My name is Anne.
In 2013, I bought a book about bread. I had just moved to California from Germany and missed German bread and the small neighborhood bakeries that you find all over the country.
Up until then, I was convinced that it was impossible to bake great bread at home. Edible bread, sure, maybe even a decent loaf, but that would surely be it. But I was drawn in by the tantalizingly beautiful photographs and stunning design of the book, so I decided to give it a try anyway.
I patiently made my own sourdough starter, baked my first loaf, and tumbled down the rabbit hole...
My baking addiction has gotten progressively worse, and I have discovered that, for me, the greatest pleasure lies in sharing the bread I bake with other people.
As you may have guessed, Backhaus is German for "bakehouse." Dating all the way back to ancient Rome, many farms, communities, and villages had their own bakehouse. They were created to outsource baking to a separate building, which was not only safer, but also more economical, because larger amounts of bread could be baked at once, and people could share the effort and costs involved in building and maintaining an oven.
Bakehouses became a place for the whole community to gather and socialize while they waited for their bread to finish baking. To this day, few things embody the spirit of coming together and sharing a meal as well as 'breaking bread' together. And for me, no meal is complete without good bread.
Our goal is to become a true neighborhood bakery café: a place where you can gather with friends and family, enjoy great bread, relax with a cup of coffee and delicious pastries, and even learn how to make bread yourself.
Backhaus started out as a Cottage Food Operation, meaning all of our breads and pastries were baked in our home kitchen. A couple of months after we started out, we moved our production to KitchenTown, a local commercial kitchen and food startup incubator in San Mateo. Our talented team is steadily growing and we are now ready to give Backhaus its own home - and what better place to do that than in the heart of the very community that has helped us grow and supported us from the very beginning.
We couldn't be more excited to open our doors to you in downtown San Mateo.
