Why "Myrtle Bird"?
Hope "RJ" Karibian, founder and owner of Myrtle Bird Bakery, was born and raised in the Killeen / Harker Heights area. She graduated from Harker Heights High School in 2012, and soon after went to culinary school in Abilene, TX, and then finished her degree in Waco, TX to specialize in pastry. Food had always inspired her since she was a teenager, and she knew from then on she would specialize in this field for many years to come.
The representation of the Myrtle Bird is the combination of many things that are significant in RJ's life: one being that crepe myrtles were apart of her childhood, always blooming during late spring and making the warm air smell sweet. The birds of Central Texas (especially the Myrtle Bird during the winter migrations) are another thing that always inspired RJ and her call to nature since she was little. Ever since, she has been inspired by the nature, and the local products, on offer in Central Texas.
To represent the beauty and inspiration Central Texas has on this bakery, we specialize in southern comfort classics that are timeless, sourced locally, and, most of all, made with love and are delicious. Each recipe is sourced by local ingredients that are either hand-picked at orchards, sourced by local farmers and artisans, or carefully researched and ordered from small Texan businesses. Our recipes were also tested for years on end, making sure that each cake, cookie and loaf of bread were perfectly crafted for the best product.
We hope you enjoy our products as much as we enjoy making them. We look forward to serving you!
Our Sources
We love to be honest about our ingredients.
We would love to point out that we occasionally get our produce, and other ingredients, from other sources, such as:
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Us! A few of our family members make grow and harvest our ingredients, such as the zucchini in our chocolate zucchini bread, figs for our fig and goat cheese scones, and our farm-fresh eggs.
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Sometimes, blueberries will be out of season in the mid-late summer and fall, so we freeze large batches after we pick, or we find fresh, local and organic blueberries and other produce from various organic sources.
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At this time, our sugar-cane sugar, extract, oat, dairy and leavening products are conventional. We are working hard to make the shift to make everything either local, or organic (hopefully both at the same time!)
We are, however, mostly sourced with local, home-grown ingredients, which we are very proud of! As our journey continues, we will continue to switch to more local products. We appreciate y'all joining the journey with us!
