Really Good Bread in Windhoek

Publishing interviews of people I meet around the world isn't my usual blogging platform, but in this case I felt compelled to do so. You see, no matter where you live, finding really good, proper sourdough, baguettes, and croissants are hard to come by. Unless of course you are shacking up with a French baker and extracting their scientific methods of bread making while they sleep. It takes talent to make great bread, and I just happened to find Windhoek's best kept secret - and not everyone's happy about it either...

On an early Wednesday morning, the line to the le Pain Bakery located inside the Puma gas station continues to grow. The line is all women, perfectly coiffed with a fresh sheen of lipstick give their orders to the cashier. I stand too in line, slightly sweaty and without lipstick to experience what many would say is the best bread in Windhoek. I ask the woman behind me if the line and eager sense of anticipation is always like this. Her eyes widen and she says “Yes! You have to get here early or order ahead of time. Their stuff is the best, but don’t tell anybody because I am sick of standing in line.” I take that awkward, slightly unwelcome comment as a sign that I absolutely need to interview the people of le Pain and tell everyone about it.

I make my way to the front and blurt out “I hear you’re great! Tell me what to buy.” The gentleman with a brilliant smile patiently tells me about all their bread and pastry selections. I buy pretty much one of everything, and then request the owner’s business much to the same lady’s chagrin. I grab my stash and she whines “Come on! I’m in a hurry!” I still have to pay, which involves smashing the bar-coded bag up against the thickly pained security window and shoving cash in the tiny slot. It’s an awkward move, but oh so worth it. I can smell the delicious baguettes, brioches, croissants, and sourdough in my car. Family and co-workers give the thumbs up, which seals the deal: Puma Gas Station’s little French bakery is anything but.

I got a chance to meet with the head baker, Stephaan Coetzee, a loquacious Namibian with fine taste in artisanal, locally made products. Even as a young child, he knew deep down he’d be a culinary master of sorts, with the dream of owning a tiny café that prepared freshly baked goods every day. In 2006 and 2007, Stephaan trained with Markus Farbinger, an Austrian/South African/Baker extraordinaire. Farbinger trained at the Culinary Institute of America, dabbled in chocolatiering in chic LA, owned a bakery in the Western Cape, and also worked at the famous Le Cirque New York. It’s the kind of place that requires jackets and closed toed shoes, and has a $$$$ price range. The two remain close to this day, and Stephaan clearly delineates his knowledge and credit of success to Markus’s mentoring.

In 2015, the Eros Marketplace Puma Gas station (complete with a kitchen) was up for sale. The Coetzee family took over ownership and Stephaan moved in his oven and mixers. Since then, he’s polished a team of bakers and salespeople, people who he credits to for making his business shine – and make no mistake: creating bread from flour, salt, water, and yeast is no small feat. The process of preparing the dough to rise and ferment is called proofing, and elements of temperature, humidity, and the handling of the dough literally alters the outcome of the bread from one day to the next.

The continually changing environmental and physical factors make teaching and maintaining consistency a precarious balance to ensure, but that is why, Stephaan explains, he loves bread so much. It requires slowing down, attention, and care – attributes that are reiterated in his work life and personal life. People just don’t do enough of that personal care.

In an ideal situation, Stephaan would use 100% local, Namibian ingredients, but the availability just isn’t there yet. Made in South Africa and packaged in Namibia, the bakery uses Snowflake Flour. He loves its unbleached, chemical free texture because it produces a rich, natural flavor. Pre-mixed flour concoctions have no place in his kitchen. Nor is margarine, a proverbial dirty word. He uses only butter: the ubiquitous Clover and Springbok brands we know and love, plus a German brand of butter that he is lucky enough to get imported, solely for his baking purposes. When you have connections, use them. As a principle, Stephaan only uses local honey to sweeten his breads and is proud to say for the two years he’s been in business his sourdough yeast is still going strong.

Live sourdough yeast is an organism that must be treated with care. It literally needs to be fed everyday a diet of flour and water. It needs to be kept cozy, between 70F-85C (21C-29C) during the feeding time, which lasts about 8-12 hours. You know the yeast is hungry when the yeast forms a brown liquid layer called hooch. This gets poured off and the yeast is fed some more. 3-4 hours later, the yeast is ready to be used. Unused yeast can be stored in the fridge. It takes a lot of attention, but it's so worth it.

Why not expand the bakery to a larger place? Stephaan is emphatic about staying small because he needs and wants his products to remain as authentically artisanal. However, Stephaan speaks enthusiastically about opening a second location to produce more small batches in Windhoek, and perhaps one in Swakopmund, the place where he can reset from the onerous demands of bakery ownership. The ocean has and always will be a big part of his life. For now, he looks to the New Year with notions of macarons, cakes, challah, and the American dream: bagels.

On a late mid-morning, I return to the bakery to pick up some more bread. It’s a slower moment of the day and I am the only one perusing the already half empty shelves. His staff is just as friendly as before and I request another sourdough loaf. I love its heft and thick crust, and look forward to sharing it with my colleagues. I attempt to socialize a bit more with them, but before I know it, a rush of eager bread enthusiasts makes their way into the store. More decked out housewives are taking the bakery by storm and even I can't stop them. No chit-chatting this time around either. But I’ll be back.

The bakery staff. Photo courtesy of Stephaan Coetzee