Interview: Andrej Gerželj (Pekarna Osem) - Passion for the art of bread

Almost through two-hour gathering, in hug tempting fragrances, where it was possible to observe his from the front row immense pleasure of baking creation, he revealed his secret path.

On Monday, you had everything sold out already at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. How are you experiencing the current rush?

Hold on, it was crazy! Until now, communication about my bakery was mainly via online social networks, which reached a somewhat younger generation of people. After the publication in the newspapers last Sunday (January 12, op.), many older customers also came. The rush of people started all of a sudden, not only with customers, but also with other customers. With all the processes I work on and coordinate, as much as I can, I can only do so much. I like that I can be here and thus establish a kind of personal contact with most of the people who already or will regularly visit my bakery. Some may find it hard to understand when they can no longer buy bread, but with this method of preparation, unfortunately, such restrictions also come.

So, you set your bakery as a boutique from the start. As much bread as there is, there is only so much. Do you eventually have any intention of expanding the project into a wider chain?

Look, my process is to knead the dough on a stand mixer, everything else is done by hand. For me, shaping 20 baguettes does not mean that much less work than shaping 40, but in the end I don't have anywhere to bake so many. So for now, I have the equipment I have, which I just do as much as I can with it. Also, for example, I ferment sourdough bread for 3 days, with the final stage taking place in the refrigerator, where I am again limited by space. Before each day, I make a certain amount of dough and then I can bake that much the next day. But I don't see the point in kneading bread quickly, baking it in an hour and offering it to people for the sake of some income.

But how did this idea come about? I know that you started baking as a hobby when you were a teenager. Was there a special event in your life that led you to open your own bakery?

This idea has been brewing for about two years. Well, more of a wish than an idea. Quite honestly, if I hadn't been in the financial situation I was in, if it hadn't been for the combination of everything that was happening at the time and if I had a full-time job, I don't know if I would be here now. So somehow it was this socio-economic situation that contributed to the fact that something had to move. And that's why my girlfriend and I said, let's go, we have nothing to lose anyway, because we're already at zero.

Then how did this process begin - did you immediately know what kind of bakery concept you wanted to create?

Yes, definitely. I knew long before.

Did you perhaps draw inspiration from somewhere else, from others?

In any case, there is currently a strong trend of such boutique bakeries around the world. I don't know why we still don't have that much here. People shop with their eyes to a large extent. For example, in December, when there was a large influx of Italians in Ljubljana, many of them came to see, because it attracted them from the outside, they thought it was beautiful, after which they also came inside to ask what was happening here. Everything goes hand in hand, both appearance and design, no matter what you sell. I also like to feel good in a room where a pleasant atmosphere prevails. When my girlfriend, Barbara, and I were looking for a place, we came across this one, which although it needed a lot of work, but I immediately saw everything here - how it would look and what it was supposed to be. In any case, the inspiration also came from those bakeries that I found online or saw in various books. Now, to imitate something, but not this.

So, when creating the interior design and also creating the concept, did you undertake any more detailed research, or did it just come about naturally, through years of monitoring this field?

I just transferred the bread recipes that I made in the same way before. Of course, I had to make certain changes, because home baking is certainly not completely comparable to baking in a bakery. Larger quantities, the dough behaves differently in the mixer, etc. As far as the appearance of the bakery is concerned, as much as I have been researching baking bread for the past few years, I have also followed the images of various bakeries around the world. The things you are interested in and want to do somehow unconsciously attract your attention more.

How was the graphic image of the bakery created?

The image was taken care of by my friend and, in my opinion, an excellent illustrator, Zoran Pungerčar. Once, a few years ago, when we were still just thinking about the idea, he told me more so, in passing, that when I have my own bakery, he will make me a complete graphic image. Now, I don't know if he was serious at the time, but I just poked him on the sleeve later. I gave him a completely free hand because I trust his knowledge, and in the end he did a really nice job. Well, here, for example, we went into more detailed research, which was not the case with architecture. Even Zoran himself started reviewing the design for this type of activity, and we then exchanged ideas. My first condition was definitely that the image is in connection with his style of illustration, that it has his characteristic soul in it.

Did you create the name of the bakery together with the graphic image or did you already have it selected?

No, the name is something that my dear Barbara and I had just like that, between us. When I was looking for the most suitable name, I wanted it to mean something to me personally. Likewise, the three-day rising process of the bread and the upside-down figure eight remind of infinity.

What about the inclusion of a social note, have you already thought about this?

Yes, years ago I was in various bands with whom we played a lot at Metelkova and were active in the cultural and social sphere. On tours, other European bands with whom we toured often cooked us a wide variety of vegan dishes. So the members of the band, with whom we remained friends, were already thinking about getting back in touch with them one day and organizing a charity vegan dinner on Metelkova or something similar. However, so far nothing like that has happened. For now, we have to get over this initial rush, which I know will eventually subside. We are almost the first such bakery to open in Slovenia, so of course everyone comes to see it. But after a few months, a kind of permanent clientele will be created, who will come more for the bread itself than for curiosity. Only then will we be able to think more seriously about what to do in the social field as well.

And possibly other collaborations? In the bakery, we can already find heating baskets for bread, which are the result of cooperation with SQUAT, Drevo boards, oils from Oljarna Lisjak, etc.

Of course, if it is in a direction that is also interesting to me and within the limits of my ability to coordinate with working in a bakery, then by all means. Just these days, we are talking about collaboration with my friend Boro, who has the band Retro Rats and is also a big fan of everything that has a kind of cultural note of craftsmanship and antiques. For now, he delivers home-made milk and eggs with a tricycle, that is, the way they used to do it. From February, he will start delivering my bread as well. Not for me, but together with me, that is, in the form of mutual cooperation. This, for example, is something I'm really looking forward to, because it's not so much related to the financial background or pressures, but rather to bringing people this charm of the past.

How do you and Barbara work together? How involved is she in the whole project now?

She is involved from the point of view that the bakery would not have the appearance that it does. There was also a lot of additional help from her side, such as making a large number of phone calls and other tasks that I could not do myself. Yes, everything would definitely be much more difficult without her.

So can you say you both breathe for this bakery these days?

Considering that she is a month away from the birth of our second child and the state she is in because of it, I can say that she is breathing with me as best she can. When you are on your own like this, in some artisanal waters, the everyday schedule also changes. I'm not at home that much anymore, I don't manage to do some things and so on. Therefore, quickly, and I think that not only with us, but with everyone who works in this way, it becomes a kind of family craft.

Every day you offer a rich selection of different types of bread. Where do you get your inspiration for them?

I have always been somewhat inspired by the French way of baking and recipes. The French have both industrial bread and a still very strong artisan tradition of baking, which is mostly disappearing elsewhere. Of course, I also introduce a little of my own flavors, which I personally like, for example Provençal spices and olives. I have also just started making arrangements for the delivery of dried tomatoes, which I would also like to add to the bread.

Did you perhaps get an education in this field somewhere abroad?

No, I got into it very amateurishly, which slowly grew into a bigger passion. First I read a lot of literature, then I connected with American, Dutch and French professional bakers through the Internet, who helped me with technical things that I couldn't get to before. Even with the test baking, if something didn't work out, I sent them a description and photos, and then we discussed it. So this was the theoretical part, but I didn't have the practical part anywhere. And exactly, for example, cutting baguettes is a whole art, which I don't even claim to have already mastered, because I could still improve and learn a lot. At the same time, I also see Slovenia's problem, at least as far as I have had contact with certain notes, because baking in our country has become too industrial. No one can tell you "what the hand is doing", even though in principle it should be created that way.

Do you already see yourself as a baker, a kind of bread master?

Master, I don't know, I'm learning, in the sense that I'll be learning until I die. Mostly about bread, but I'm also talking in general, for all areas. I also think that baking bread is something you can never say you have mastered. You can always change or add something. If nothing else, it is also a very regionally specific matter, as each culture has its own way of preparing bread. In addition, the bakery is my passion and joy, which I will further improve throughout.

And one very classic question: who is Andrej?

A young, cute man 🙂 No, just someone who has already tackled quite a few things in his life. Many times something really appeals to me and then I have to try it. Otherwise, I often get tired of things later, but something always has to tease me and drive me forward.

So in general, and in work and in life, do you stick to going in the direction where you are drawn by some kind of passion?

As much as you can. Of course, some compromises are always necessary, but in principle yes. Especially because I think people feel, appreciate this authenticity.

What is your ideal vision of a bakery?
So far I'm here alone, with the exception of a friend who comes at least three times a week to help with sales. Therefore, my ideal scenario is definitely to be able to just bake and not have to deal with sales work, which would also give me more time to develop new recipes and ideas in general. Regardless of everything, the bakery will remain at the boutique level it is now. Maybe, as said, I could slightly increase the capacity with an additional furnace, but the process will remain the same, because I don't want to make compromises at the expense of the quality itself and the increase of profit.

And if you had, a bit like a dream, unlimited resources and possibilities?
Then I would have a bakery exactly like the one you see now, instead of eight I would open at eleven so I could sleep a little longer 🙂 and I would just hand out bread or just collect voluntary contributions.

So do you see baking bread as a job or more of a pleasure?
I can say that it all came out of a kind of pleasure, which eventually turned into a job, with which I hope to be able to make a living. But I am aware that the question is what will happen in 5 or 10 years. That's why I want to constantly introduce new recipes that I'm already developing at home, so that it doesn't all become a boring work routine of always stringing together the same types of bread.

Do you think that what you do is also art in some way?
Of course it's art. Even though it's just bread, there are still certain processes that you have to master. I think every craft used to be an art, which may have been lost with industry. People used to know how to do much more with their hands, there are many such skills that no longer exist. It is definitely art - just as it always has been.