A Popular LA Sourdough Bakery Sold at Erewhon and Local Farmers Markets Opens in Del Rey
With both Austrian and Afghan heritage, Barang felt the call of sourdough ever since he took a leave of absence from university in 2013 to attend culinary school and learning how to make Neapolitan pizza. In 2017, he learned more advanced baking techniques from a small village bakery in Austria founded over 150 years ago by his sister-in-law's family. By 2018, Barang opened a cottage bakery at his parents' Studio City home, distributing by word of mouth and at farmers markets. He experimented with natural coloring like matcha and charcoal before landing on a pleasant combination of pea butterfly flower, and turmeric, which produces a weaving blend of pale purple and yellow dough inside every baked good Hasi produces. Barang sees the colors as an appealing trademark but also something that introduces anti-inflammatory and other salutary properties. While on social media, the colors look vibrant, to the naked eye, they're a bit more muted.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Barang and his wife, Dawn, continued to operate in Studio City, building a 300-square-foot shed until they landed at a commercial space in Venice. In the past few years, fueled by a cult-following and Erewhon sales, they've expanded the business without the need for investors or other partners. At this new Mar Vista-adjacent space, Hasi has been baking baguette loaves, croissants, cookies, ciabatta, challah, English muffins, and all flavors of bread loaves topped with seeds and other grains. Doughs are leavened over multiple days (up to five for the pastries, around three for the bread) using only natural sourdough yeast, something Barang is adamant about. Eventually, the bakery will host sourdough Neapolitan-style pizza nights from a wood-fired oven.
Last week, as Barang and his dedicated baking team were finishing loaves to fulfill wholesale and retail orders, he sliced open a warm loaf. The crumb was wide and open, well-developed and gorgeous with its signature colorway. The flavor of the sourdough exuded a pleasant balance between nutty whole grains, a complex tang, and sturdy crust. Barang brought out a block of salted Irish butter as its only accompaniment, grinning at the results, relieved and satisfied that their bakery was finally open.
Hasi Bread is open at 4119 S. Centinela Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90066, and is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily (closed on Memorial Day).
Related The Best Bakeries in Los Angeles
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