Sick leave leads Maiken to launch a home bakery

After several long periods of sick leave interrupted her career in professional kitchens, Maiken Mondrup has built a successful home bakery in Hedensted, DR reports.

She converted an old children’s bedroom into a baking area with a refrigerator, oven and mixer. At weekends, she turns her utility room into a bakery where she sells sourdough bread and cakes.

Many weekends, she sells out.

“I thought this was where I should try to make something from home,” Mondrup says.

She initially baked only for people on her street. As demand grew, she registered a business. Her customers mainly come from Hedensted and the surrounding area, but also from Horsens, Juelsminde and Kolding.

“I am working at full capacity right now, so I hope to buy another oven so I can bake more,” Mondrup says.

She believes customers buy her bread because it is made from scratch without additives, and because it keeps better and has more flavour.

Mondrup also welcomes having customers come to her home.

“I simply love the contact with customers. When they are here, we often get into conversations about sourdough. I like that it is a little old-fashioned and homely,” she says.

Food as part of personal identity

Home bakeries are appearing in several places, as demand grows for bread made from scratch with few ingredients.

Trend researcher Julia Lahme says the development is linked to the way people increasingly use food to express who they are.

“Just as we buy a stylish jumper, we buy the right coffee or good bread. We can use what we eat as part of creating our identity,” Lahme says.

That also makes people willing to pay a little more for sourdough bread, she says.

“Food has increasingly become a kind of luxury product for us. We buy good food when we want to show who we are,” Lahme says.