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Mia R. Cortez
Editor
|  The smell of fresh bread and the sound of classic oldies on the satellite radio emanate from El Paso’s Bakery, at 3300 Fort Blvd. and 5901 Ybarra Ct. Inside, the bakers are hard at work producing hundreds of pounds of the dessert of the season - capirotada, or Mexican bread pudding. Capirotada is traditionally eaten as a dessert during the Lenten season, which ends with Easter Sunday on April 4.
It is made of pieces of toasted french bread soaked in a syrup made of piloncillo (brown sugar), and made in layers with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, peanuts, shredded coconut and candy sprinkles.
El Paso’s Bakery made 100 pounds of capirotada for Ash Wednesday and sold 75 pounds in one day at both locations.
Eustolia Ramirez, 68, bakery clerk at the Ybarra location, says she learned how to make capirotada as a child watching her mother and aunts preparing the dish during Lent.
“It’s about a two-hour process per batch, slow cooking in my special pot,” Ramirez said. “It’s a tradition and very popular in this region during Lent.”
Of the 120 bakeries in El Paso, El Paso’s Bakery owner Raymundo Olivas estimates less than a handful use a true adobe brick oven to bake their bread. The oven is 144-square feet of bricks that retains a heat of about 275 degrees and slow bakes bread, pastries, brisket and the capirotada.
At any given time, a display of more than 100 pastries can be enjoyed at either El Paso’s Bakery location, Olivas said. Their pastries are not only Mexican, but of French, Danish and American origin, made from scratch from various recipes and 12 different dough families.
Some have Spanish names, like the Oreja (Palmier), a heart of flaky sugary dough, and the Bigote, a Danish of buttery sweet bread crusted with butter and sugar. But the chocolate eclair is just that - a toasty thick layer of dough filled with cream and topped with chocolate, or the Boston Cream Puff. There are, of course, the traditional empanadas (cajeta, calabaza, mango), biscochos, marranitos and many other delights that don’t hide their complexity. One can easily pick out a grain of fresh ground cinnamon or anise from much of the pan dulce.
“We are not just a Mexican bakery, we are a sweet shop, a neighborhood bakery for a wide range of palates,” Olivas said.
While the Fort Boulevard location is small but efficient with a higher volume of customers, the Ybarra location (corner of Yarbrough and Ybarra south of I-10), offers a sort of deli where customers can sit and enjoy the special of the day, a burrito, drink and piece of sweet bread for $2.99 while watching the bread coming out of the brick oven.
His business, has not been recession proof, Olivas said. They have noticed a significant drop in sales since last year, although the traffic at both locations has remained the same.
“Spending has been adjusted because of the economy,” Olivas said. “Whereas we used to see an average of $4 spent per customer, now it’s $1.50.”
Prices at the bakery range from 50 - 79 cents and bolillos are 3 for $1.39.
At El Paso’s Bakery, the pieces of sweet bread are large and satisfying. The bolillos are thick and heavy and can be found hot nearly all day.
The bakeries also offer guisados for burritos, including tasty chiles rellenos and fresh tortillas, made from scratch at both locations.
El Paso’s Bakery
5901 Ybarra Ct.
5 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday – Sunday
772-3900
•••
3300 Fort Blvd.
5 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday – Sunday
562-5603
elpasobakery.com
Comments or questions about this story? E-mail swsenior@elpasoinc.com
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