Best Sourdough Bread in Gràcia, Barcelona
A Loaf with Some Tang to It, Due To Its San Francisco Roots
Not all sourdough tastes the same. Ours leans toward the tangy, assertive style associated with San Francisco, California, rather than the milder, softer sourdough more common in Europe. That's not an accident. Our starter, "Grizzlito," traces its roots back to a sourdough starter sourced directly from San Francisco, carrying some of the wild yeast and bacteria culture responsible for that distinctive sour edge.
Since then, Grizzlito has been maintained and fed daily in Gràcia, evolving into its own thing: a blend of rye, spelt, and wheat flours that gives the bread its structure and depth. No commercial yeast goes into any of it, so unlike many bakeries this is a 100% sourdough bread, doing the slow work that a fast-acting yeast can't replicate.
The 48 Hours Behind Every Loaf
The day before: feeding Grizzlito
The process actually starts before we ever touch the dough. Grizzlito, our starter, gets fed with a blend of three flours and left to rise on its own, this is what makes the whole process a true 48 hours, not just the time the dough itself spends resting.
Morning: mixing
We start by hydrating just the flour with water, letting it rest before anything else goes in. Only then do we add Grizzlito and salt, mixing everything together for a short time before moving on. This gives the flour a head start on absorbing water before the starter's wild yeast gets to work.
Midday: stretch and fold
Over the next several hours, we stretch and fold the dough by hand every 30 minutes. Several rounds build the dough's strength gradually, without the tight, dense crumb a machine-kneaded dough produces. This is where the dough actually turns into bread.
Afternoon: bulk fermentation
The dough sits at room temperature for hours, growing slowly as the wild yeast and bacteria work through the flour. This is where sourdough's real flavor gets built, not from the ingredients alone, but from how long we let them work.
Evening: shaping
Once the dough has doubled and turned airy, we shape each loaf by hand, building tension across the surface so it holds its form through the final rise instead of spreading flat.
Overnight: cold fermentation
Shaped loaves go into the fridge for a slow, cold rise, often 12 hours or more. This is what gives our sourdough its tang and complexity, something a same-day loaf can never develop, and it's the one step we won't skip no matter how busy the bakery gets.
Morning: scoring and baking
Each loaf gets a quick slash across the surface right before it goes into a hot, steamy oven, still cold from the fridge. That score lets steam escape in a controlled way as the loaf expands, which is what gives sourdough its iconic "ear," along with a deep, blistered crust and an open, chewy crumb.
Close to 48 hours from the first feeding to a loaf on the shelf, most of it spent waiting, not working. That's what it actually takes to call something 100% sourdough.
For those who want more texture and a nuttier flavor alongside the tang, we also make a seeded version, topped with millet, flax, sesame, sunflower, and buckwheat. Both loaves are baked fresh daily and sold as a full 1kg loaf or a 500g half loaf, whichever fits what you need.
Pair a slice with a cup of our specialty coffee, or come by and see the loaves fresh out of the oven for yourself. Prefer something sweeter? Our cinnamon rolls and cardamom buns are baked fresh every day. Also available wholesale to coffee shops, restaurants, and pop-ups.
Allergens
Contains gluten (wheat, rye, spelt). May contain traces of mustard and soy.
The seeded version contains gluten (wheat, rye, spelt) and sesame. May contain traces of lactose, nuts, egg, mustard and soy.
Craving a loaf now? Order yours on Glovo or Uber Eats, or stop by the shop on Plaça del Sol.