A dream come true in just 20 square meters between workshop and store: in just two months after opening, Giuseppe and Chiara's Bakery Coce - Lievitati per Scelta is making its mark in Parma's historic center
THE STORY
Small, very small, but with everything. Just everything. Starting with passion, resourcefulness and that “hunger” to do that leads to wanting to eat every challenge, bite after bite. All seasoned with lots and lots of fragrant goodness. The Bakery Coce - Lievitati per Scelta, a little corner of delicacies baked every day, reveals itself with a window-eye concealed in one of the most beautiful hamlets of Parma's historic center. A “little slice” of a 16th-century building that encloses 20 square meters between store and laboratory, dialoguing with the surrounding stores and creating a small community of merchants who collaborate, who talk. Exactly as it happened in the past.
To open it only four months ago, precisely on June 8, a couple of young people who, after several experiences, courageously decided to say goodbye to their previous work alongside Stefano Guizzetti at Ciacco 's, where they had met and where they carried on a significant growth experience, to take a path of their own. To follow a drive. Giuseppe Mazzocca and Chiara Masino, 33 and 26 years old respectively , have put into Coce Bakery all their knowledge in the field of sweet and savory leavening and all their desire to explore its different taste frontiers.
She, born in Parma with a mother from Puglia and a father from Calabria, coming from studies in biology, gastronomic sciences, specialization as a master ice cream maker and having in place the pastry course at ALMA, International School of Italian Cuisine. He, Roman by origin, with studies at the hotel school behind him, experiences between Italy and London in several starred restaurants such as Montpeliano, which made him understand the importance of Italian products, Casa Perbellini and Alchimia.
“I came to Stefano Guizzetti to consult on the yeast part. I was supposed to stay only two months then, from two months to two months, two years passed. I was supposed to go abroad, then I had the opportunity to open in downtown Parma, a city I fell in love with and felt did not have the right value for baked goods. - Giuseppe explains - The idea was born in the small because, as they say, in the small barrel there is good wine: if you want to make a quality product with the territory - the guys work with products from farms and realities scattered between Parma, Piacenza and Reggio Emilia - you can't think of large quantities, so much so that we often have to alternate suppliers to make sure there is availability of the raw material."
Giuseppe is responsible for all the baking, which is “what relaxes him the most,” with pizzas and focaccias, and some savory viennoiserie proposals; while Chiara is the creator of all the sweet treats, thus the different types of brioche, tarts, cakes and cookies. "Unlike many of my colleagues, I did not have grandparents or parents who made me cakes or special recipes. I got into baking because of that, I started making them myself. Then my studies in physics and biology did the trick, let's say I combined them with the proper characteristics of pastry making where there is a lot of chemistry and physics. - Chiara tells - And then I study, study and more study. It took a lot of practice and rigor to get to this familiarity."
The day starts at three o'clock and lasts until seven o'clock “if we're lucky, otherwise even until 11. But for us it's not a struggle, because for the first time we are building something of our own. It is the dream come true and it represents us, so much so that even the furniture is designed by us and made with my father's skill. Even the wrought iron handle with the C in Coce was him creating it, “ Giuseppe smiles as he talks about it. Opening hours? Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), but “if the bread runs out early, I close.” "If you think back to the first month of opening, the bread production was 12 kilograms, today we are on 80 to 90 kilograms. As far as brioche is concerned, from 150 a day, it goes up to 400/450 between Friday and Saturday."
THE SWEET AND SAVORY PROPOSALS
At Coce Bakery there is no boredom, the novelties are daily. As for bread, 4 fixed types every day, which become 5 or even 6 on Fridays and Saturdays: that of Type 1, so semi wholemeal, which is the workhorse; 100% wholemeal, with its good bran flavor; chocolate, prepared with an infusion of 100% cocoa, slightly bitter and suitable with both sweet and savory; then Friday and Saturday baguettes and special breads, such as garlic, oil and chili, pumpkin and rosemary, peppers and 'nduja, the Casaro with mix of artisanal cheeses.
“The fun is that when I have to create our special breads, I don't plan anything beforehand ,” Giuseppe points out, “since I don't have a refrigerator and space is too tight, I play on what I buy daily from trusted food stores and farms. Most of the processing is carried out with sourdough and a leavening between 24 and 48 hours. Even during opening hours, baking continues. And alongside light, digestible breads, pizzas and flatbreads (with Roman-style dough) and savory variations of brioche with alternative fillings, - fabulous the one with marinated cabbage and chickpea hummus - there is a mouthwatering world to discover.
"The inspiration comes from my cultural mix, between Parma, Puglia and Calabria. I grew up in Salento and the memory of that period always comes back. - says Chiara - For example, I offer the classic pasticciotto, but I wanted to make a variation with almond frangipane, apricot jam and chocolate caramel ganache. Every month I create something new, like the Danish with figs this September." Chiara and Giuseppe state this with conviction: “paradoxically, customers are increasingly opting for original and unexpected variations. They are tired of the usual." Thus, alongside classic croissants, with jam or fruit, and pain au chocolat, there are tempting goodies that leave room for creativity, inspired by their travels and experiences.
"The call to memory, which we borrowed from Stefano Guizzetti, continues to stimulate us. That's why we prepare '978,' or the miles between Parma and Paris, a meeting between the filling of herb tortelli enclosed inside the typically Parisian pain suisse. And again the same but with the filling of the Mantuan pumpkin tortello, or the spiced with a dough made from milk and infused with Masala Chai." And if the food part is well assorted, the break is completed with the possibility to enjoy a filter coffee selected from small producers. “A real treat,” Giuseppe specifies, “ I like to rotate the types so that they can pair well with the different viennoiserie.
ADDRESS
Coce - Lievitati per Scelta
Borgo Angelo Mazza 9/B - Parma
https://www.instagram.com/coce_bakery/
