Masa Bakery’s Adelaide CBD Shop Takes You on a Tour of Latin American Bakery Culture

In Bogotá, bakeries are part of the rhythm of everyday life. They’re on almost every corner, and fresh bread lands on tables morning, noon and night. It was also one of the things chef Diana Lozada and her husband, Camilo Dávila, missed most after moving to Australia 12 years ago.

"In Medellín, people eat arepas, but in Bogotá, we eat bread with everything, all the time, and I really missed that,” says Dávila.

That longing for the bread they grew up with inspired Lozada to recreate the roscon Dávila remembered eating as a child – a soft, round bread filled with guava. What began as a way to satisfy their own cravings soon grew into Masa Bakery.

“Some friends said, ‘Latin American bakeries? That’s never going to happen here’,” says Lozada. “When we started, it was difficult to get people to try something different, but once they did, they kept coming back for more.”

Before long, the couple had developed more than 25 recipes. They began selling to friends and cafes before building a loyal following at local markets like Gilles at the Grounds, the Port Adelaide Sustainable Fashion Market and the Adelaide Central Market’s Producer-in-Residence program. 

“The bread in Australia is different,” says Lozada. “It’s sourdough, more dense. Our bread is fluffier, softer and a little sweeter – every morning in Colombia, you have your Colombian hot chocolate and bread. Always.” 

Rather than leaning into familiar favourites like empanadas, Lozada and Dávila chose to showcase lesser-known breads, pastries and cakes from across Latin America. 

“Australians are very open-minded to every culture, flavour and to trying different things, so we took that as an advantage,” says Lozada.

Colombian roscones sit alongside Venezuelan cachitos, palitos de queso, Chilean sandwich rolls, alfajores and pan de muerto, a buttery, sugar-dusted bun that’s a staple of Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations. 

Already popular among customers are the flaky pasteles filled with chicken or beef, brownies marbled with dulce de leche, and tres leches cake, a fluffy vanilla sponge soaked in evaporated, condensed and full-cream milk and topped with Italian meringue, berries and chocolate.

A lot of the trade is takeaway but there are a handful of tables for anyone looking to stay a while. The permanent space has also allowed the couple to expand beyond what was possible at the markets, offering Colombian coffee, roasted locally by Kom Coffee, matcha, and Colombian hot chocolate with cinnamon and cloves, which is served with bread for dipping.

What began as a homesick hobby has become something much bigger.

“We want to take people on a journey from Mexico all the way to Argentina,” says Lozada. “We want people to learn about every corner of Latin America through our breads and sweets.”

Masa Bakery

215 Grote Street, Adelaide 

No phone

Hours:

Tue to Fri 8.30am–3pm

Sat 9am–3pm

@masabakeryadelaide

www.masabakery.com.au