Prager Brothers Artisan Breads in Carlsbad, CA

(This article appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

Clinton Prager and Louie Prager, Owners

Company Mission

To continue serving high quality baked goods and sandwiches for an affordable price for our community.  Our legacy is restoring the tradition of artisan bread with an emphasis on whole grain breads. Part of this mission is using non-commodity grains, where small farmers produce a wider variety of grains so families can put better tasting and healthier bread on their table.

Signature Products

We sell bread, pastries and sandwiches and our signature products are the whole grain sourdough breads. The Spelt, Rye Sunflower, Bauernbrot, Walnut Bread and Miche. We use fresh, in-house stone milled flour to make those breads. That is definitely something our customers like. Having our own flour mill allows us to have a direct relationship with the farmers that grow our grains.

Production Tip

At our bakery we make a lot of shortbread cookies; we recently bought a Dedy wire cutter that helps get consistency in the size and speeds up production significantly.

Equipment ‘Must-Haves’

Our ‘must have’ equipment is our New American Stone Mill. We just bought a 48-inch mill that is letting us use even more fresh milled flour in our products. No rocket science – more fresh milled flour equals better quality, which results in happier customers.

Secret of Success

Hard work and love for the community. When they were young, Clinton and Louie Prager spent 10 years working hard, baking bread in their parent’s backyard in wood-fired ovens for the first year, selling at the local farmers’ markets. This grassroots business model built a strong connection with the community. Now we sell bread for local restaurants, groceries stores, and still do a couple of farmers’ markets. The primary focus is our three retail stores and selling direct to consumers.

Future Goals

We have a physical expansion happening right now – more space and better work flow, as well as improvements in our equipment. Another very exciting thing is that Louie Prager is studying breeding non-commodity grains at the Bread Lab, a PhD extension of WSU. The goal is to support small farmers and incorporate these grains in our production. That is huge for us. One of the most influential things we can do as a bakery is to educate people about the importance of whole grains and the health benefits of a high-fiber diet.

Visit www.pragerbrothers.com for more info