Bakeries are custodians of a town's and its neighborhood's memory. Next to the Valencian orchard, far from the frenetic pace of Valencia's center, lies the Rascanya neighborhood, where the bakery Pa i Dolços Marco Artesans continues to operate at its neighbors' pace. This workshop was born in 1973 from the hands of the current manager's parents, first in a nearby street and, since 2006, in the current premises on Marqués de Montortal street, managed by the second generation: Mari Carmen and Marco Bayarri.
The aroma of freshly baked bread fills the street from early morning. Marco Bayarri continues to make traditional loaves and sweet recipes that are part of the collective memory of several Valencian generations. These include the coca Cristina, coca de nous i panses, sweet potato cake, coca escudellà, coca en llanda, rosegón, mostachón, or the famous borreguito. The Valencian mostachón, specifically, is a spongy pastry assembled in layers of sponge cake, sweet potato paste, and meringue. On the savory side, traditional and whole wheat rosquilletas are abundant, a product that never goes out of style and is requested by customers of all ages.
«Product quality is an essential factor,» explains Marco Bayarri. «Both we at Pa i dolços Marco, and other colleagues in the Valencian baking and pastry sector, strive for quality in every daily creation,» he remarks while preparing the next batch. At the bakery, they still know the name of everyone who walks through the door. Mari Carmen greets each person with the naturalness and closeness typical of someone who has spent years welcoming people and offering them a few minutes of affection and conversation.
The clientele is regular, with older people during the week and young people from the neighborhood on weekends. People from nearby farmhouses like Poble Nou, Borbotó, Benifaraig, and Carpesa visit the bakery. The Rascanya neighborhood, close to the orchard area, functions like a village, and within it, Pa i dolços Marco remains a space of trust. «One good thing about neighborhood bakeries is that the customers themselves tell us what's good and what they didn't like. It's a constant dialogue that helps us improve,» comments Marco.
Regarding bread, they offer a wide variety: village bread loaf, baguette, gallego, rustic loaf, oove and salt, ciabatta, orange bread, whole wheat bread, whole wheat and seed bread, custom-order loaf bread, spelt, rye, corn, or kamut focaccias, among others. For preparation, Marco uses long fermentation processes, and for the village bread baked in a stone oven, he uses high hydration in the dough to achieve a light bread ideal for sandwiches. «Reinventing ourselves with whole wheat breads was a step we needed to take many years ago, and since then, we have progressively incorporated more specialty breads».
To encourage the consumption of artisan products and from neighborhood bakeries, Marco emphasizes the importance of the baker-pastry maker's heritage and providing customers with complete information. «We must explain what we do with confidence, explain how we bake the bread, what sweets we have, when they can buy them, and what people used to consume in an artisan bakery».
Regarding the closure of traditional bakeries due to a lack of qualified workers and generational succession, Marco Bayarri values the impact of the Valencia Bakers and Pastry Makers Guild. «We motivate each other, share experiences, and maintain continuous training that encourages us to continue. We help each other to keep offering quality in our businesses; supporting one another is important,» he comments.
Artisan trades like baking and pastry making can be professionalized without losing their essence. Collective work is an incentive to continue and a help to avoid working alone. Today, bakeries rely on culinary heritage to bring appetizing and traditional creations to the present, offered with a close and human touch, characteristic of lifelong places, neighborhoods, and businesses.
