Earlier this month, Jonnie LoFranco and Yannick Guegan stood in front of racks of warm loaves of discomfort de campagne and rolls waiting to be provided to nearby dining establishments. They started with one delivery truck in 2011 and now their fleet includes 11 cars that provide bread to more than 300 Southern California hotels, dining establishments, and stores such as Montage Resort.
The customer list for
Santa Ana-based Bread Artisan Bakery includes major theme parks and fine dining gems such as Taco Maria, Marché Moderne, Water Grill, and luxury Wagyu steak home Matu in Beverly Hills. Celeb chef-helmed restaurants such as Jon & & Vinny's, the cult-favorite Cookbook in Echo Park, and HiHo Cheeseburger, which prepares grass-fed Wagyu beef burgers, also serve Bread Artisan Bakery's hamburger buns and breads.
LoFranco depends on master baker Guegan and his group to develop custom bread for each customer. The 11-year-old bakeshop is housed inside a storage facility division near the 55 freeway. The building's commercial exterior conceals the magic within. The very first hint of Bread Artisan Bakery is the fragrance of baguettes, discomfort de campagne, ciabatta, burger buns, and rolls emerging from the ovens. Stacked on racks, loaves of hot bread waft aromas of sourdough and toasted buttery notes into the air.
For LoFranco, the bakeshop belongs to her household legacy.
" Sadly when my daddy died, the company was run by another baker for 9 years before I came in," states Jonnie LoFranco, owner of Bread Artisan Bakery. "But then it wasn't really anything to sell. We did what we had to do and after that (a local amusement park) came to us with this truly substantial project-- 1,200 torta rolls."
LoFranco left her task in advertising and as a single mom of 2 daughters reanimated her father's dream in 2011. She sublet an area for two years in San Juan Capistrano and grew business to $1.2 million.
" Then Yannick walked into my life," LoFranco stated. "Once I satisfied Yannick and we found this place, that's when it truly happened. I'm grateful that he took a chance on me. There were a wide variety of pastry shops (trying to employ) Yannick, and I couldn't pay him what they were providing him. Thank you for taking a possibility."
Guegan partnered with LoFranco in 2012. Guegan, who wears a viking-like beard, bakes a seriously crave-worthy kouign-amann.
" Money is not whatever," Guegan stated. "Sometimes you need to go with your sensation. ... You can earn money, but if you're not delighted and you can't express yourself through your work." He motioned his hands indicating that was not for him. "Here, there was a connection right away, and that is very important."
Guegan's loaves and baked morsels are readily available at regional farmers markets and for pre-order pickup at the bakeshop on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Beyond the farmers markets, Bread Artisan Bakery partnered with Trader Joe's in November 2021. Now shoppers in Orange County and
Long Beach find the pastry shop's sourdough loaves at the supermarket.
" We deliver it fresh every early morning to Trader Joe's," stated LoFranco.
The bread begins with Guegan's 27-year-old "mom" dough starter, which sits in a large metal vat in a corner of the bakery. The machine keeps the sourdough levain at a perfect temperature level and humidity.
" Sourdough is a good difficulty," stated Guegan. "Tangier sourdough, it's really the American style. When I consider France, offering sourdough, it's actually difficult. They call this vinegar bread. This was a difficulty. I can make much better sourdough."
The OC climate affects the outcome and makes the bakery's bread unique.
" California is extremely difficult (for baking bread)," said Guegan. "The West Coast with the
Santa Ana wind can dry it out so quickly. Today is humid, tomorrow whatever is dry. ... But as long as you love what you're doing, it doesn't feel like work."
" I'm not sure I would still be in it if it weren't for Yannick," said LoFranco. We make such a great product and chefs are so happy about it.
On May 20, Jon & & Vinnie's sis restaurant Animal in
Los Angeles will co-host a sub pop-up with Joe Beddia of
Philadelphia's Pizzeria Beddia and comedian, actor, cookbook author Eric Wareheim. Bread Artisan Bakery was enlisted to bake the hoagie rolls for the pop-up.
" For Jon & & Vinnie's, we established a brand-new bread just for them," LoFranco said. "It's been enjoyable!"
The bakeshop is busy with unique jobs and wholesale accounts. However Guegan invests his extra time refining his pastry. He tinkers with various concepts and his newly baked creations are cost farmers markets every week.
" Different kinds of croissant, discomfort au chocolat, any type of Danish, early morning buns, kouign-amann, cinnamon rolls," he said, noting the pastries he bakes. Other mouthwatering creations include mushroom gruyere tarts.
Guegan hardly ever smiles, but when he discusses his pastries, his eyes light up and smiles emerge.
" He's always exploring," said LoFranco ebulliently.
She manages the business side of the bakery, striking deals with grocers like Trader Joe's, dealing with their chef customers, and conference consumers at front-facing occasions. This offers Guegan time to bake.
" His croissant is fantastic. His almond croissant, the ham and cheese is something I can't live without," she stated. "The guava croissant got truly popular at the farmers markets. The salted caramel early morning bun resembles a kough-amann light. It has the same flavor profile. Everybody typically gets a croissant and the discomfort au chocolat."
Guegan also sticks with the traditional French choice.
" I enjoy the plain croissant because it's simple and you can include jam or you can include cheese," he stated.
Guegan just recently produced a mega croissant. (There's likewise a mega discomfort au chocolat.).
" It's a pound," he stated with a smirk. "It's almost 4 times (the size of a regular croissant).".
The comically big croissant began as a joke. Everybody in the pastry shop made fun of it.
" Now people are inquiring about it," stated LoFranco.
Guegan likewise has four kids. His youngest kid Bradon, 15, sometimes helps his dad at the bakery.
I was revealing him the deck oven and filling the baguette. In 15 minutes, he was able to do it. I want him to focus on school," stated Guegan.
Workers steer racks of bread, alternating them based on when they emerged from the ovens. "It's like pastry shop Jenga," stated LoFranco.
" I want the area to do what we do much better," LoFranco stated. "I don't want a restaurant. To have a place where people can get and come bread from us, fresh from the oven, like what we do at the farmers market would be amazing. ... I've stated this from the beginning, I wish to bring bread to the people. Now with the farmers markets and Trader Joe's, we're doing it.".
For pickup orders, see breadab.com.
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