Brazil’s best baked goods concepts

Based in São Paulo, but famous all over the world, is Carlo’s Bakery confectionery. With his monumental cakes and delicious sweets, Bartolo Valastro Jr. (nickname Buddy) has not only won over the palate of celebrities, such as talk show host Oprah Winfrey, but also thousands of consumers all over the world. He participated in culinary programmes and debuted in reality show "Cake Boss" on TLC, where he and his team created dazzling wedding cakes and themed cakes for special occasions in each episode.

All bread baked in The Slow Bakery in Rio de Janeiro is made with natural yeast and long maturation. Slow's production of sourdough breads starts at least 30 hours before baking. Some reach 72 hours of maturation, all made with a natural yeast of more than 150 years old. The result is flavourful and extremely healthy artisanal bread; as all food should be, according to owners Rafa and Lud. Slow uses only pure wheat for their bread: blends of white and whole as well as some ancestral grains, such as spelt and kamut.

Farmers from Fazenda Leolinda, located in the heart of the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, manually harvest each cacao fruit that’s personally selected by Samantha Aquim for the family’s exclusive Q chocolate. Her chocolate recipes contain only pure cocoa, cocoa butter and just a pinch of sugar, allowing the cocoa flavour to flourish in its true identity. The flavour and the beautiful packaging of every Q bar will remind you that chocolate is made from a tropical fruit. There are six types of bars with different percentages of cocoa liquor, all without additives, colourings or flavourings.

With 5 locations in São Paulo, La Guapa Empanadas hyper specialises in artisanal empanadas. You will find any empanada here that you can possibly think of: with meat, olives and potatoes, with green corn, cream cheese and fresh herbs, with spinach, broccoli, ricotta and parmesan, with caramelised onion and melted cheese, and even more surprisingly combined ingredients.

Brazilian couple Lindolfo and Elida decided to learn the secrets of the real American cookie and brought the technique to Brazil. Their first store opened in 2005 in São Paulo. Since then, Mr. Cheney has been growing a lot, with units scattered throughout other states of Brazil, winning many fans with their true American treats full of flavour and history. In addition to their delicious cookies, you can also enjoy pancakes with maple syrup, brownies, apple pie, cinnamon rolls and more.

The high end Chocolat du Jour stores offer a personalised service that, along with the cosy atmosphere, guarantees the customers a complete sensorial experience. Special coffees, hot chocolate and frappés are served in their Choco Bar, as well as individual truffles and chocolates.

You can’t say ‘Brazilian local goodness’ without pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) or pão francês jumping to mind. Despite its name, the last one definitely has Brazilian roots. Both are traditional dough specialties. The pão de queijo is a small dough ball with a cheesy flavour and is mostly consumed as a snack. Pão francês is made with flour, salt, water and yeast, making it deliciously crunchy. Looking for the best pão de queijo or pão francês? Go check out Haddock Lobo in São Paulo, where they sell more than a thousand each day.

Are you interested in how Puratos can support you in becoming a hot concept? Contact your local Puratos representative to schedule a meeting.