Just a few blocks from NYU’s Brooklyn campus, the scent of freshly baked cardamom and cinnamon buns drifts from the warm atmosphere of Ferrane Bakery, tempting passersby with a wide range of Swedish, Moroccan and Eritrean pastries.
Co-founders Emon Maasho and Selim Adira opened the bakery on Clark Street in late May, serving up everything from the classic pain au chocolat to Hallongrotta and Swedish sun buns. Though New York City has a number of Scandinavian bakeries — think La Cabra and Smør — the duo aims to bring a fusion twist to traditional Swedish pastries.
Last year, Maasho was met with disappointment after the Swedish bakery he walked into looking for a semla, or Swedish eclair, had already sold out. He told Adira — who also co-founded the Swedish candy shop BonBon — about the bakery’s “bad planning,” and that weekend, the pair started brainstorming the very plan that is now Ferrane Bakery — which, of course, serves semlas.
“This is a really traditional Swedish bakery,” Maasho told WSN. “I’ve been thinking about this for so long.”
Although Adira was born and raised in Sweden, his family is originally from Morocco. His house had an oven for local community members to bring dough for bread, which Adira’s family would then bake for their neighbors.
“Ferrane means ‘community oven’ in [Moroccan] Arabic,” Maasho said. “That’s a perfect name. It’s a small honor to his heritage.”
All of Ferrane’s pastries are based on Swedish recipes created by head baker Mathilda Jacob, who was named Young World Champion in Baking in Iceland last year.
Its vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon buns are made from exceptionally soft dough tied into knots and sprinkled with sugar. The fluffiness of the pastry is somehow packed into elegant swirls resembling sophisticated paint marbling. The buns have just the right amount of sweetness, tasting like a Scandinavian spin on a glazed donut.
To highlight Maasho’s Eritrean roots, the cafe-bakery also offers a wide variety of coffees. Ferrane’s coffee beans are sourced from East Africa, a nod to Maasho’s grandfather, who ran a coffee roastery in Eritrea. As a result, Ferrane’s beverages have a more acidic, fruity kick than your average latte.
Recently, Maasho’s mother came to Ferrane to show the bakers how to make himbasha, a traditional Eritrean sweet and savory bread. The pastry makes occasional appearances on the bakery’s menu.
Ferrane’s familial atmosphere aims to directly replicate the communality of Adira’s home, where neighbors came together over breadmaking. Maasho and Adira aim to memorize all of their regulars’ names, and make sure customers know the names of staff too.
“That is the feeling we want to create,” Maasho said. “A space where people feel like home. People that are coming for the first time — they try our bun and they are like, ‘oh my God, I’m hooked.’”
Contact Christobelle Rudes at [email protected].