From Software Engineer to Baker: How I Traded My Master’s Degree for Salt Bread and AI

I often joke that I threw my master’s degree down the drain, but leaving tech to become a baker is the best decision I’ve ever made.

My name is Sabrina Lim. I am 28 years old, based in Singapore, and until recently, I was working full-time in software development at a major bank. Today, I am navigating the beautiful, chaotic world of artisan baking—and using artificial intelligence as my secret weapon.

The Bite That Changed Everything

It started with a trip to South Korea. I visited a local bakery and tried salt bread for the very first time. It was a revelation. For the first time in my life, standing in an hour-and-a-half-long queue felt entirely worth it. The experience left such a profound impression on me that I knew I had to recreate it.

The only problem? I had absolutely zero baking experience.

I hold a Master of Engineering from Imperial College London. After a few years in the tech workforce, hustling to build someone else’s dream, I found myself bored and unfulfilled. I wanted to build something that belonged to me. In 2025, about a year after that fateful trip to Korea, I quit my stable corporate job to bake bread.

Overcoming the Mental Hurdles

Leaving a secure career without a fully fleshed-out plan was terrifying. I am incredibly fortunate to be in a privileged position—I don't have pressing financial burdens, and my partner is able to support our household while I find my footing.

Still, the emotional weight was heavy. Coming from an Asian family, there are deep-seated cultural expectations about what a "successful" career path should look like. I worried about how people would judge my choice. But I reminded myself: I am not living my life for them. If I wanted to take a massive risk and build a business from scratch, doing it before taking on a mortgage, loans, or children was the perfect window.

Months of Failed Dough and Singapore’s Humidity

If you have ever tried making bread from scratch, you know how unforgiving it is. Early on, I was terrified I wouldn't be able to crack the science of it. I kept repeating a mantra to stay motivated: If thousands of people out there can master this, so can I.

My first major roadblock was environmental. Most of the popular recipes online originate in the US. When I tried replicating them in Singapore, the intense local humidity and differing ingredient compositions completely altered the outcome. I didn't even know what texture to look for while kneading. For months, I toyed with recipes, and they consistently failed. My poor husband had to eat every single subpar batch.

Desperate to build momentum and hold myself accountable, I started documenting my journey on social media—the least capital-intensive way to market a new business. In my very first video, I boldly announced that I would start selling my bread in 100 days. I had absolutely no idea how I was actually going to pull that off.

A TikTok Message and a Commercial Kitchen

In my second month of posting, a local café owner reached out to me on TikTok. He offered me a game-changing opportunity: I could use his commercial kitchen to bake and sell my bread during his off-hours, entirely for free.

At that point, I was incredibly frustrated with my limited home equipment. Stepping into a professional space with a commercial mixer, a temperature-controlled environment, and the expertise of an actual baker changed everything.

Today, I run pop-up events out of the café. I built a formal pre-order site where customers can select a pickup date, and I have successfully sold three variations of my salt bread across three different pop-ups.

My Current Strategy: Keep the menu small but dynamic. I rotate new flavors every month while keeping the core salt bread identical. This allows me to maintain strict quality control while I'm still learning the ropes, while giving returning customers something new to look forward to.

My Secret Co-Founder: Artificial Intelligence

Because I am running this business entirely alone, Gemini has become my 24/7 brainstorming partner. I leverage AI across every facet of my operation:

Recipe Optimization: I feed Gemini multiple bread recipes and ask it to break down the scientific differences between them. Instead of sifting through overwhelming amounts of Google search results, I get a condensed, actionable masterclass in baking science.
Troubleshooting: When a batch goes wrong, I describe the issue to the AI, and it gives me a targeted checklist of variables to adjust. I can then take those ideas to the café owner the next day to get his professional feedback.
Marketing & Admin: AI edits my social media scripts to make them punchier and more digestible. I even used it to code my own custom pop-up ordering form, which has cut my administrative workload by roughly 80%.
Project Management: To keep from feeling overwhelmed, I had AI break down my long-term business goals into daily, manageable tasks.

The Reality of the Hustle: What Lies Ahead

Baking bread is deeply labor-intensive, but I've quickly learned that baking is actually the easy part. The real challenge is learning how to sell.

Navigating social media marketing, driving audience engagement, and figuring out how to convert casual viewers into paying customers is a massive mental hurdle. Every single time I announce a new pop-up, a wave of anxiety hits me that absolutely no one will show up.

Time management is another ongoing battle. Last month, I was so consumed by the physical logistics of baking, packaging, selling, and washing that I didn't have a single spare moment to film content. Because everything is so new, I am still figuring out the highest and best use of my time, and I worry about how a lack of social media consistency will impact future sales.

I have already achieved my initial goal of selling within 100 days, and now I find myself at a crossroads. I only have so many hours in the day, and I need to decide whether to invest capital, hire help, or maintain my current pace.

I don't know exactly what the future holds, but for the first time, I am building my own dream—and I couldn't be happier.

Culture Office