You cannot know what lies behind any given door in Barcelona. The zulo that is Escudellers can dump you into a charming first floor flat with a tranquil, gargantuan, cel obert terrace. A tiny bakery on an unknown street can dump you into a world of pan you never imagined, which is exactly what happened to Joan and Bruno. These French gents walked through the miniscule, unimpressive front room of a bakery in Poble Sec and like Alice down the rabbit hole were dumped into their future.
The astounding back room is 12 times as big as the shop. The 1970s industrial baking installation is nuts. Giant mixers connect to behemoth kneaders that feed a conveyor belt system larger than your living room (the walk-in fermenter is in sector 4). They still use them, but the boys, together with their team of 3 panaderos, 2 bolleros, 3 clerks, one delivery dude and one cleaner, are stepping away from the industrial. The goal is to use their hands as much as possible (while keeping prices reasonable), something they already do with their eco breads, baked in an epic old oven fed by a Chuck Norris-esque flamethrower that heats a 4-meter round baking stone as the artist in charge spins a cast iron wheel, and thus the stone, shuffling loaves in and out. This is an oven one has to get to know, touch, feel, test, fight with and care for. And that’s what you get in the breads; 300 kilos of it per day.
Where: C/ Radas 35
When: Monday – Friday: 7-14:30h + 17-20:30h // Saturday: 7-14:30h // Sunday: 8-15h
Web: Bread. No web.
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