Rising with Tradition: How The Bread Basket Bakery Continues to Innovate
Interview by Jaeya Bayani + Camille Washington
All Photos courtesy of Liza Cavan, The Bread Basket Bakery
Previously, in Yum Yams #1 | The Bread Basket Bakery
The Bread Basket Bakery – based on Mission Street in Daly City – has served customers across various cultural backgrounds and beyond the Bay Area with “hot mini pandesal” and other delectable, Filipino treats. By highlighting our roots, community, and the hospitality cultivation that is key to our history, this corner bakery transformed into a “cornerstone” of its vibrant neighborhood.
Ube Pandesal
Touring the Bakery
Camille and I walk through the bakery with Liza and witness various touchpoints where innovation and tradition meet to propel the bakery forward. “We’re getting close to the latter portion of our day,” Liza says, explaining that the first crew arrives at 2:00 am to start prepping orders, and the rest of the team arrives at 5 or 6 am.
Bakery mornings are an activity hive as “people make the ube pandesal [and] all the different varieties with filling” she says. “We also have things in process,” she adds, gesturing to trays waiting for their final touches. “I need to finish the ube pandesal with ube filling.”
Ube Pandesal w/ Ube Filling
“We’ve just improved the process...it’s amazing how we’ve expanded over the years [with] ingredients and hands-on work to the technology.”
Liza also highlights the efficiency of their proofers, racks, and mixers, which allow them to produce bread quicker with fewer hands—but without sacrificing quality. The new mixers, in particular, have helped reduce the need for manual labor to work the machine by a third.
“We've just improved the process over the years,” she tells us, noting that though they’ve advanced technologically, they stay true to the right flavors, the right process, and putting heart into all the products.
Pandesal
“It’s amazing how we’ve expanded over the years,” Liza says, adding that balancing “ingredients and hands-on work to the technology” has been key. Though the bakery has evolved in recent years, these operational enhancements have enabled The Bread Basket Bakery to serve the community post-pandemic and beyond.
Traditional Butter Croissant + Monkey Bread
Interview w/ Liza Cavan
Fresh Pandesal
Please introduce yourself, The Bread Basket Bakery, and its origin story.
My name is Liza and my parents started this bakery. I grew up getting a lot of hands on [experience] in this environment, playing with the dough and eventually working with the product. Now, our kids are running around and getting their hands dirty. We hire entry level positions because folks get the right attitude, learn on the job, and they work as a team. There’s always situations that require having to talk or collaborate with others, while managing timing. That's how we've built and sustained our team.
The Bread Basket Bakery at Yum Yams
We're near our 47th/48th anniversary and close to our 50th. I joke [that] I need to calculate it, but I think it’s three years. We're trying to go big for our 50th. We did a 40th, and it's [already] coming up. It's a blur because we are so busy day to day, but then we take a breath to realize how much my parents have done [with the bakery], and where we want to take it. We hope there are many more years to go.
Photos courtesy of Liza Cavan, The Bread Basket Bakery
“When take a breath to realize how much my parents have done [with the bakery], and where we want to take it, we hope there are more years to go.”
What was the intention behind The Bread Basket Bakery’s creation and mission to bring Philippine flavors to Mission St., Daly City?
[The bakery] started in the 70s. My parents came from the Philippines and stayed in Guam for a little bit. My mom's family's very industrious, [with] a lot of entrepreneurs. When they came over here, they wanted to keep that bakery heritage. Back then, there was nothing, except maybe Wonder Bread. My parents baked at home and sold it to their coworkers at whatever jobs they had. Eventually, they realized, “We need to make this into a business.” That was how they started it. They were just trying to [pursue] that American dream. My eldest sister was born, my middle sister was born before they started it, and I was born after.
Photos courtesy of Liza Cavan, The Bread Basket Bakery
I wonder if I’d be able to do what my parents did and have everything in the right place for them to evolve over the decades, stay relevant, and keep the current customers. Post-pandemic, we realized we had to keep it going and also envision where to go next. My parents had that vision, they got so far, and they’re working with us to make sure they hand it off, so we can also plan for where we want to go—[while] staying true to where we came from and sharing our story.
“ Staying creative keeps us going and is possibly the secret sauce that allows us the opportunity to bring new items to Yum Yams that we and other vendors haven’t experimented with before.”
Do you have a favorite recipe or go-to recipe from your parents, or one that you're developing? Anything you’re excited about?
The pandesal and pan de leche are our main items, especially at Yum Yams, and we’re consistent with that. Our customers beg us not to change the recipe and will ask if we do. We don’t. We stay true to that and not modify that. We see others’ unique take on ube, and we’ve learned a lot from how they develop and play around with it. Now, we’ve started to incorporate ube into the croissants and pastries we produce.
I look at recipes from where we are for inspiration—with the Bay Area’s diversity and abundant culture. I’ll be inspired by a Turkish or Salvadorian recipe. It helps us to evolve and recognize what our community is asking for. Staying creative keeps us going and is possibly the secret sauce that allows us the opportunity to bring new items to Yum Yams that we and other vendors haven’t experimented with before.
Photos courtesy of Liza Cavan, The Bread Basket Bakery
“We realized how huge and exhilarating it is to be a part of this event and community...we meet Kapwa Gardens regulars and new followers. They’re curious about Ube and what Yum Yams is.”
How meaningful has it been for you to collaborate with fellow Yum Yams ube vendors, and be running an influential business within your own community? What impacts you most about learning from your own community, regarding recipes and the cultures surrounding you?
It was a chance meeting, with Kapwa Gardens growing and blossoming. We never went downtown or followed accounts. When we met the team and heard about Yum Yams, we had never done anything like it before, but we wanted to figure it out and tag along with them. We realized how huge and exhilarating it is to be a part of this event and community.
Tasty Slice
We were at the first [Yum Yams] and we've been consistent about showing up. We meet Kapwa Gardens regulars and new followers — who are expanding — as well as people who are from all over and down the street. They're curious about Ube and what Yum Yams is. It’s neat to talk to that crowd, [share] our story, and [express] that excitement of inviting folks to try, buy, and/or share your product.
Senorita Bread
The fun part is feeling people’s energy and hearing their individual [stories] of what brought them there. They bring their friends and their family, and everyone is so pumped going off each other's vibes. In Daly City, this is familiar to us because we work with customers who are long-time regulars. They've been here since the start—bringing their kids and grandkids, or their grown-up kids will stop by on their way to work to pick up treats to share with their coworkers.
Bibingka
We don't get to be in front often, but when I can chat with folks, it’s a reminder of why we're doing this, what food can do, and what our Philippine culture is about. We're sharing a smile, hot bread, something sweet—you can't go wrong. It’s a perfect match that is meant to be. We use [being] on the corner [to our advantage]. Everyone zips by [with] their busy lives, but they still take time to grab food, share, talk, and build memories. We cherish the moments our customers share with us and others when they leave our bakery.
The Bread Basket Bakery at Yum Yams
“Everyone zips by [with] their busy lives, but...take time to grab food, share, talk, and build memories. We cherish the moments our customers share with us and others when they leave our bakery.”
Have any of your longtime customers come out to support your vendor booth at Yum Yums events?
Oh, yes. During the first Yum Yams, it was out of the gate. We remember them announcing they were opening the gates. It was a blur, and they didn’t know where the line ended. [Attendees] gave their orders as I chased and bagged the food products for them; my husband managed prices and payments. We look up and realize we recognize people. It'd be my cousin, whom I didn't know was going to be there. One of our vendors showed up, and it took us a second to remember where we knew him from. He saw us promote it and showed up there with his wife to support us.
The Bread Basket Bakery at Yum Yams
We have customers who bring their friends or kids to meet us. They keep up with where we are, so we map it out for them. They’ll come back and ask, “Do you have that thing that you had at the festival?” Sometimes we don’t, but we’ll share another new item or coupons just to [give back]. There are even people from that festival who are coming from far away, and they will call us to ask what we have in stock and place orders when they’re in town. We build on those connections.
Flier courtesy of Erwin Jastillana
