Horno Ismael has been part of Zaragoza’s pastry-making history since 1978. Over more than four decades, several generations have passed through its stores and turned some of its traditional sweets into essentials at celebrations, afternoon snacks and family gatherings.
Since its beginnings, the bakery has been committed to traditional craftsmanship, a philosophy it maintains today thanks to its own production workshop, one of the company’s main hallmarks. Every day, it produces pastries, cakes and other baked goods, combining traditional recipes with a careful selection of ingredients and close attention to every stage of the process.
Over the years, Horno Ismael has grown to currently operate three stores in Zaragoza, on Juan José Lorente, San Vicente Mártir and Gómez de Avellaneda streets. But behind that expansion remains the same idea with which it began: making handcrafted sweets and maintaining a close relationship with those who walk through the door every day.
Horno Ismael currently has 3 stores across Zaragoza and its own production workshop.
A THIRD GENERATION TAKES THE REINS
A new generation is now beginning to take the reins at Horno Ismael. Raúl Ferrero, the current owner’s son, and his partner, Cristina Navarro, left their jobs in pharmacies to join the family business. He runs the production workshop, while she is mainly responsible for the stores.
Raúl Ferrero grew up closely connected to the family business, which is now undergoing its generational transition alongside Cristina Navarro.
Raúl grew up connected to the bakery and, like the rest of the family, he has always lent a hand whenever needed. “In reality, we have always been connected to the business. We did not work there continuously, but we would come and help whenever necessary, just like our cousins and the rest of the family,” he explains.
The transition ultimately happened differently from what had been expected, and it was Raúl who decided to take it on alongside Cristina. They are now learning every day at the helm of the company and have their family’s support. “The good thing about a family business is knowing that you can call your mother, your uncle or your father and, if any problem arises, they will be there to lend a hand. We are not alone,” Raúl says.
Taking this step also means assuming a responsibility that goes beyond the business. “With a lot of enthusiasm, although also with some fear. In the end, you take charge of a company and it is normal to feel some concern,” Cristina acknowledges.
THE SAME DOUGH GRANDFATHER USED TO MAKE
One of Horno Ismael’s key features is precisely that the passage of time has barely changed the way its products are made. Work in the production workshop is still carried out by hand, using a formula the family has preserved from one generation to the next.
“In the morning, we make the dough using exactly the same formula grandfather used. We still work practically the same way, even with many of the same utensils,” Raúl explains.
The workshop produces every day the goods that later arrive at Horno Ismael’s three stores in Zaragoza.
The work begins with the most basic processes. Eggs are cracked one by one, the fruit for Frutas de Aragón is cut and dipped by hand, and tea pastries are still prepared using a piping bag. Modern machinery plays a limited role compared with products that depend largely on the hands of those working in the workshop.
Since taking over the business, Cristina and Raúl have introduced some new products, but always within the same tradition. One of them is a larger croissant filled with and coated in chocolate. “Anything new we make has to fit with our pastries and with the way we work,” they both point out.
The decision also responds to what customers who have been visiting their stores for years expect. “People come in to buy brevas and tell us: ‘They are the same as the ones I used to buy when I was little.’ That flavor takes them back to their childhood. It has been preserved because we continue making the products practically as we did at the beginning,” they say.
ROSCONES, CHRISTMAS AND THREE DAYS OF MADNESS
If there is one time of year marked in red on Horno Ismael’s calendar, it is Christmas. Work begins weeks beforehand with nougat and continues with seasonal sweets, New Year’s Eve products and, finally, the Three Kings’ Day roscón cakes.
“Christmas is by far the busiest time of year. December and January,” they explain. Nougat production begins in mid- or late November, followed by one of the year’s most intense periods. San Silvestre log cakes and other Christmas products follow one another until January 6.
On that day, the workshop completely changes its usual pace. The family devotes itself to the work, and any help is welcome. “Nobody sleeps that day. Every family member who turns up comes to lend a hand. It is absolute madness,” Raúl says.
The figures help convey the scale of those days: they estimate that they can make around 8,000 roscones during the three-day period, all through a process that begins long before the product reaches the display window. “You have to knead, let the dough ferment, bake and fill it. When someone simply thinks of ‘a roscón,’ they may not realize how much time and how many processes go into it,” Cristina explains.
A NEIGHBORHOOD BAKERY WITH LIFELONG CUSTOMERS
Horno Ismael’s three stores welcome regular customers who have been buying there for years, as well as people who discover the business by chance or through recommendations. The personal service is one of the defining features of a relationship built over the years.
Horno Ismael’s store maintains a close relationship with a clientele made up of several generations of Zaragoza residents.
“Some people have been coming for a very long time. They are people you have known practically all your life, you know their names and there is a great deal of trust,” Cristina says. At the same time, the display window continues to act as an invitation to those who walk past and decide to come in.
THE CHALLENGE OF MAINTAINING CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
Horno Ismael’s future lies in maintaining this way of working while Raúl and Cristina finish taking on all the responsibilities of the business. The company currently has 18 employees, and both know that the generational transition involves much more than learning how to make the products.
“There is also the responsibility of preserving everything that has been built and making sure it continues to work. There are 18 of us, so sometimes it is a little daunting to think that there are 18 salaries we have to keep paying,” Raúl acknowledges.
They want their relationship with the team to maintain the same closeness they have experienced within their own family. “We try to make it work like one big family. If someone has a problem, we want them to be able to talk to us about it,” they explain.
As the workshop continues preparing doughs, pastries and baked goods that have accompanied several generations of Zaragoza residents, Horno Ismael is entering its next stage: with a new generation at the helm, but with its recipes, manual work and close relationship with customers as its starting point. It is a traditional Zaragoza bakery looking to the future without abandoning the way of making pastries with which it began in 1978.
