Knead Bread? Meet downtown Winchester’s newest bakery

WINCHESTER — There's a saying in Italian "Essere buono come il pane." It translates as "to be as good as bread." It's used to refer to people who are caring and consistently good-hearted. But, what's the name for a shop that bakes boules and batards with ample heart and care? In Winchester, it could be Knead Bread, a new downtown bakery at 28 E. Piccadilly St.

Knead Bread owners Lenora Schmecko and Vincenzo Mazzone form a sister-brother team. They offer made-from-scratch baked goods that are based on generations-old family recipes from Calabria, Italy.

The business had a soft opening May 20 and is officially open "with ovens on" Wednesday-Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Though the shop in Winchester is new, this is not the first time for the duo to delve into the restaurant/bake-shop biz. The pair grew up helping in their family's kitchens and restaurants and, subsequently, are ready to provide rustic, hand-shaped breads, baked goods (scones, crumb cakes and cinnamon rolls) and, eventually, breakfast sandwiches to the Winchester customers who are looking for high quality, creative food.

Their grandfather owned a luncheonette near Columbia in Manhattan in the 1940s and 50s. Later, he opened a place in Florida. Their father, Daminao Mazzone, ran a breakfast and luncheonette in Brooklyn, and their sister had an Italian restaurant in the Hudson Valley.

"We will be a tribute to family heritage," Schmecko explains. The recipes come from her and Mazzone's father and grandmother. Schmecko says she and her brother decided to open the store after their father recently passed away. "It was really tough when he died last year. In his older age, he started making bread again and reviving family memories," Schmecko says.

Daminao's death inspired the siblings to take the baking business they started in Louisa County, Virginia, in 2018 and open a brick-and-mortar place in Winchester. They will use a wall in the restaurant to celebrate their family's history through photos.

The siblings’ mother Millie sat at a nearby table during the interview for this story, having just finished giving the shop's floor a good sweeping. She stamped bags for Knead Bread while Schmecko and Mazzone talked. She looked moved by her children's remembrance of Daminao.

Bread is whole-heartedly a family affair for the Knead Bread family. Schmecko says her grandmother was known as "The Best Baker in Brooklyn." She says Mazzone and her daughter seemed to have inherited a natural inclination for baking and will be putting out their best breads. They claim that if something isn't up to their standards, they simply won't sell it.

Proof? (The pun is intended.) Mazzone apologized for being a little late to sit down for an interview because he was tending to a recipe that he was diligently "working out the kinks on." He's looking forward to installing a "proofer" in Knead Bread's kitchen that will enhance his ability to perfect a few recipes. Mazzone says if a baked good doesn't meet his high standards, it's off the menu.

"We always want the ‘WOW’ factor. We don't want it to just be ‘OK,’" Schmecko agrees.

All the breads are made with the freshest ingredients, according to Mazzone. "The bread doesn't have dough conditioners. There are no preservatives. It will go stale after several days, because we’re trying to keep it simple and clean," he says.

"People are used to going down the grocery aisle and buying bread in plastic that traps moisture. And you wonder why it lasts two weeks. The plastic traps moisture. If spores aren't growing on that and eating it, should we?" he asks.

While the recipes are based on tradition, customers should expect creative twists when it comes to unique store specialties. Schmecko's expertise is up front, selling products and helping customers choose the right bread, understand how to use it and store it. She considers herself the "explainer."

Mazzone understands his sister's superpower when it comes to handling the front of the shop and selling what he brings out from the kitchen. He mischievously smiles, "When I’m mad at her, I make some crazy stuff so that she can explain it to customers."

Millie laughs and nods her head, noting that the siblings also had a knack for needling each other when they were kids. However, they have palpable respect and admiration for each other these days.

Schmecko applauds her brother's talent, creativity and approach to bread. "Locally, she says customers have been responding to the "soulful" breads that are "off the beaten path" — items like the Olive Boule and Sundried Tomato with Gorgonzola Cheese are flying off the shelves. Mazzone nods and confirms that they sold out of those during the previous weekend.

Sunburst, a morning bread with cranberries, golden raisins, sunflower seeds and walnuts (that makes ‘wonderful’ French toast per Schmecko), has been popular too.

"People here seem to be shying away from the plain stuff. They like the breads that are full of gusto! They’re saying ‘give me the good stuff!" Schmecko smiles.

On a recent Saturday, "people were lined-up and waiting for the scones to come out of the oven," Mazzone adds. Scone flavors featured at Knead Bread currently include orange cranberry, chocolate chip, blueberry and apple cinnamon.

"People have never had a scone like my brother makes scones. They are ridiculous! Big and good and ridiculous!" Schmecko exclaims.

Baking represents a full, sustaining life cycle to Mazzone, the expert baker. "My grandparents actually grew wheat, threshed it and processed it at a mill stone by hand. A farmer sows seed. Grass grows. It's beautiful. The field is beautiful. Then we cut it, thresh it. We winnow it. We crush the grain. The flour goes to the baker who ferments it. It comes alive again! We shape the dough. We bake it, kind of killing it again. But it's reinvented into something that's really special," Mazzone says.

That "something special" Mazzone creates is meaningful on many levels at Knead Bread. Equally as heartfelt as Mazzone's description of bread making, is Schmecko's take on their shop's offerings.

"Making bread is an art," Schmecko elaborates. "It's not something you can just throw together. The dough is a live being. You can kill it. Or you can make it thrive."

Selling bread reveals another aspect of creations like Mazzone's, according to Schmecko. "People's personalities are revealed through bread. Once a consumer is educated and knows how to choose the one that suits them, how to store and how to use it, they develop their own personal feelings about bread. It all comes together."

If you need bread, Knead Bread is serving it up. The shop also features Black Dog coffee and tables and chairs so you can sit and enjoy the baked good that's calling your name.

For more information visit knead-bread.com.

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