Gonzalo Bethencourt grew up in Madrid, Spain. His marketing career took him to Los Angeles, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Acton in 2016. At each location he searched for the bread of his home country, but he did not find it. He did some baking at home and, inspired by his wife, he began experimenting with sourdough. He read books, watched videos, and in time baked a loaf of bread that he was happy with. He took professional courses, and with each progressive step his passion grew.
I met Bethencourt at his Newtown Road home where he began assembling a compact microbakery earlier this year. There is a refrigerator, a sink, an oven that is the largest one permissible in a residence, shelving for supplies, and an antique Coke vending machine (he also collects Coke memorabilia). There are bins that hold organic wheat and rye “berries”, unprocessed grains, which Bethencourt grinds in a small milling machine. On a stainless-steel counter there are containers of freshly milled flour and, most importantly, in a small plastic container, Pan de Masa Madre, the mother dough bread. This is the sourdough starter that is the basis for all his products.
The day this reporter visited, Bethencourt was baking for a market the following day. He explained the baking process. He adds water to the flour to hydrate it. The flour-water mixture rests for a time, then the mixing begins. After mixing, the dough is transferred to large shallow bins where the fermentation starts. He opened a bin and grabbed the dough, lifted it up and folded it over several times, then closed the bin. He explained he did the folding to reinforce the gluten to create a network, like a spider web. The wild yeast and bacteria of the starter converts the starches and sugars into carbon dioxide, which is trapped by the gluten network, causing the bread to grow. The resulting structure allows the bread to expand into a satisfying globe.
One wall of the room is covered by a white board that maps out Bethencourt’s intricate baking schedule. It’s necessary to keep track of the six different breads he will be baking today: when to grind flour, when to hydrate, when to fold, when to bake. In the large commercial mixer, there is sourdough with red wine and bits of organic figs. The night before, he chopped the figs and let them soak overnight in red wine. This is one of the many varieties of sourdough products that Bethencourt offers. He bakes multi-grain, olive rosemary, artesian focaccia, German style rye, and “Belgian triple chocolate sourdough cookies.”
On his website Bethencourt writes an informative blog covering topics such as “Why bread feels different in Europe: what science says”, “Debunking the glutenfree myth: insights for healthy adults”, and “Understanding gluten intolerance and the sourdough solution.”
Bethencourt sells to individuals online and to restaurants and shops. The public can order online from Monday morning to Tuesday night. He bakes Thursdays, and orders are available for pick up at Eve and Murray’s Farm to Home shop in West Acton on Thursday afternoons. Debra’s Natural Gourmet in West Concord will offer his products starting at the end of this month.
To order go to: bethencourtbakehouse.com.
Jeff Brown is the Acton Exchange’s business beat reporter.