From a lockdown sourdough delivery service to opening their fifth bakery has been a six year journey for Sophia Handschuh and Jesse Sutton-Jones.
Their daughter Hermione was nine months old when they started the business from the kitchen of their Crouch End flat.
Today's she's nearly seven with a younger brother and two very busy parents running bakeries in Hampstead, Highgate, Angel and Crouch End - and as of this month, Primrose Hill.
"It's been bonkers!" says Jesse of juggling their fast growing business with family life.
"Sophia and I made the decision not to get nannies to do the child raising for us, so we build the routine around that."
He remembers lockdown 2020 "carrying 20kg bags of flour up four flights of stairs to store them in Hermione's room, and Sophia baking with her on her hip".
The couple were running a blog and baking classes when Covid struck and they had to pivot.
"It was at the time you couldn't get fresh bread, people were banging on the door for loaves and we had nothing to lose," says Jesse who had to persuade Sophia to go along with his idea.
"She thought you would never make any money from a bakery because you needed to reach a scale and sell a lot of bread to pay the bills."
After six months delivering loaves around the neighbourhood on his bike, Jesse and Sophia crowdfunded to open their first Sourdough Sophia bakery in Crouch End.
"We were very naive, it was days before Christmas, we didn't expect anyone to come and we were still hiring people for a trial shift on our bake day," he confesses.
"We forgot to put salt in the dough and had to tell everyone on Instagram we'd delayed the opening by a day.
"But we still had a socially distanced queue all the way around the corner and for six months it stayed like that - we would sell out by 10am every day."
For a year they kept buying more equipment, hiring more staff, and selling out, until it became clear they had reached capacity.
"We had run out of room and needed to pack it in or scale up," says Jesse.
That's when they expanded to Essex Road, Swain's Lane and Perrin's Court.
"With all the openings we have crowdfunded to be able to do them," he says.
"There is no private equity in the business - we went to the banks but they wanted us to have 80 per cent of funds committed and we don't have rich friends or family.
"So we just asked our customers via email if they wanted to own a piece of Sourdough Sophia and we were blown away by the response.
"There are so many people with savings who want to do something positive and are prepared to take a small risk to support a business they care about."
Their most recent round raised £1 million from a 15,000 strong email list to open in Primrose Hill.
Jesse says because all the stakes are small nobody will lose their shirt, but equally "no-one has a large say in the business".
"Sophia and I are still driving the direction of the business as we have from day one. We know our customers and they get our company culture. We are officially a chain but we are independent in spirit."
With a bakehouse set to open in Bermondsey, Jesse says the quality of their offer is "getting better and better".
Their original N8 Sourdough remains a bestseller but with an improved recipe, and their pistachio-filled bows and cinnamon cruffins are popular.
"Lucky for us there has been a renaissance of bakeries and there is space for them. London is densely populated and people like to go out and enjoy the variety - restaurants are suffering at the moment but you can go to a bakery and have artisan quality food for £10-£12."
The Hampstead customers love to sit and brunch, he says, while in Primrose Hill they like the savoury bites such as toast with avocado.
"It's only been a few weeks but Primrose Hill is going super well," says Jesse.
"We've had a warm reception and people are excited to have our style of bakery."
Now living in Stroud Green with a cook book deal the couple are determined to safeguard the qualities that made them successful.
"It's meticulous craft, baking in an artisanal way with high quality fresh ingredients," says Jesse.
"We care about what the end product looks and tastes like."
He cites community loyalty as a huge strength: "People feel invested emotionally in our brand and in Sophia's personality which is in every bakery.
"She's such a wonderful, nice person and we hope to capture that as we grow.
"Our bakeries radiate generosity and hospitality, you have that warm feeling coming in, from the pink branding to the big smiles, dog treats and a sticker for your child or free nappies in the toilet.
"Each of our places feels like a small neighbourhood bakery we try to connect with every community."
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