Today we’d like to introduce you to Anja Stout.
Hi Anja, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first got interested in sourdough bread when in about 2021 my friend gave me a starter that I promptly killed. I scratched my head and said to myself, “Why is this so difficult?” I thought the best way to learn sourdough was to dive in headfirst into making my own starter of which I repeatedly failed and failed and failed. I finally realized that my stubborn Sisu Finn genes needed to give up and ask for a starter instead of trying to do things the most difficult way possible.
I’ve had a few babies, and as one does when you’re sitting feeding a baby all day you scroll social media. I had found myself on the “Stay at Home Mom” and “Home Bakery” side of the internet. One day as I was scrolling (most likely at 2am in the morning) I stumbled upon an account of a stay at home mom who had turned her kitchen into a home bakery once a week in Illinois, and sold the bread from a beautifully aesthetic greenhouse on her property. She shared all about her home bakery life, her processes, and her faith. All of which was music to my ears.
A side note to this journey is it has not been linear and cohesive. There have been many starts and stops to my bakery business which I shall explain. My husband has an autoimmune disease that he developed when he was in his young teens, and so eating well when we were first married was a top priority of mine. When we had our first baby in 2021 was when my interest in food and where it comes from and how it is made really solidified for me. My eldest child developed severe food allergies when he was six months old, and it made me really start digging into the food my family ate, and why we ate it. I realized that much of our standard American diet is so heavily processed, and has so many additives that are not necessarily the most healthy. My son was diagnosed with eczema, asthma, and severe food allergies to nuts, dairy, eggs, and wheat. Anaphylactic to nuts/peanuts, and gets severe hives if he even touches eggs, dairy or wheat meaning he can be around them he just can’t touch them or eat them. If I could start completely over with my home bakery I would get all new equipment, so I could make vegan and gluten free baked products for not only my son, but for anyone else in my small community who has severe food allergies as well.
That was a side tangent, but nevertheless let us continue on with how I got into home baking as my side hustle.
Having a degree in elementary education, I loved children, but have been babysitting since I was 13. I was more than ready to settle down and teach and raise my own kids, although I may pursue teaching in the future.
If this woman on the internet could bake (which I love) and stay home with her children (which I love) why couldn’t I?
So, I went on a quest to see how I could make that dream possible.
I started making bagels because there were no good bagel places at the time around where I live, and so I started experimenting with my sourdough starter. I posted them to my local facebook groups for pickup at my home porch, and to my surprise I couldn’t keep up with the orders.
I decided that I had had enough of bagels (too much shaping, boiling and hassle in my opinion), and so I tried sourdough bread. It proved to be again more difficult than I had anticipated. It took me about 2-3 years to figure out all the nuances, bulk ferment times, and shaping techniques to make my first perfect loaf of sourdough bread. After that first loaf of beauty, I was hooked. And determined. I needed to have my own home bakery.
Because I wanted flexibility in my schedule due to having small babies, I very periodically baked and had porch pickups, but as soon as they started becoming more independent I decided to try getting out of my comfort zone.
In 2025 I did my first farmer’s market, and it gave me a taste for what farmer’s markets are like. This past year in 2026 for the farmer’s market season I have been at the Calumet Farmer’s Market, and it has been one of the greatest joys and enjoyable challenges of my career. I love seeing my community (I don’t get out much because I stay home so much haha) and I love being able to share my bakery with my community.
This hobby turned business has allowed me to scale up, and I have been able to purchase a large mixer, a second fridge, and a new oven. It’s truly incredible that I am here today. You know those tiktoks like about a photo of a small version of yourself saying “We own a home bakery?” yeah. That’s how I feel! I couldn’t do it without my wonderful in laws who have “adventure days” with my kids on my bake days, and my amazing husband for believing in me and supporting my crazy dreams (thanks honey).
I want to add that I am only one of many home bakeries who are more deserving than I to be interviewed by Voyage Michigan, and that my story is not unique. So many moms with young children have found this to be a sustainable, and enjoyable side job. They inspire me and make me incredibly proud that I live in such a place that desires that our community shares delicious homemade bakery.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the bumps in the road when I first started were figuring out how to bake sourdough with no outside help. Essentially I was too stubborn to ask anyone and didn’t know what resources were available to learn how to bake a proper loaf.
I found “The Sourdough Journey” YouTube channel, and the man who runs that channel has essentially read many of the top sourdough bakers cookbooks, and made them into a lecture series on YouTube. I binged the lectures, and now I’ve gone from amateur to semi-professional because of him!
Another obstacle I found in the beginning was I was baking too much for the market I was going to. I had essentially gotten ahead of myself in thinking that there was more demand than I thought there was. The goal for me at the time wasn’t necessarily to sell out, it was moreso to learn the nuances of baking large batches and quantities.
Since I learned to bake in large batches my next quest was to find a place where I could gain more customers. I decided to try another market, and have had much more luck. In fact, a few weeks ago I sold out!
There have been lots of health challenges with my husband and son, and so I am so grateful to have found a job that allows me the flexibility to mostly set my own schedule, and take breaks when my family needs me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a specialty artisan for the Calumet Farmer’s Market in Calumet, MI and my porch at my home in Lake Linden. I specialize in baking sourdough bread, bagels, cookies, muffins, and focaccia.
I am most proud of how far this business has come since 2021. I was just a postpartum mom baking for fun, and now I run a full on home bakery that bakes 40-60 loaves of bread a week for my local farmer’s market.
I honestly don’t think I’m that special. But, I think I have the tenacity to keep going when it was difficult, amazing business mentors, a supportive family, ability to recognize what works for me and my family and not stretch myself past what I am capable of doing, and patience to realize that small businesses take 5-10 years before they are profitable.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think currently there is a huge home bakery trend, but it’s nothing new. There have been home bakers baking cakes, bread, and baked goods for generations. In the next 5-10 years there are going to be a lot of home bakers quitting because it’s too saturated of a market, and I think the really good home bakers are going to become certified and licensed bakers. So hopefully there’s going to be an influx of good bakeries! Which I love to see because more competition means better products.
Pricing:
- $10 for a loaf of regular homemade sourdough bread is pretty standard
- $12-15 for loaves with added fruits or nuts is standard for home bakeries
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lake_linden_baking?igsh=MW4xcGM5cnZiZHpoZg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BQDVDgyHi/?mibextid=wwXIfr
