This Baker Is Giving Away Free Sourdough on Dating Apps

Anyone who has used a dating app knows that online dating can easily feel like a second job. You’ll start by spending time adjusting your profile to feature the perfect pictures and quips, and that’s only the beginning of the hours you’ll need to invest if you expect to see any payoff.

After swiping through hundreds of profiles, hoping some will like you back, waiting until you have a match, and crafting the perfect message to strike up a witty conversation, you’re only halfway there. If you hit it off with a potential suitor, you still need to organize plans to meet in person, then spend at least an hour — not including commuting — talking to them over drinks or coffee, even if you realized within the first five minutes of meeting that your relationship wasn’t meant to be.

In her effort to streamline this process and hone her homemade sourdough skills, one content creator has devised a creative solution. She’s giving away free loaves of bread on one of the most popular dating apps around the world, Hinge.

At the beginning of a video she shared on Instagram and TikTok this January, content creator and avid home baker Madi Chilcott declares, “Most people use Hinge for dating — I’m using it to get rid of bread.” She then goes on to show evidence that she is indeed offering free loaves of sourdough via messages on the dating app and delivering them in person. It’s a novel strategy for meeting men, and one that quickly propelled her video to go viral, and when Chilcott breaks down the rationale behind her Hinge gifts, it actually makes sense.

She tells Food & Wine that she started giving away free bread on a dating app “because I had two totally unrelated problems in my life that ended up solving each other. First, I got really into sourdough… I live with my sister, and she couldn’t keep up with the amount of bread I was producing. I was testing new recipes, new inclusions, new techniques… basically pumping out loaves left, right, and center with nowhere for them to go.”

In addition to the bevy of bread she was baking in her sister’s kitchen, Chilcott says she was also “going on a fair number of Hinge dates… and I kept having that ‘Love Is Blind’ reveal moment when you meet someone in person and instantly know if the vibe is there or not. Even with photos and a few texts, it never felt like enough to really know someone.” 

After realizing she could address both problems with the same solution, the content creator decided to use her surplus sourdough as a low-pressure way to meet people. According to Chilcott, “Giving away sourdough became this super chill, five-minute interaction where I could meet someone, hand them a loaf, and just feel out the vibe without committing to a whole date.”

Sourdough is a relatively newfound passion for the home baker — which is why she’s been practicing so much — but she’s been baking other creations for as long as she can remember. Scroll through her TikTok page, and you’ll see hundreds of cake-decorating videos she’s shared over the past few years, showcasing confections that look like they were produced by a professional bakery.

Some commenters have asked, “Why do only the men get bread?” or declared that “the men do not deserve sourdough,” hinting at a possible criticism of Chilcott’s efforts: If a woman gives away bread on a dating app, does it reinforce gendered stereotypes that women should cook for men? However, the content creator reports that “this whole bread-giveaway thing has actually been a great judge of character. 

“Some guys definitely show up with that more ‘traditional relationship’ energy, but I’ve also had guys who immediately want to trade something with me to make it feel more equal. It’s been cool to see who’s appreciative, who’s thoughtful, and who meets my energy versus just taking.”  Chilcott emphasizes that baking is her personal passion and she’s “using something I love to create low-pressure connections and see what type of person shows up.” And don’t worry, she’s bringing bread to her girlfriends too.

When it comes to results, Chilcott’s social media posts make it clear that Hinge is an effective way to distribute surplus sourdough. (Who doesn’t want free bread?) She confirms that she has gotten several second dates out of the process, too, albeit “no third dates yet.” 

Outside of romantic connections, she’s made friends through her bread giveaways, explaining, “I’ve actually stayed friends with a few of the guys when it wasn’t a romantic fit, which I think says a lot about how low-pressure and fun the whole concept is… I’m just having fun, meeting people, giving away my excessive baking, and learning as I go.”