As head baker of the Bagby Restaurant Group, John Aversa likes to loaf around with stencils.
By By Jane Marion | Photography by David Colwell | November 2014
John Aversa, who trained as a pastry chef and is now head baker of the Bagby Restaurant Group, turned to bread-making after burning out on making the sweet stuff. “Bread is one of the few foods you can eat every day and never tire of,” he says. “In the grand scheme of things, making bread offers instant gratification.”
Aversa drafts his designs on paper using a pencil, then traces it in pen and overlays the stencil film on top of the paper the design gets baked into the bread. Click through below to see what Aversa has to say about some of his most clever designs.
“Natty Boh is very popular in my kitchen—everyone knows it.”
“I ride a unicycle. I tried mounting it for seven or eight hours straight. Eventually, I learned how to not fall off.”
“This stencil is an homage to the growth of wheat and a reminder of how the bread has been created.”
“I got hooked on Breaking Bad. It was the most addictive show I’ve ever seen. I saw the first to most of the final episodes in three months.”
Panmarino Batard is sourdough with rosemary- lemon zest.
Fleur madeline baguette.
Couronne baguette.
Epi baguette with poppy seeds.
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