In a serene upmarket housing estate on the outskirts of Bangkok, a hidden gem awaits discovery – a small baking studio without any exterior signage. Beyond the gate, a two-storey house and a brightly lit, airy, high-ceilinged single-storey building greet visitors. This charming space is none other than Lyn Loaf, a baker’s haven where thousands of loaves come to life under the guidance of Sakullak Laisuwannchat, one of Thailand’s pioneering sourdough bakers.

In business for more than 7 years, Lyn Loaf is thriving yet still shies away from a name on the gate. “Yes, that’s intentional,” says Sakullak, who is known among her students as Lyn.

The baker’s life aligns with her desire for modesty and a low-profile existence. When not running her baking school, she indulges in her love for practicing dharma and embarks on meditation trips for inner harmony and peace. This,  she says, gives her the passion to inspire countless aspiring bakers.

Before moving to her present location, Sakullak lived in a townhouse and baked healthy bread for sale. The space was limited and the big oven occupied almost her entire lower floor. Her wholewheat bread became a hit among customers on Facebook but that all changed when she fell in love with sourdough.

“I dare say that we are among the very first (serious) sourdough bakers in Thailand, like one of the first five,” she says.

She has taught hundreds of classes, enabling over 1,000 aspiring bakers to master the art of crafting perfect sourdough.  More importantly, her passion for teaching also inspired her to write her own book, the aptly titled “Nature of Sourdough”.

That first book was a huge success, earning her an international award from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in the Best of the Best Candidates category. Her book stood tall among 11 tomes on food from around the world and was chosen from over 1,000 submissions.

Invited to Sweden, Sakullak knew she was shortlisted and deep down she hoped that she would land a prize. She presented her book on stage and a few hours later, “Nature of Sourdough” was announced a winner!

Passion turns into inspiration for writing

Sakullak started baking wholewheat bread more than 7 years ago so she could enjoy home-baked healthy bread. She mastered the technique and was able to sell the bread too. Later, she heard of a “heathier” bread, sourdough, and found it was exactly what she wanted. She explored numerous recipes, often from foreign chefs, and devised her own methods to craft exceptional sourdough. Through countless ingredient experiments, she candidly reminisces, “Sometimes it failed, but the journey was enjoyable,” laughter filling the air as she recalls her past failures.

Once Sakullak could produce good sourdough and had standardised her products, she started selling sourdough together with her wholewheat. They went faster than hotcakes but it wasn’t long before personal circumstances forced her to stop. “My husband got sick and I was not healthy either. Selling the bread like this (without a shop) meant we had to send it (by courier) early in the morning. My husband had to get up at 2am. Our body clocks were completely out of sync.”

And this demanding duty was just for 24 loaves a day.

Making sourdough requires a substantial amount of time and effort. In their 40s, it was no light work.

“I found it ironic that we were creating healthy bread, yet we weren’t healthy at all.”

This realization prompted her to consider halting bread sales and instead teach people how to make sourdough. She believed it was a positive move, as more individuals would have the opportunity to experience the delights of the delicious bread.

The next two months were spent designing a baking course and as soon as she opened a studio, she was swamped by fans of this artisan bread. There were not many teachers around. “In the beginning, the students were from the home baking circle and then from cake shops and coffee shop owners. A few years ago we started drawing students from fine dining establishments.”

Some learned from more than one teacher. “I learned with many masters too. It makes you come up with your own best recipe.”

Then came the book, Realising she couldn’t teach forever and by now in her late 40s, the owner of Lynn Loaf decided she preferred contentment and peace of mind to money. She could only teach 8 students in each class and that used up a lot of energy. But, she realized, knowledge and experience could also be transmitted by putting pen to paper.

Prior to starting “Nature Sourdough” she had little knowledge of writing. She started by purchasing an e-book on how to write a book. She also consulted one of her friends who told her that in order to write a book, she first needed the content.

And she started writing every single day. “The book said let it flow and never stop. I thought it was the way to get everything I knew out of my head.”

She was very disciplined, getting up early in the morning and writing. She rose at 4am and worked on the book from 6 to about 8am.  The students arrived at 9am. One year passed and with a thick printout of that content, she used her Facebook page “Lynn Loaf” to find someone who would publish the book.

With the help of friends, she landed a group of editorial professionals, and the book was planned. She was amazed at the book publishing process and had no idea there were so many processes to go through.

She considers herself fortunate to have worked with a very professional team. “The book’s editor came to observe my classes to understand the process. Each photo was professionally shot without compromising any of the details.”

“I never knew a book needed an editor. And even when I submitted my book for the award, I put the printing house name on the application when I should have written ‘self-published’,” she giggles.

Throughout the interview, Sakullak always laughed at her mistakes – perhaps that makes her a good baker and teacher, someone who can accept failure and learn from it and laugh about it at the same time.

Her passion turned out to be two high-quality books on bread. “A boxset comprises two books. When I showed the editorial team what I wrote, they immediately said it had to be two books!”

Sakullak learned about Gourmand World Cookbook Awards from her chef friend Anita and she was interested in submitting her copies. When she finished her book, there were just 10 days left until the deadline so she rushed and sent it just in time for the 2023 entry.

She was informed that her book had arrived safely. The message, “Your masterpiece has arrived,” filled her with joy.  “They called my book a masterpiece!”

At the end of May, the Thai baker went to Sweden to attend the award ceremony at Sweden’s Umeå Food Symposium Visit Umeå. After presenting her book on stage, she anxiously awaited the results. During the wait, she had the opportunity to speak with Edouard Cointreau, the president of Gourmand, and asked him how he judged the book’s quality, given that it was written in Thai. He responded that he could discern its excellence from the chapter design and content, as many books lack genuine effort and are simply cut-and-paste jobs.

And when the moment arrived, “Nature of Sourdough” was announced as the winner – Best of the Best in the Bread category. “This is the definitive book on sourdough in Thai, but not only that: it is an extremely well-structured, well-documented, and sublimely laid-out masterpiece. Congratulations on the huge research and the very own style of Sakullak Laisuwannchat,” the citation read.

Her success was the result of hard work and dedication, fueled by her passion. “That award presentation has passed, and now I’m back to my reality. Had I not practiced dharma for a long time, I might have been tempted to extend my business or pursue many things, but now I’m content with it.”

Winning didn’t bring any major changes to her life, except that her book became easier to sell and she became better known. “That moment is a cherished memory that, when I think about it, makes me happy.”

While others may have set ambitious goals in life, for Sakullak, her real success was the opening of the baking studio. “As for my life’s priority, at my age, the most important thing is my inner peace and mental well-being. Other things do not matter.”

By Veena Thoopkrajae