19 April 10th-April 16th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Rolling On How a mother- daughter duo became Mesa’s cinnamon roll queens. BY MIKE MADRIAGA I nside a nondescript strip mall off Guadalupe Road in Mesa, a warm, sweet scent spills out from Our Community Kitchen and its adjoining retail space, The Kitchen’s Market, a shared culinary hub buzzing with artisan makers. This concept is home to Rolled Out Bakery, a cinnamon roll operation run by mother-daughter duo Erica White and Hannah Miles. What began as a way to feed a growing family on a tight budget has since grown into a full-fledged small business, rooted in love, learning and a lot of yeast. “I didn’t know how to bake when I got married,” White laughs. “All I could do was boiled rice, salad and cookies.” But everything changed right before she had her first daughter 25 years ago. With time on her hands and money running low, she turned to a cookbook and started experimenting in the kitchen. Bagels and bread were among the first things White learned to make. She jokes that she went into labor while baking that first batch of bagels. Over the years, while her then-husband was at work, White cared for their eight children and dove deeper into the world of baking. The more she practiced, the more her confidence grew. Rising to the occasion By 2001, she was baking full-time from home and a friend helped her deliver baskets of muffins and cookies to the Mesa Police Department. Because she couldn’t enter the secure building, the friend would take the treats inside and a mason jar with a hole cut in the lid to collect cash donations. “Each time, she returned with an empty basket and a jar full of money,” White says. Miles, her second child, was born shortly after. She grew up with the scent of fresh-baked bread filling the house and fond memories of her mom’s kitchen creations. “My mom always had a knack for baking,” Miles says. “She was always making something for us, and it was always a treat.” As White’s skills evolved, so did her tools. She upgraded to a Bosch mixer, a machine with a unique bottom motor and central post that allowed her to mix large batches. She could make four dozen cinnamon rolls or four to five loaves of bread at a time. With the family growing into a house- hold of 10, White baked constantly — treating not only her children but also her neighbors in Mesa. That neighborly gener- osity eventually sparked a business idea, encouraged by friends who told White, “You could sell these!” “I had little ones in a stroller, and I’d be pushing it down Main Street with a container of fresh cookies, going door to door,” White recalls. “I sold a few, and I got a lot of weird looks.” Unfazed, she kept baking and making moves — and so did Miles. “She was always my sidekick in the kitchen,” White says. “Not all my Rolled Out Bakery’s melt-in-your-moth cinnamon rolls are the star of the show. (Rolled Out Bakery) Mother-daughter duo Erica White (right) and Hannah Miles serve standout cinnamon rolls at their company Rolled Out Bakery. (Mike Madriaga) >> p 20 ▼ Food & Drink
