For Nenad Indic, owner of Vancouver-based Julia Bakery, bread is more than sandwich material. It’s a day-and-night commitment.
“You must be in 100 percent – full concentration, full love,” he said. “If you cook without love, the bread is bad.”
Indic opened the bakery in May 2007 and named it for his late mother, who taught him to cook in Croatia.
Start-up costs included a $20,000 stone-and-steam bread oven. Indic has yet to see profits, but 2008 revenue was around $120,000 and he hopes for $180,000 this year.
In fall 2008, a second Julia Bakery opened on 164th Street in Vancouver, but misunderstandings between Indic and his business partner closed it after three days. Indic hopes to open another on his own this spring.
“It’s part of the game – sometimes you lose,” Indic said. “In the future I will always open alone, no partners.”
He is known for working 18-hour days and being a bit of a purist.
“You cannot say the word ‘shortening’ in my kitchen,” Indic said. “Butter isn’t perfect, but it’s natural.”
His family was granted United States entry in 1998 after living in war-torn Bosnia. While studying English at Clark College, Indic joined the school’s bakery management program. He later practiced organic cooking techniques as bakery manager at Portland-based New Seasons Market.
Indic bakes from scratch and hopes to bake all-organic breads before long, but food costs make that tough. Last year, the price for 50 pounds of organic white flour went from $24 to more than $65, he said, and organic eggs are now $4.50 a dozen.
“It’s very important that prices go down,” Indic said. “You can’t expect one type of people to eat one kind of food and one type of people to eat another. It’s food discrimination.”
The bakery’s top seller is olive ciabatta, and Indic’s favorite is dark German farmer’s bread.
“I call that bread with personality,” he said.
Julia Bakery is at 2614 Fort Vancouver Way in Vancouver. Indic can be reached at 360-993-0505.
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
