Measuring Mystery: A Baker’s Science

Baking generally, and bread-making specifically, involves detailed scientific analysis. It also requires the presence of other more mysterious and subjective phenomena: intimacy, appetite, pleasure, belonging, cultural meaning and much more.

Join Sub Rosa Bakery Co-owner Evrim Dogu for an intriguing presentation about how the scientific and seemingly non-scientific aspects of everyday life factor into his baked goods. Dogu’s presentation will flow freely between scientific philosophy, human psychology, creativity, technical bread discussions and interdisciplinary worldviews.

The son of Turkish immigrants, Dogu grew up around food, both at his father’s Louisiana pizza joints and through his mother’s diverse Anatolian dishes. In 2009, he turned his baking hobby into a bread subscription business. In 2012, he collaborated with his sister, Evin Dogu, to open their dream wood-fired bakery, now a Richmond staple. Sub Rosa is one of the very few exclusively wood-fired bakeries in the country that produces bread and croissants directly for the public.

Since its inception, Sub Rosa has milled its own flour. In 2018, Dogu helped form the nonprofit Common Grain Alliance which aims to recreate a regional grain economy and culture in the Mid-Atlantic region. To this day, Dogu experiments with grains, including baking with landrace varieties from Turkey and the Republic of Georgia.

While temporarily closed due to a fire in late November, Dogu has assured the community that Sub Rosa Bakery will resume operations at some point in the future, writing on Facebook that the beloved establishment will flourish again. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate Sub Rosa’s accomplishments and support their rebuilding efforts.