During shutdown, it wasn’t only everyday locals who began mastering their baking skills. The owner of Budapest’s Madal Café chain, Péter Repka, was also taken by the urge to reach for the sourdough. After four months of planning, what started out as a hobby has manifested itself into an actual bakery.

The team at Madal was trained in the art of baking by the owners of Pipacs Bakery in Óbuda, who picked up their bread-making skills in France. The open bakery is found at Madal’s Alkotmány utca outlet, separated from the café by a glass wall. They named it CKG after the Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, whose full name is Chinmoy Kumar Ghose – the café was given his childhood nickname, Madal.

The sourdough breads at CKG are made with organic flour, following a traditional French recipe, and are available in all of the Madal cafés – on Hollár Ernő utca, Ferenciek tere and Alkotmány utca. Their two main products are baguettes and breads for the time being, coming in varieties with four seeds, pumpkin seeds, wholemeal, rye, raisins and more, for 590-890 forints.