Bread is one of our oldest foods and Isabel Pasch, the owner of Ponsonby based Bread and Butter is a true fan of sourdough. We talk about the magic that is bread and about the Bread and Butter journey. Bread and Butter are a Ponsonby based bakery and cafe that specialises in traditional European foods and naturally leavened bread made using organic ingredients. Curiously, Isabel Pasch, the owner of Bread and Butter is neither a baker now a pastry chef. She is actually a trained microbiologist and prior to the bakery owned a company that specialised in science PR. However, growing up in Germany meant that Isabel grew up around bread and cake. Her family loved baking and Isabel and her sister grew baking cakes, biscuits and slices whenever the opportunity arose. “It wasn’t frowned upon to have several pieces of cake – with cream”, she says.
When she moved to New Zealand, she was not only in search of a new career but also in search of better bread. Having come up empty in the bread department, Isabel decided to open her own bakery.
The rest as they say is history, or in Isabel’s case, sourdough. At Bread and Butter, food is made according to traditional recipes and their shelves are packed with long-fermented and wheat-free sourdough loaves, German rye breads, French baguettes, Italian ciabattas and a large selection of bread rolls, including the famous German pretzel rolls. What you won’t find in their kitchen is a premix or ready to use filling – a rare thing in a commercial kitchen these days! What started as a small bakery business that Isabel bought has evolved into a company that has a bakery in three locations in Auckland. They also retail at a range of specialty stores and curiously despite their size, still have a stall at the local farmers’ market.
On the show we chat about:
- The history of bread
- Why does bread have such a bad reputation?
- Naturally leavened bread and why it tastes better
- Not compromising on taste and all that it entails
- Sourcing wheat grown locally and why that’s important
- Scaling a bakery business
Listen to the Podcast Here:
Learn more – www.breadandbutter.nz
