Baking bread in lockdown London

Life under lockdown has inspired Londoner Sophia Sutton-Jones to start up her own business.

News of her culinary skills spread after she took a homemade loaf of bread to a neighbour who was unable to leave their house.

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."

Due to a shortage of yeast during lockdown, Sophia turned to the ancient sourdough method for her loaves. Sourdough has experienced a rise in popularity in recent years and Sophia was soon struggling to keep up with demand.

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, who, prior to lockdown, sold kitchen equipment, launched a kickstarter campaign to secure the funds for a commercial bakery. With investment from a growing crowd of Instagram followers, the couple were soon able to establish the pastel pink 'Sourdough Sophia'. Queues snake round the block for a chance to snap up Sophia's loaves, croissants, pain au chocolat, muffins and cruffins.

Running a bakery is no easy task. But how does Sophia feel about the 14 hours a day she now spends in her shop?

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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