If you've eaten cuban bread in Tampa anytime in say, the past 100 years, you've probably had cuban bread from La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City. La Segunda Central Bakery is a Tampa institution, producing 12,000 - 16,000 loaves of "crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside" cuban bread daily, along with hundreds of pastries and baked goods, all made by hand. Now, that's a lot of bread!
Established in 1915 by Juan Moré, this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the 3rd and 4th generation family owned and operated business and they're ringing it in style. This family is a legacy in Tampa and the pride, passion, and appreciation for what they have done for our city emanated out of every distinguished speaker at their 100 Year Anniversary Celebration including John DeBevoise, Rudy Fernandez, Commissioner Murman and Richard Gonzmart.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn was also on hand to officially proclaim April 23, 2015 "La Segunda Central Bakery Day" in Tampa and we were there to celebrate with him and the Moré family.
Now for a little history. According to Mayor Buckhorn's Proclamation, the La Segunda cuban bread was developed by Juan Moré in the late 19th Century when he was fighting the Spanish-American War. He discovered a recipe for traditional cuban bread and perfected it after arriving in Historic Ybor City. He established three bakeries in 1915 but only the second, La Segunda, survived. The Bakery is currently under fourth generation ownership but the bread is made exactly the same way, using the same recipe, all by hand.
These days, it's tough for a business to surive ten years, let alone 100 years. What's their secret? As Copeland Moré, the current fourth generation operator explained, it's all about great family, great employees, and doing things exactly the same way. He learned it all from his mother and father, Judy and Tony Moré, pictured below.
Moré is thankful for the generations of dedication by his family and his extended family, the bakery employees. Everyone in the Moré family has always been involved in the bakery. During busy times, especially around Christmas, the family shows up and does whatever is needed, no questions asked. His employees feel like family because many have grown up in the bakery. One employee, Sheila, has worked at the bakery for 42 years! Now, that's a family atmosphere.
Could this be the fifth generation?
But, what makes this cuban bread the best bread in the world? It goes back to the basics: they make the bread exactly the same way, by hand, with lots of that good ole' Ybor City water. I got to take a tour of the La Segunda bakery after the festivities. The process may seem a little antiquated but as they say, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
It all starts with the palmetto leaves, 3-4 palm leaves are folded into each loaf of bread to create La Segunda's signature crease which gives the bread its world famous texture and crunch. These leaves are La Segunda's claim to fame and like everything there, they are cut by hand, just like they were 100 years ago. The leaves are shipped in from a local nursery, chopped with a machete, and peeled by hand, one by one. Here's where the chopping goes down, on a tree stump:
And how the leaves end up:
Let's say on an average day the bakery produces 15,000 loaves of bread and each loaf takes about three palm leaves. That's 45,000 palm leaves in just one day, 315,000 in one week. All chopped by hand. Unbelievable!
The bakery uses 3 machines: a mixer (dating back to 1958) a funnel, and a dough machine. They press the palm leaves into the bread by hand, put every loaf of bread in the oven one by one, bake them directly on the hearths of their rotating ovens, pull them out by hand, and then steam each loaf in front of old school fans, a little like this:
A rock-star employee!
They use very sophisticated equipment to hand roll the palm leaf into the dough:
Putting each loaf of bread into the oven, one by one:
Steaming the bread in front of the fans:
And, whalla! Tampa's best cuban bread is ready to be purchased at the bakery or delivered to thousands of retail and wholesale customers, some as far away as Alaska!
Along with their world famous bread, the storefront bakery and cafe is also known for their delicious Cuban sandwiches, media noche sandwiches, guava turnovers, café con leche, and cakes. Yum!
Congratulations to the Moré family and thank you and our friends at Elevate, Inc. for inviting us to celebrate with you. Your family is an inspiration to us all! We wish you the best of luck for the next 100 years.
