Home visit: inside a home bakery in Japan
More and more people are turning a hobby into a career by pursuing their passions. At a home bakery in Japan, a successful business has been built on to the front of a busy family house. Step inside and be inspired…
Nurture your interests
Take time to nurture your hobby and think about how it could become more than a pastime. Whatever you’re interested in, experimentation is key to setting up a new project. This home bakery grew from experimenting with recipes in a family kitchen. Now, there’s a small shop and bakery, open three days a week, with customers travelling from far and wide to buy bread, pastries and cakes. Setting up a business at home means that when the workday is done, you’re just a few steps away from your sofa!
Source the right ingredients
Plan every aspect of your business before you get started, but don’t be afraid to change your mind as you learn. To create a relaxed atmosphere and cut down on queues, the bakery shop is self-service, so customers can load up a tray with freshly baked treats. Fresh, organic ingredients have always been an important part of the business – fruit, vegetables and herbs are grown in the garden next door, including the apples used in the scone recipe below.
Rich apple scones
Makes a batch of 12
Ingredients
225g wholewheat flour • 50g sugar (plus extra for sprinkling) • 2 teaspoons baking powder • Pinch of salt • 100g butter (plus extra for greasing) • 150g dry apple or fruit of your choice • 1 large egg • 100ml milk (plus extra for brushing)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture becomes crumbly.
3. Add the dried apple – or your chosen fruit – to the mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk, then slowly pour into the bowl containing the dry ingredients. Fold together with a round-bladed knife until the mixture forms a dough. It should feel soft, not sticky!
5. Transfer the dough on to a lightly floured worksurface. Knead a few times and flatten. The dough should measure about 2cm in thickness. Use a cutter to divide into triangular wedges, like the ones in the picture, or round discs.
6. Place each scone on to the prepared baking sheet, brush with milk and sprinkle with plenty of sugar.
7. Bake for around 25 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Remove the scones from the oven and break one open, just to be sure they are baked all the way through.
8. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Minako is the founder and owner of Kanon Bakery, in Saitama. ‘I start work at 7am, and sometimes the bakery is open until 7pm because customers reserve bread for collection,’ she says. ‘But I love my job!’ For other baking enthusiasts, Minako’s advice is simple: ‘If you have fun and enjoy each process that goes into making the bread, it will always taste good.’
We love to see our customers get creative with our products. Go for it! But please note that altering or modifying IKEA products so they can no longer be re-sold or used for their original purpose, means the IKEA commercial guarantees and your right to return the products will be lost.
Made by
Interior stylist: Aiko Ito
Photographer: Stuart Harper
