Gusto Bread in Long Beach, CA.

Arturo Enciso, Owner

Company Mission

Aartisan bread is not as common as I think it should be. It’s becoming more and more each year. When I started, people weren’t really eating loaves the way they are now. That’s a beautiful thing to see. As an artisan baker I think it’s our duty to produce nutritous bread. That’s what inspired me to bake, too. It isn’t just foam white bread. I think many Americans who grew up with Wonder Bread are now experiencing a certain bread renaissance.

I didn’t have a background in food at all. I was a musician, wrote my own songs. Long Beach had a lot of farmers markets. It was sort of going through a renaissance. I was in the middle of that. I met people having small businesses with food. It was inspiring to be around them. I moved onto this property with an oven that I named EmmyLou. I want to inspire other people to follow their own path.

Signature Products

I recommend our Dorado loaf. It’s 50 percent whole durum flour, which is used in Italy a lot, like semolina for pasta. That’s a really beautiful soft crumb, yellow-colored loaf that’s super tender. That’s why I love using durum flour. Then we blend it with bread flour that’s grown in Washington. Then we add golden flax seeds.

The pastry I’d recommend is our Nixtamal queen (heirloom corn masa caramelized sweet bread) with a masa layered corn. We make our own corn dough from scratch. We cook it in an Alkali bath, soak it overnight and then we grind it in our volcanic stones the next day into a dough, and then layer that with some butter just like you would a croissant and it creates a real journey of flavors.

I feel I owe it to the farmers markets to be seasonal. We make jams. Now as we get to summer, we see a lot of peaches. Before we had strawberry season. Typically we showcase seasonal fruit by making house jams and using them in pastries.

Production Tip

One, study as much as you can. Study books. (I was really inspired by reading From the Wood-Fired Oven by Richard Miscovich.) Talk to your peers. People in the bakery community are so generous with their time. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to talk to you and hear you out. Also be careful not to overproduce. We try to avoid that because it creates a lot of food waste. You have to learn your community, what numbers work for what you’re doing and the demand.

Equipment ‘Must-Haves’

There was a wood oven on our property. I named it Emmy Lou. Then through the cottage-food laws, I was able to get a permit to produce bread out of our other home. I was able to get an electric oven called Rofco. They’re Belgian ovens. They’re quite popular in micro bakeries. It’s such a simple design. They have huge stones on three levels so you could fit nine to 15 loaves of bread. That’s a lot for a home bakery.

From 2017 to 2020, I got a full-on gas deck oven. We have one main gas deck oven for bread, and then two electric convection ovens for pastries. That one fits 70 to 100 depending on the size.

Secret of Success

I’m grateful for the way we’ve grown and been accepted by our community. The secret is to be yourself. I wasn’t afraid to build a bakery that had conchas and artisan loaves next to each other. That’s who I am as a Mexican American, as a baker. That’s helped shape our success. People can see that.

Future Goals

Gusto Bakery has grown a lot. We have 16 employees, most full-time. We recently expanded to offer coffee. I’m roasted coffee now. I hope to extend Gusto Bakery into another community within the next five years. I really love Santa Barbara. I enjoy my time there. That could be next.

Photo Credits:  Lorena Caro for Gusto Bread

For more info, visit www.gustobread.com and www.instagram.com/gustobread

(This article appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)