Malin Elmlid of 'The Bread Exchange' Bakes Around the World

Photo: All, Mirjam Wählen/Chronicle Books

To give is better than to receive, we’re told. But Malin Elmlid, a former fashion sales manager with a serious baking hobby, learned the true meaning of the phrase while traveling and baking around the world. Her wanderings eventually turned into a blog, The Bread Exchange, which turned into a gorgeously-photographed cookbook that came out last month.

In her book, the flaxen-haired Swede recounts tales and recipes from Berlin to Kabul to New York City. Everywhere Elmlid went, she baked, giving the fruits of her labor to friends made along the way.

To better understand the thought behind The Bread Exchange, we spoke with Elmlid about why something as simple as bread holds such power—even in pop culture.

So, what’s the “bread exchange” all about? 
This project is about sharing. That is such a washed out word by now, because I don’t think sharing is what you call “sharing” now.

What would you describe as “sharing”?
Sharing for me is about giving. [The bread exchange] started out with me giving away something I was good at, and something that I had that was special. When you give things without expecting anything in return, you also give away trust. That is super rare in society today.

But people did started giving you things back, right?
From people, the only thing I was asking was for their honest opinion about the bread. And when people started giving me things in return, I never asked for it. And after a while I just realized that, OK, this is a completely natural next step. But if you start giving without having the intention to get something back, you are getting more back. 

I love that idea. And you’ve received things like concert tickets, CDs, and a rare Japanese charcoal meant for baking. But what you do is fundamentally different from bartering in a traditional sense, right?
The difference from a normal bartering project is the intention. If I want something, I buy it. But when you pay with money, you are completely losing a lot of the person and the stories around the product.

What sorts of trades do you seek out?
I’m trading the bread in exchange for anything that can inspire me. Or anything that is made with a good intention, or that you want to share with good intention. That is exactly what you can’t buy today. For me, the stories are [like] taste sensors, completely. If your grandma is cooking something special, it’s no longer just apple cake. It’s so much more. It’s memories [of her] from your childhood.

And that’s true about anything.
The same goes for wine—you get it from a friend, who bought it at a vineyard, or even harvested it. These wines, regardless if they are better or not, are going to taste better than anything else. When I get marmalade, it’s not just marmalade. I also get the story of where the oranges come from. The same goes for bread, or anything that has been given by someone that you love.

And you’re giving those stories, too.
[That’s] why I put the leaves on the crust [of some of my breads]. My last name, Elmlid, means “the light that goes through leaves in an Elm forest.”

There’s something so essential about bread, too. So many cultures around the world view it that way.
Yeah, I can’t think of another product that has the same symbolic value. In Finland, you bring salt and bread as a show of hospitality. Same in Germany, because [the thinking is that] no home should be missing bread, and salt is [considered] the spice of life. These two things should never be missing. In Afghanistan, it’s just the bread, but it’s the same story. And there are so many stories around bread. You don’t ever fight with someone you shared your bread with, like in Games of Thrones.

Or like it should have been in Game of Thrones. You’re so right: In the show’s universe, it’s a sin to harm a guest to whom you’ve served bread and salt.
Bread is a peace pipe! It’s the most friendly thing you can bring to someone. Look at real estate in Sweden today—you make sure to have the smell of fresh baked bread or cinnamon rolls in the apartment before you sell it, because it gives the whole place feeling of home.

I think that’s a thing in the United States, too.
And bread is important on so many levels. I mean, it’s a metaphor for food. And food is what we are made of.

Get baking with these bread stories:
An Ode to San Francisco Sourdough Bread
Your First Loaf of Bread
14 Smart Ways to Use Stale Bread

Do you have a favorite kind of bread? Share it with us!