Marianne Badenhorst, a proud grandmother of seven, knows exactly what it feels like when a hungry crowd asks for bread. Having baked for decades after learning the craft from her own grandmother, she never envisioned transforming this traditional knowledge into a business.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she observed how Instagram and Facebook feeds were flooded with pictures of bubbling starters and golden, blistered sourdough crusts.
She says this was the start of a “baking renaissance”.
But it is one thing to watch a flawless tutorial online, and quite another to try it all by yourself. For many, the intimidation factor is high, and people are understandably cautious about starting on their own. That is where Marianne’s business, Gis & Gons, steps into the spotlight, guiding hesitant beginners from fear to mastery.
“People think it is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to bake your own bread,” Marianne says.
“But to be truthful – it is not.”
In fact, she notes that strolling through supermarket aisles often takes more time than the hands-on labour required to make a loaf. Beyond the nutrition, the process offers unexpected mental health benefits. Bread baking grounds and calms the baker. It serves as a form of kitchen therapy, teaching patience, planning, and resilience in a world dominated by instant gratification and quick fixes. I think our younger generation needs these skills very much because convenience has replaced connection.
“This link between baking and well-being is ancient. The famous phrase “healthy body, healthy mind” was coined by the Roman poet Juvenal at the end of the 1st Century AD, who argued that one should pray for a sound mind in a sound body rather than mere wealth. Millennia later, the Lord’s Prayer still includes: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
For Marianne, returning to scratch-baking is a way to honour these roots. It allows bakers to care for their bodies while nurturing a peaceful spirit. It is a return to the slow, traditional methods used for centuries before the industrial era took over. Gis & Gons honours this heritage by ditching the harmful additives and commercial preservatives that cause modern digestive discomfort. Stone-ground flours are preferred because the wheat bran is not removed during milling.
She says the beauty of the craft lies in its versatility. “Sourdough is not a one-size-fits-all product; it adapts to every taste. It can be a rustic artisan loaf, a hearty whole-wheat, or a nutrient-dense multigrain. It can be chewy and tangy, or buttery and soft.”
Whether you want to slice a soft sandwich loaf for school lunchboxes or toast a robust garlic bread over a weekend braai fire, it is all entirely possible with sourdough. “Once you have mastered the basic sourdough loaf, the others will follow. You will even surprise yourself by developing a taste for breads previously unknown to you. For me, it is deeply satisfying to see workshop attendees beginning to bake for their own families, sharing with friends, and even starting their own micro-bakeries.”
Her favourite quote is a true reflection of her journey so far: “You can easily count the seeds inside an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed.”
“I see myself as a seed planter, teaching people to bake so they can eventually teach their own children and grandchildren,” she explains. “There is a generation that lacks these skills, mainly because of the convenience of buying bread at the store. My passion is to equip people and bring this old skill back to life.”
While it is impossible to know exactly how many loaves of bread have been baked as a result of the Gis & Gons workshops, Marianne remains unconcerned with the numbers. She knows that the skill will spread just like sourdough: a small starter causes the whole dough to rise.
Marianne hopes the workshops leave people with more than a good loaf, but also a renewed appreciation for slowing down and creating with their own hands. “I also share spiritual bread,” Marianne smiles. “I hope that the food for thought I share will stay in people’s minds much longer than the satisfying taste of a buttered slice in their tummies.”
Compiled by Gypseenia Lion
Photographer: Gypseenia Lion
