The Sandby Stenugnsbageri bakery is located in Södra Sandby, in Lund Municipality, Skåne. One cannot help but be impressed by its owner, Paul Florian Ficard, who in the past year has built his bakery into a thriving business. Perhaps his extraordinary success should come as no great surprise; Paul is passionate about his craft and developing his bakery products. He has also participated and been awarded distinguished medals in the Baker of the Year competition on three occasions: in 2018, 2019, 2020.
Paul’s story stretches back to his roots in Romania, where he worked as a baker at a bakery which has now been expanded into an industrial bakery. It was there that his dreams of developing within his field were born, and he soon realized that in order to achieve his goal, he also needed to acquire inspiration from other cultures and countries. His dreams of working in Germany, Italy, Mallorca, France and Paris all came true, but in the end he settled in Sweden in 2011, when he received a job offer that was impossible to resist.
Paul worked at Sandby Stenugnsbageri for five years before taking over as owner. His head was filled with ideas about how he could develop the bakery further. He got off to a flying start by reviewing the range of both bakery machines and products and developing both the recipes and the equipment.
Today the bakery offers virtually everything - from biscuits, macaroons and buns to cakes, pastries and sourdough bread. Naturally, its delicacies also include croissants, Danish pastries and almond-paste cakes. In addition to sweet pastries and scrumptious breads, Paul also decided to develop his concept to include pizza. To this end, he invested in a pizza oven from Sveba Dahlen.
- “We bake pizza on Fridays. It’s going great; customers find their way here to buy their pizza,” says Paul. He continues:
- “It’s going so well that I also plan to invest in a Pizza High Temp oven from Sveba, so that I can offer my customers Neapolitan pizza as well. I’ve tested the oven and it works very well!”
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020 the bakery in Södra Sandby increased its turnover to approximately SEK 7 million. The biggest growth has been at its own shop, but it also delivers to nearby companies. The bakery employs several people who bake from early morning until closing time. Paul himself is at the bakery from about 03:00 or 04:00 in the morning on weekdays and from 01:00-02:00 on the weekends.
- “With our new F500 proofer, my life as a baker has become much more comfortable. I don’t have to get to the bakery quite so early; instead I can pre-program the proofing process so that the dough is ready to bake when I arrive. It’s great!” Paul says.
In addition to the proofer, the bakery has rack ovens, a deck oven, a pizza oven, a moulder, a rolling machine, whisking machines and dough mixers - all supplied by Sveba Dahlen.
- “Both their installation and operation have gone very well – I actually have nothing to complain about,” says Paul. “I have great confidence in the ovens, and I actually first encountered Glimek back in Romania. I’ve also worked with Sveba Dahlen at several other bakeries and know that their bakery machines are reliable and bake really well.”
Paul is optimistic about the future and plans to increase the number of decks in his stone oven and then also invest in a depositor. He is also considering joining Sveba Connect, but that’s still a bit further in the future.
- “The most important thing is to be passionate about what you do – and it has to be fun!” Paul concludes, flashing a smile and pressing the start button on the oven display.
