Marcus Sennefelder becomes Denmark’s first bread sommelier

Baker Marcus Sennefelder has become Denmark’s first bread sommelier, a qualification focused on bread’s aromas, textures and cultural history, DR reports.

Sennefelder works at Det Lille Køkken in Lille Skensved, near Køge. He completed the training on Tuesday at Akademie Deutsches Bäckerhandwerk Weinheim in Germany, the only place in the world where the qualification is offered.

“I’m very proud, incredibly happy and relieved,” he said. The training has given him a new understanding of bread and taught him to value it as a food in its own right, rather than something associated mainly with everyday meals.

Sennefelder says he is passionate about the subject and wants to keep improving. He now hopes to hold bread tastings, similar to wine tastings.

Interest in bread and baking has also grown among Danes more broadly, according to Bettina Buhl, a food historian and museum curator at Det Grønne Museum. She said the trend was evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many people became interested in sourdough baking. Buhl linked the broader popularity of bread to rising prosperity, which has allowed people to seek out distinctive flavours from specialist bakeries.