The neighborhood needed him. The Madrid district of The letters It is a nest of history and culture, in which the neighbors of "all life" open their arms to the modernity of gastronomic markets or to the bohemian way of life of the neighbor footbath . All while drinking the usual vermouth in century-old taverns, striking up conversations with foreigners who have found their new home in Madrid. But there was still room for more, for the tradition to join the enterprise and it was just before Filomena attacked when the doors of Acid Bakehouse , an extension –in the form of a workshop– of the specialty cafeteria that opened its doors on nearby Verónica Street in 2017.
There are coffee (from La Cabra) too. It could not be missing, after all, it is the nucleus of energy from which this natural evolution arose. "The cafeteria and the pastry shop are a perfect marriage," he says. Faith Gratian , one of the mainstays of Acid Cafe and Acid Bakehouse together with Sasha Zavgorodniaia. “We have always preferred that scandinavian profile , of light roasts in the coffees that we serve and the script that we have followed with the food is that of a nordic tale ”, he explains. Creating their own workshop – where they bake baguettes, loaves, cookies, brownies, cruffins or Berliners, as well as the place where Sasha takes care of all the puff pastries – that followed the same premise, was for them the most obvious step to grow .
"We realized that in Madrid there are very good bakeries and very good cafeterias, but there was none that was integrating both projects," continues Graciano. They got down to work to remedy it together with the wisdom of the greatest. “Our workshop right now is led by Paula Senior , Panic's head baker. They have always been one of our references."
Acid Bakehouse bread is cool. Thus, with such everyday informal words. But what is more important, is that it tastes good. They make it with organic and yeast-free flours . The Butter that goes in their croissants is also organic and the chocolate bread is filled with Puchero, which follows the grain-to-tablet philosophy.
“Just as an industrial coffee with which we serve is not the same, a Valrhona chocolate is not the same as a bean to bar”, Graciano answers when asked why his prices are higher than those of a typical bakery. , a factor that may surprise the public that has not had contact with this type of project. "We don't try to justify it too much, ours are small productions and the ingredients are a world apart. The flours , for example, come from Despelta, where Carlos does a great job with what is known as 'ancestral grains' , not very common and whose ecological agriculture it is more expensive. The same with chocolate, La Cabra imports and roasts its own cocoa. By not going through intermediaries, that is something that is noticeable in the price”. But what is more important, it becomes more than evident in the taste.
Acid's bakery follows a line inspired by Northern Europe with rugbrød, rye or spelled breads. But also the pastries, with cardamom and cinnamon rolls either danish . "Although we dare with croissants and pain au chocolat, typically French, we do not make things like éclairs, creams or very sweet things. Ours is inclined towards sobriety and less sugar ", they count.
Danish stuffed with almond frangipane with currants and caramelized blood orange
But things go further and Acid Bakehouse continues, along with Marcos Zoya, in a 120m² backyard as counseling classroom Y barista training . "We have a lot of space and a lot of desire to do things." The next will be that of a natural wine bar It hopes to open its doors in April or May.
"It will be located in the room that we have behind the bakehouse, we want it to be two concepts and totally different identities . It will be our little laboratory and if it works, the idea is to take a place on this same street and do it there", explains Graciano of a proposal that intends to be filled with wines from small producers in Europe but also from Chile or Argentina.
Berlinesa stuffed with nectarine
There are queues to buy bread at Acid. On weekends his Brioche it sells out quickly, Instagram is bubbling with influencers who give everything for the photo and to get a table... well, good luck if you don't have patience. But why? "People are thirsty to do things, to try new things, for coffee... there are currently few news in Madrid and that is helping us to see each other more and for people to pay more attention to us," says Graciano. The bakery in the capital and is becoming increasingly strong with different styles and types. It's a good time for it," he muses.
Who was going to tell him four years ago, when he and his partner left their jobs and trips in the audio-visual world to settle in Madrid with his son, that Acid was going to get so far. "Back then we lived in Almadén, very close to where Acid Coffee . The place was next to us and we thought the neighborhood was incredible, full of small business . That's why we opened on Verónica Street, in that little place that is like a cave and an area with very little traffic. We just wanted to do what we love and not get into any more trouble with long shoots in distant countries."
His desire to undertake was not only to lead a calmer family life, but also to cover the need for specialty coffee shops from Madrid. "We had the idea, a bit naive, that each neighborhood had to have, even if it was one of them, so as not to have to go to another neighborhood to find it," confesses Graciano. The approach, always, has been to have fun doing what they like the most, although that initially led them to be more drastic in his approach. Now we have yielded and we are more flexible, less punk and less rigid , but always with very clear ideas ". One of them is that Madrid still has a long way to go to be at the level of the best coffee shops and pastry shops in Europe, an obsession that moves and removes the stimulus of the Acid concept.
"It's a hobby of mine in general, to see what's missing," Graciano explains timidly. It's what you have to want to improve things and move on. As long as that means making Madrid an (even) more interesting place, your nonconformity is welcome.
