You might know Maha Elsahhar, an Egyptian baker in Singapore, for her bakes that recently went viral on social media.
But beyond the pastries, the 43-year-old has worn many hats over the years.
Before stepping into the kitchen full-time, Maha, who grew up in London, had dabbled in sales, worked as a translator, became a television executive producer, and even pursued competitive boxing.
She now lives in Singapore with her husband and two children after the family relocated here 10 years ago for her husband’s job.
“Each chapter of my life, from sales to translating, television, competitive boxing and now baking, has simply been another adventure and chance to learn and grow,” Maha told AsiaOne in an interview.
“I enjoy the excitement of stepping into something new and discovering where it might lead.”
And her latest adventure? Baking.
Maha’s journey into the craft began 14 years ago, when she decided to bake a birthday cake for her son’s first birthday.
While she’s an expert now, she admitted that she didn’t start out as a talented baker.
“[The cake] was a disaster, it was absolutely awful. He cried. It was scary-looking,” said Maha. “But I was determined to get better.”
Over the years, she continued to practise and hone her skills — focusing on western bakes such as cakes and cupcakes.
“I got pretty good, and friends started to want some cakes for their kids’ parties and so on. So I decided to open a home bakery,” she said.
Maha then started her home-based business in 2022.
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‘Not just pyramids and the Nile’
But what prompted Maha to pivot from selling cakes to traditional Egyptian bakes?
She told us that she wanted to introduce more of the country’s cuisine to Singapore.
“Egypt is well-known for its historical sites, its history and even its people… but our food is phenomenal,” the baker said.
“I wanted to bring that to the community, to Singaporeans, to everyone who is willing to try. Egypt is not just pyramids and the Nile.”
Noting that a lot of Middle Eastern cuisine available in Singapore features shawarma, Maha wanted to show that the region has more food to offer.
“Shawarma is great, I love shawarma but there’s so much more,” she said.
Thus, The Egyptian Baker was born.
In January, Maha opened the bakery in Joo Chiat, selling a variety of Egyptian and Middle Eastern pastries.
Some items on the rotating menu include traditional pastries such as Eggplant Manakeesh ($3.50), Spinach Fatayir ($4) and Halloumi Puffs ($4).
Maha also adds her own twist to some bakes such as the Snickers Date Bar ($12) and croissants in a variety of flavours, including pistachio and hazelnut chocolate.
While the bakery is fairly new, she has already garnered a substantial pool of customers, with videos of her bakes going viral on social media platforms.
Items on the menu started flying off the shelves mere days after the bakery’s opening.
“We were lucky that we kind of went crazy on social media for the first few weeks, and it was really intense. We were selling out within an hour,” said Maha.
“I would be up at four in the morning baking, and the items would be gone within an hour of opening.”
One-woman show
Despite the bakery’s viral success, running an F&B business alone doesn’t come without its challenges.
Besides high overheads, Maha also faces staffing issues.
As Egyptian cuisine is fairly new to Singaporeans, it was tough to find someone who could “understand” the food, she explained.
Training them from scratch would also require more effort from Maha, who is managing all aspects of the business by herself.
Talk about a one-woman show.
“One of the other difficulties is [the food] selling out, which sounds ridiculous, because it doesn’t sound like a problem,” Maha added.
While she noted that this is “a good problem to have”, the baker feels guilty when customers leave empty-handed — especially when they’ve travelled to the store specifically for her bakes.
“I feel so awful when someone’s travelled from Jurong and has come all the way down here, and we’ve literally cleared out our kitchen. Everything has been sold,” she said.
Some customers even scolded her when they weren’t able to purchase the bakes.
Maha has since refined her workflow, spreading out her baking throughout the day so the items don’t sell out too early.
Bringing Egyptian fare to Singaporeans
Despite the challenges, Maha enjoys bringing good bakes — particularly Egyptian pastries — to those who enjoy them.
“It’s so lovely that I can represent my country in a way that people are enjoying, and they’re receptive to it.
“It’s really nice when Singaporeans, who have never tried or heard about a lot of these foods, try them and think ‘This is really lovely’,” she said.
The bakery sees a mix of both local and foreign customers, Maha added.
Her love for sharing is clear in the way she interacts with customers — with warm welcomes and “mini tours” of what’s available once they set foot into the bakery.
“I do that with every single customer, unless they’ve been here very often and know what’s what, or if I can see that they’re in a bit of a rush,” she said.
Since opening in January, Maha has had many memorable interactions with customers, many of whom have become regulars.
A customer who has left a particularly lasting impression on Maha was an elderly woman in her 80s or 90s.
“She came in and wanted to try some stuff. She tried it, came back the following week, and ordered more because she loved them. She was really lovely,” said Maha.
Looking ahead, the baker wishes to expand her menu to introduce more Egyptian delicacies to Singaporeans.
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During Ramadan, Maha is offering Egyptian iftar meals such as koshari (the country’s national dish) consisting rice, lentils and pasta.
She also hopes to bring more of these warm, savoury dishes to the people here.
“I’m proud that I can be part of Singapore and give back the same way I’ve taken from the country, in a way that I can share my culture and my passion for food with Singaporeans.”
Address: 83 Joo Chiat Place, #01-04, Singapore 427800
Opening hours: 8.30am to 4pm (Wednesday to Saturday), 8.30am to 2.30pm (Sunday)
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