Pa de Kilo, bakeries, and the power of being different

Baking might be the oldest and most well-established of all food industries: it is thought to have first become a profession around 300 BC. That might explain the slow pace of change that engulfs it with crazy work schedules and traditional processes defining almost all establishments, from the social media phenoms to the small village shop. Now and then though, someone comes along who wants to change things and at Pa de Kilo, Oswaldo Brito is doing just that. The ingredients and recipes are still traditional but slight adjustments to schedules and processes, taking learnings from other industries, make for something altogether different.

Just off Las Ramblas isn’t where you’d expect to find anything particularly groundbreaking: this is normally reserved for photo-laden menus and some of Europe’s premier tourist traps. It is also though, slap bang in the centre of Barcelona and that’s why Oswaldo has chosen to open up here. “It’s very easy for Barcelona people to never come to the centre but if they want to, it’s even easier!”, he said, summing up the dilemma.

That is only the start of the surprises that Pa de Kilo offers up. No seven AM openings here, ten o’clock is as early as it gets. There are no crazy work schedules either, something that has come to define baking over the years. Instead, the earliest any employees start is six and nobody works shifts longer than eight hours. Work-life balance is absolutely key and it has allowed Oswaldo to both retain the vast majority of his team since their post-COVID opening and recruit skilled people from a range of backgrounds that would normally turn down the crazy hours this job often necessitates.

As I have so often found over the past 18 months or so, the moment of realisation for Oswaldo came during the arduous COVID lockdowns. Previously, he had worked as a chef in restaurants across Spain and Barcelona, before deciding that he simply wanted something more. He talks passionately about every part of the bread-making process; from the bags of flour stacked by the door as you enter, to the kneading, baking, and, of course, the delicious final product. For him, this is much more than a job.

The basis for Pa de Kilo (hence the name) is large loaves and a return to bread at its most pure. There is a constantly changing rotation of loaves, with everything from coffee to multigrain on the menu, and certain classics such as white sourdoughs ever-present. The idea here is to give the team space to work with exciting and innovative recipes whilst still keeping customers happy.

Those customers love to play the game too. I arrived early for our interview and in the fifteen minutes that I was waiting in the store I lost count of the number of regulars greeted by name and leaving smiling with the day’s special.

Originally, cakes and cookies weren’t really part of the equation. That has changed now though and Oswaldo operates a similar rotation to that seen with the more conventional breads. The brownie I had was sensationally dark and, most importantly, fudgy in the middle.

Focaccias are the final canvas on which the bakers here paint their crazy concepts. Again ever-changing, my favourite by far was the apple, blue cheese, and onion. The balance of unexpected and strong flavours sits on a huge airy focaccia meaning that it didn’t even need the gallons of balsamic I usually like to soak up with these breads. Classics like tomato and basil are here in abundance too.

Coffee and deli sections don’t go amiss either. NOMAD Coffee was founded by partner Jordi Mestre and carries a similarly disruptive ethos to the bakery. The small but growing retail section is where Oswaldo shows off his food friends’ latest projects. Everything from locally produced orange wine to ham and spreads is on offer to complement the various bread products.

It’s all too easy in the food industry to follow the status quo and sometimes it’s even easier to change things just for change’s sake. The real genius comes from changing the unexpected and keeping the important things as they are. That is what Pa de Kilo are pulling off in Barcelona and they don’t need me to tell them that it’s working — the constant floods of locals do that for them.

Originally published at http://olieatsitall.wordpress.com on October 30, 2023.