Our Story
We met in the summer of 2019 while working at a restaurant in downtown Milwaukee. Elizabeth was serving tables, and Tom was running the wood-fired pizza station. Four years later, we were living together and starting our own micro-bakery.
Midnight Bakehouse began in December 2023, starting with selling bread at farmers’ markets and expanding to dried pasta in the summer of 2025. Today, we are proud cottage bakers who eat bread, pasta, and pizza and love every bite. Everything we make is inspired by old-world recipes and techniques.
Tom Welcenbach
Bread Baker | Pasta Maker
Tom has worked in numerous restaurants and pizzerias since he was a teenager. He became interested in rustic artisan bread and homemade pizza after spending a week in Tuscany in the summer of 2009. Tom likes to garden and utilize organic and local ingredients in his breads.
Elizabeth Hoffman
Pasta Maker | Tomato Grower
Elizabeth has worked in fine dining restaurants in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Milwaukee. In 2022, she began making pasta from scratch at home, quickly discovering a high demand from friends and family. That enthusiasm inspired her to invest in a professional pasta-making machine. When she’s not cooking or eating pasta, Elizabeth loves growing tomatoes and making homemade tomato jam.