Domi Velez , from the bakery The Oven of Velez (Lebrija, Seville) has been chosen best baker of the world at the awards WorldBaker 2021.
The event, organized by the International Bakery and Pastry Union (UIB) , has taken place electronically since Munich on Tuesday, October 27.
Domi Vélez, who beat three other bakers in the final ( Han Chih Lu (Taiwan), Peng Fudon (China) and Sigurdur Mar Gudjosson (Iceland) thus becomes the second Spaniard to win the prestigious award , well the Catalan Jordi Morera He already won the award in 2017.
Domi Vélez was applauded at the Lebrija City Hall.
DOMI VELEZ: THE BAKER 2.0
Domi Velez , native of Lebrija , is the fifth generation at the head of The Oven of Velez , which defines itself as much more than an artisanal bakery: "El Horno de Vélez is a factory of edible works of art. We carry out our work with the care and delicacy that our product requires: The Author Bread”.
"We could say that I am the baker 2.0 , someone who has reinvented himself in this trade with the help of history, mixing details of each era and exposing new ideas and concepts in our product: the artisanal and natural author bread, without any type of additives or artificial elements” , says Domi Vélez on his website.
Domi is the son of a family of bakers whose history did not begin in Lebrija, but in the Sevillian municipality of The Heads of Saint John.
“Everything starts with the constant confrontation of two great-grandfathers who wanted to be the best baker in Las Cabezas de San Juan”, they comment from El Horno de Vélez”.
In the 90s they moved to Lebrija, where Domi has articulated a new concept around bread: “The mixture of the artisan tradition inherited from the great great-grandfather bakers of him, with the modernity of this century”
“For us, 'teamwork' does not just mean 'working together', it is a different way of thinking that is based on commitment. We create synergies that go beyond work”, they say.
Its objective? Make bread in a different way but always focused on the two main characteristics of the trade: craftsmanship and precision.
THE ELABORATION PROCESS
The first step before putting your hands in the dough is crucial and at El Horno de Vélez they have it clear: "Our artisan bread recipes require prior research."
Next, the five steps that all elaboration must follow are carried out: weighing of ingredients, kneading stage, forming stage, fermentation and baking stage.
And we come to the masterpiece and jewel in the crown of El Horno de Vélez: your culture sourdough , present in all its breads: "With it, we make our breads more digestible and healthier, improving their organoleptic properties."
Their wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria perform, according to their website, "a very important function, always accompanied by 24 hours of fermentation and of the most digestible cereals”.
A) Yes, the glycemic index falls while gluten is degraded, making the bread suitable for intolerant and diabetics.
The ingredients? To achieve the perfect mix, at El Horno de Vélez they experiment with all kinds of ingredients, studying how they react and improving (even more) their formula.
There are no secrets, all the raw material that enters the workshop is listed on its website. In section cereals we find: rye, tritordeum, emmer, kamut, eirkorn, freekeh or spelled; as well as different varieties of wheat (organic wheat, chamorro wheat, black wheat, candeal wheat or its durum wheat. “We also work with other cereals such as the recio de ronda or the spectacular bon pain ” they add.
They also use spices like turmeric, cumin, cloves and other aromatic herbs such as fennel or oregano.
Last but not least, we find the nuances, which come straight from Ancient Rome (such as the garum ), from Korea (such as the kimchi ), from India (such as the golden-milk ), from Japan (such as the matcha ) or from Italy (such as the ciabatta).
The Oven of Velez.
THE BREADS
In the "bread catalog" of El Horno de Vélez we find classic preparations such as the traditional baguette, sliced bread (multi-seed, spelled, etc.), the ciabatta (made with stone-ground flour), the muffins or the five versions of the hamburger bun (toasted rye with seed, butterfly pea flower, spirulina, IPA beer with fried onions and pretzel).
In addition, they bet on more innovative pieces such as the tritordeum with payoyo cheese and infiltrations of muslum (a wine from Roman times), pistachio and honey; the goldenmilk (with a clarification of butter ‘ghee’ with honey, turmeric and tritordeum) or the one they do with paprika from la vera top quality and tritordeum with homegrown oregano.
One of the most striking (because an unusual blue color appears when it is split) is butterfly pea flower ciabatta , made with dried flowers infused and fermented for 24 hours.
“It is a joy to have the best baker in the world as captain of our ship and It is a source of pride that countless spotlights are placed on Lebrija. For us, this day is going to be unforgettable,” said El Horno de Vélez on its social networks.