I think everyone would love to try my homemade cheese.
I didn’t realize how rare it was. I posted my blue cheese on Facebook and all my friends were very complimentary and amazed. I guess cheese making is not something everyone does. And my friends are curious.
I might get some more converts. I might even do a cheese workshop at my shop. I have a kitchen below and I’ve had a few people ask about it.
I love cooking, baking and making new things. I’ve always loved cheese and now I can make and experiment with natural rinds. I might even come up with my own unique cheeses!
Red Drum Pottery
reddrumpottery.com
Bates Gallery
Batesgallery.com
*It’s just like making regular yogurt but you use the L.Reuteri culture and 2 quarts of half and half. And you add Inulin powder as a prebiotic. I make a slurry and add it to some yogurt from a previous batch and some half and half then add in the rest of the half and half.
If you watch Dr. William Davis’s YouTube video he explains how fermenting it a long time makes the L.Reuteri grow a lot more than conventional yogurt.
Ann Dorward says
WOW …you are amazing! I like how you made your own “bleu”!! I am going to try that! I made Camembert from my goat’s milk ..and had a reveal on Mother’s Day! It turned out fantastic! I have been longing to try bleu cheese with goat’s milk. You just inspired me to it!
Susan says
Wow, Rhonda! If I had half your energy then I’d be a force! Two questions for you:
1) Can you share your starter, feeding and levain recipe in either weights or measure? I’ve only used 100% einkorn, as that’s what I have baked with, but interested in the grains and amounts you’re using. Also interested in where you got your recipes, if a website or books so I can expand my sourdough horizons.
2) Is the LR/half and half producing something like a cultured cream cheese (vs yogurt)? It seems like it would. I’m familiar with Dr. Davis, so interested!
Hi Susan,
I keep a rye starter in my refrigerator. When ever I bake bread whatever I take out I put back in. Like I use 30g of starter for a loaf 🍞 of bread. I put 15g of rye flour and 15g of water and stir it into the starter to feed it. Then put it back in the refrigerator. If I’m not baking every day or two I will take out a larger amount of starter and replace it with a larger amount of flour and water. About every two or three weeks. Usually I take out about 100g flour and water and add in 100g new flour and water. But before I make bread I make a young levain the night before. I use 30g of starter and 100g of rolled oats and 100g of water. Then I mix up the young levain and flour and salt and water the next morning.I then usually use 600g of flour and 85% hydration which is 510g of water and 2 teaspoons of salt. And all the young levain. I mix it together and let it sit for about an hour. Then every hour about I stretch and fold it. Cover and do that again in another hour. After about 4-6 hours the dough gets puffy. I a SF and put it out on my counter. I SF and a shape it. I put a towel over it and let it rest for 30 minutes then I SF and shape it again. Then I put it in a pan. I use the USA pullman pan. Because I like straight sides for slices. I let it rise covered until it just reaches the top of the pan. You want to put it in the oven when it’s on the way up. If you let it go to high it will over proof and sink in the middle when you bake it. So err on the side of under proofing. I put it in a cold oven and bake at 35O F I start the timer when it reaches temperature. I bake for 55 minutes then I cover it with foil and bake for 55 more mist 350F. I check the internal temp should be 205-210. Let us cool before cutting. Sometimes I put the dough in the pans in the refrigerator overnight covered and bake in the morning. Cold out of the refrigerator unless it needs a little more rising. In a cold oven.
I’ve learned a lot from Whole Grain Sourdough Baker on FB I would recommend you check that out. I use all Organic Wholegrains and Ancient Grains that I grind i in my Mockmill. Spelt and Einkorn are my favorites. But I like to mix them up. I also add pumpkin seeds to my loaves sometimes.
Susan, The L.Reuteri comes out like really thick yogurt. Not sour cream to me.
Rhonda, thank you for taking the time to explain all that detail. So fascinating! I’m intrigued that you’re getting all of that rise from just straight rolled oats with a rye starter and rye levain! I will indeed check out the FB group you mentioned. I’ve only baked sourdough with pure Einkorn starter, levain and dough (or if GF non-grain just cassava, almond, coconut, etc, but those are quick breads). You’ve piqued my interest to take an artisan breads class locally at Artisan Baking Center from some of the master bread makers who they bring in! Thanks also for the comment about the LR result. Like I said, you’re a FORCE!
Oh, one thing I forgot to ask…I assume that you’re milling the rolled oats into flour for the bread dough, or are you leaving the oats whole?
I’m leaving the rolled oats whole. You will be surprised at how well they make a young levain. There is a lady named Elly on Wholegrain Sourdough Baker that came up with the idea. She has some videos and there is a recipe in the files at Wholegrain SD Baker
Hi Susan, I’m curious about Cavassa. What does that taste like. I make some GF sourdough sometimes but I haven’t found a recipe that I really like.
Thanks,
Rhonda
Hi Rhonda, thanks for clarifying about the whole oats — that’s great! Cassava is an ancient tuber from South America and tapioca is the starch extracted from it whereas cassava is the whole tuber. I actually don’t find that it has a strong “flavor” but it works great in many GF recipes. I’d probably describe it as a kind of a nutty potato flavor. If you go to Otto’s website (a primary supplier in the US) you’ll see a ton of recipes using it. Zenbelly and The Paleo Mom websites also have a lot of recipes that use it. The Siete brand offers 2 Cassava based “tortillas” which I love — especially the cassava chia, as well as cassava “tortilla” chips, also yummy. But I’ve never attempted to use it in sourdough, only quick breads, cookies, and the like. I find it very useful for those applications. Whole Foods out here in the west sells Otto’s but you can buy it directly, on Amazon and other places. I like that it is a whole food, vs just starch, as are almond and coconut flours. It also works well for feeding a crowd with food sensitivities because it’s not a nut, seed or grain! Try it!
Thanks Susan I just ordered some! I can’t wait to try it. The tortillas sound really good too!
Wow, Rhonda, from yoga to cheese making, you are a true renaissance woman! Your art work is absolutely vibrant and passion shows through in everything you do. Thank you for sharing your story and happy cheese making!
HI! I’ve been to Red Drum Pottery. I love pottery and have quite a bit so I must have at least one of yours. I live in Texas and hoping to make it back over there again. Glad you enjoy cheesemaking and looks you are having a really good time with it. Good luck with everything.
WOW! You are doing everything I am doing or wish I was doing.
I have been making sourdough bread for quite a while now (still learning) and I just started using a Mockmill to mill wheat berries. Love experimenting with all of Breadtopia’s heirloom varieties. I have a pizza dough going right now. 😊
I also have been making yogurt for a long time and Dr. Davis’s yogurt for about a month. I use a sous vide. I got the idea from Paulette in a different interview. My super gut yogurt always separates into curds and whey and thickens up before the 36 hours are up, though, so I stop the process at that point. I am concerned the bacteria are running out of food. Does yours do that also?
I have been growing an organic garden forever. I love to garden and then to ferment the vegetables turning them into nutritional powerhouses. And so tasty too. Maybe you haven’t tried culturing vegetables yet. I think you may enjoy it.
I have dabbled with painting and drawing. Would love to do more.
Bought a harmonica and a “learn to play” book several decades ago. Still haven’t invested the time in that yet.
I love practicing yoga and meditating.
I bought my first cheesemaking kit from New England Cheese Making Supply Co. over a decade ago but had no luck making mozzarella cheese so I gave up. I was working then with little to no time to spare but I am retired now and I am looking forward to making cheese. Although, somehow I still have little to no time to spare. I recently bought more supplies and am almost ready to start. Just need to get a cheese cave and I will be all set. I am really looking forward to it.
I have always enjoyed working with wood building things.
The list of my interests and the things that I want to do just keeps growing. There are just not enough hours in the day for everything.
Proud mother and pet parent, artist (painter, potter, jewelry maker), musician, yoga instructor, sourdough bread baker, yogurt maker, and, of course, a cheese maker. And so much more I am sure. Who could ask for more.
Very inspiring story. Thank you Rhonda.
Hi Joe,
You sound like a kindred spirit!
Isn’t Life Wonderful!!Are you a member of Whole Grain Sourdough Baker on FB?If not you should check it out. Everyone is So Nice and giving. Actually that’s where I learned about Learn to make Cheese. Some of the same people are in both.I use a yogurt maker a Luvele. It’s programmable to 100 degrees for 24 hours. I add another 12 hours to make 36. So far it hasn’t separated into curds and Whey. I put in 4 tablespoons of Inulin. It’s Amazing! Even my Chihuahuas love it. I wish I could garden here. I’ve tried. I have a garden. I grew worms to amend my sand. I don’t really have soil even though I’ve been working on it for 20 years. It’s really hot,dry and windy here. I had a ground water pump put in but now it’s sucking up salt water. I’ve kinda given up the last couple of years until I can figure out another water source.
Happy Cheese Making! And thanks for your response!
Rhonda
Hello Rhonda and YES! Life is wonderful!
Although I tend to avoid FB I will check out “Whole Grain Sourdough Baker”. This is a pretty nice community right here also.
I have been making the “Super Gut Yogurt” recipe at the higher temperature recommended in the recipe. Perhaps that is why it is separating. I use equal parts inulin and potato starch. I am making some L. reuteri now at 100 degrees; twenty-two hours to go.
If you haven’t tried raised bed gardening, that may help. Linda Ly at the “Garden Betty” website is one source for information. There are a lot more, of course. Using raised beds allows you to control the soil you plant in.
I had a worm farm once. I did not feel I could care for them the way they needed so I released them into my garden.
No ideas how to solve your water issue. We have a “master gardener” program here in NY through the Cornell cooperative extension. They are here to help us novices. Perhaps you have something there locally. If you have a local farmers market the vendors may be able to help with ideas.
I know that you may have already thought of these things and even tried them. Hope you figure it out. Gardening is a wonderful hobby and so rewarding. Like everything else you do.
Hi Joe, we are on our 4th batch of L.Reuteri yogurt now. It’s really addictive. Last night we went to a party and I ate some sugary treats. My stomach didn’t feet very well on the way home. But my body said L. Reuteri and I ate some and felt much better. I’ve been mostly sugar free for about a year.
I have my garden in raised beds. It’s also a time factor. I’m so busy in the summer and I’m getting where I just can’t do everything I used to do. And some of my priorities are changing. But it still grieves me I don’t have a vegetable garden. I had one for so many years. And I’m very conscious of my food. Hopefully I will figure out the water situation and get back too it. Hopefully this fall. I really believe there is some truth to antidepressants In the soil. I Always feel good when my hands are in the dirt!
Thank you for sharing a window into your amazing and inspiring life. I’m tired (but inspired!) just reading this! 😂 Thank you for making the world a lovelier and tastier place, and sharing your gifts and energy.
Hi Pam,
I’m tired too. But I’m interested is so many things. It keeps me going. I just had a mile and a half walk and at 9 I’m going to my husband’s yoga class. Then we are going to make pottery all day. I’m making spoon rests and small bowls. I’ve got a few things to decorate and we will try to get a kiln load glazed. Then another yoga class😂 At 68 I’ve got to stay in shape to continue to make Cheese. And Eat it😂 I might have enough time to throw a couple prototypes for cheese molds. 🙏
My goodness, you are such an accomplished artist! I loved looking at your work! I’m sure your cheeses will be as fantastic as your other creations.
Hi Paulette,
I guess I’m getting addicted to cheese making. I haven’t tasted any of the moderately hard cheeses that are in my cave yet. But I think that’s going to seal the deal. Thanks for your comment.
My mom is such a beautiful person full of talent and wonder. Her key to success is a simple formula: passion + desire = creativity. She’s the kind of person who can pick up something as simple as a stone and find a way to turn it into a token of the universe. And the way she does it with such modesty and humility is the best kept lesson for us all. I have always been inspired by her example. Love you so much! Can’t wait to try the cheese!!!
Thank You Chris! That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I will cherish these words from you.
Rhonda, you are truly talented! You have the golden touch in everything you do. We are so blessed to have you in our lifes. If I were closer attending your classes would certainly be something I would do! My prayers for your continued success in all that you do!
One truly amazing lady!!
Thanks Bonita I wish you lived closer too. You are one of our tribe! I love You❤️
Rhonda, your first love is painting, but it will soon be cheese making once you taste your homemade cheeses! I applaud your multi-talented life, so creative as you are! Your pottery is inspiring, and your paintings are fabulous!
Well done, sister! Peace, and cheese on!
Hi Charles, I’m already feeling kinda cheesy. All I can do it think about Cheese. It’s really fascinating. And it’s opens up a lot of opportunities for creativity. I’ve seen some beautiful cheese on Learn to Make Cheese. I’m jumping up and down!!
Awesome! Love that you used bread mold so creatively.
Thanks Margaret! It’s something I learned on Learn to Make Cheese FB site. I’ve learned so much from
The other members.
You are absolutely amazing, Rhonda!
You are one of these rare multitalented people who have success with everything they put their heart to.
I wish I live close to your town, and learn new things from you, and attend your yoga classes and admire your pottery & paintings!
Thank you for sharing your story!
Hi Alfiya you inspire me every day. Your Beautiful Wholegrain Bread and all the delicious looking meals you create. Using your home grown vegetables. I wouldn’t be making cheese if it wasn’t for you and your wonderful cheeses and All your help! You are truly an inspiration. I wish we lived closer too. You are a kindred spirit.
Thanks Jeri! It looks Great and Thank You So much for including me in these exciting times of Cheese making!