Baking bread in lockdown London

Sophia Sutton-Jones has had a passion for baking since childhood. During lockdown, a neighbour recommended her bread to other neighbours after she baked them a loaf. Soon, there was a queue outside her door.

Sophia: I've always baked bread and it's part of my childhood, part of my life. And so, I just baked a bread for a neighbour and saw what, what was going to happen. And that neighbour then recommended me to other neighbours and very quickly within a couple of weeks, we had a queue in front of our house for bread."

Sophia's bread is baked by the traditional sourdough method which many believe makes a healthier and tastier loaf.

The popularity of her bread meant Sophia soon ran out of space to bake in her London home.

Sophia: "There was definitely a need locally for good sourdough bread and we very quickly jumped into buying a mixer and a fridge and a table and kitted out the entire dining room, our bedroom, our guest room was the storage for flour. And only a few months later did we say we need a proper space."

Sophia and her husband realised they needed a proper space to bake and sell their sourdough. The couple set up an online campaign to raise money for their new business. Many of their Instagram followers donated and now 'Sourdough Sophia' has opened for business.

Customers queue down the street to purchase her sourdough along with croissants, pain au chocolat and muffins.

Sophia works 14 hours a day at her bakery. But Sophia says that as long as her customers are happy, it's worth it.

Sophia: "I don't mind it because it's worth it. It, you can, when you see that customer coming in with that smile on her face telling me how amazing it was what I've made, I just, it, it makes it all worth it. It doesn't matter how long I've worked and how much I've done."

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