Montreal grandmother-grandson breadmaking duo
Posted March 11, 2024 10:33 pm.
Last Updated March 12, 2024 6:38 pm.
Love, dedication, and deliciousness is felt in every bite.
The Montrealers behind Yiayia’s Bread Company is this dream team: a grandmother-grandson baking duo.
“Yiayia in Greek means what?” asked Emilio Ferreira, founder of the local business.
“Grandmother,” answered Niki Papanikolaou, Ferreira’s yiayia.
“Exactly,” he answered. “So this company is inspired by her.”
Mixing her Greek traditional baking methods into Montreal is 86-year-old Papanikolaou.
“I used to do bread in my mother’s house,” she said. “But this is a long time ago.”
“In my country,” she added. “It’s very popular.”
“Everybody eats bread.”
The breadmaking magic –- happens in Papanikolaou’s kitchen.
Every loaf includes four different flour, and is made by hand.
“I’d often love to help her out,” recalled Ferreira, a fond childhood memory at his yiayia’s house in Kirkland. “I just love playing with dough and like eating dough behind her back sometimes.”
“One day, mid-pandemic,” said Ferreira. “I was here, and she had bread made, and there was no work going on (…) and I was like, this bread is so good that you could actually make a business out of it.”
“And she’s like, okay,” he added. “She told me to do it.”
From Kalamata olive bread to mixed nuts and maple syrup, honey raisin, and more. Not only do the breads come in different flavours but in two different sizes:
Regular and Yiayia Sized.
“If it wasn’t for you telling me to do this so many times,” Ferreira said to his yiayia on their bread sizes. “I would have never done it.”
“It’s good like snack,” said Papanikolaou.
“She shows me so much love, kindness, patience,” said the 23-year-old grandson. “She’s hilarious.”
“She has a great sense of humour.”
The fun and love among the two — mixed into every loaf.
Those loafs, ordered online or on Instagram by customers and delivered to them across the Greater Montreal area.
“I feel very good,” said Papanikolaou. “You have to love what you do.”
