Baba Bread brings French-inspired artisan bakery to Concord
After building a following at local farmers markets, Bruno and Allison Oghittu have opened a bakery rooted in traditional sourdough, French baking techniques and high-quality ingredients.
At first glance, stepping into Baba Bread feels less like entering a storefront near downtown Concord and more like walking into a Parisian boulangerie along the Champs-Élysées.
From its rustic sourdough loaves and long, crusty baguettes to its golden, airy croissants, the new Church Street bakery leans heavily into its French roots — both in flavor and philosophy. But behind the bread is a story that spans continents, careers and a pandemic-era reinvention.
Baba Bread, located at 340 Church St. N in Concord, officially opened March 20, marking a new chapter for co-owners Bruno and Allison Oghittu, who had spent the past few years building a loyal following at the Salisbury Farmers Market and Piedmont Farmers Market in Concord, where they still sell on Saturday mornings.
“We’ve had a great response, and it just became clear to us that opening a brick-and-mortar was the next phase,” Allison said.
The bakery specializes in French artisan bread, with a commitment to high-quality ingredients and traditional methods. The couple sources 100% organic flour from Lindley Mills in Graham — a 10th-generation North Carolina mill dating to 1755 — while also importing specialty flour from France for certain loaves, including a flax bran baguette with a nutty flavor and a hearty seeded sourdough.
Their breads rely on natural leaven — sourdough — as their only preservative, a centuries-old technique that enhances both flavor and longevity.
Many of their sourdough loaves take up to three days to make, allowing for a slower fermentation process that develops both depth and texture.
“True luxury requires two components: fine materials and savoir-faire (or expertise),” Allison said. “By working with the best ingredients and training with baking masters, we turn artisan breads, pastries, and specialty foods into an accessible luxury for our customers here in the North Carolina Piedmont.”
Bruno echoed that commitment to craft and ambition.
“We uphold a daily — hourly — commitment to excellence,” he said. “Our goal is to become one of the best bakeries in North Carolina — and in America.”
Beyond its signature sourdough, Baba Bread offers tomato-olive rosemary focaccia, sandwich loaves, sourdough pretzels, chocolate croissants, éclairs and even Firenze hummus. Despite the storefront presence, however, all baking happens offsite.
The Oghittus have converted a 2,000-square-foot garage at their Rowan County home into a professional production kitchen, where they bake fresh each morning before transporting the goods to Concord.
For now, the business operates with four employees, though plans are already in place to hire an additional baker. The couple also hopes to expand the experience by adding indoor and outdoor seating and eventually offering drip coffee.
The name “Baba” carries layered meaning. In many languages, it translates to “father” or serves as a respectful term for an elder, while also being one of the first sounds babies learn to say.
“It’s basically a word that has meaning or significance for different people for different reasons,” Allison said. “We feel like it’s a universal word.”
Though still in its infancy, the bakery has already built a loyal following, including customers Audrey and Dustin Sprinkle. Audrey favors the sourdough loaves and éclairs, while Dustin enjoys the seeded sourdough.
“I am in love with it,” Audrey said. “It’s just the first time Concord has had this quality sourdough available.”
The Concord couple had previously sourced sourdough from Charlotte. “I’m thankful they’re here,” Audrey said.
So far, the bakery has relied largely on word-of-mouth rather than traditional advertising.
“The reception has been great,” Allison said. “We like to grow organically — just like our sourdough.”
The road to opening Baba Bread was anything but traditional.
Allison grew up in Kentucky before moving to Salisbury as a teenager. She later studied dance at the North Carolina School of the Arts and spent time pursuing a creative career in New York City, working with contemporary choreographers and briefly living in France as an au pair.
“I took a lot of risks in my twenties,” she said. “I did a lot of stuff.”
Around 2012, while working as the maître d’ for the breakfast shift at The Standard High Line hotel in New York’s Meatpacking District, Allison met Bruno, a guest who returned often that summer as they got to know each other.
A native of France, Bruno was working as an e-commerce director for luxury fashion brand Christian Louboutin. Their relationship took them from New York to London, where he later worked for designer Manolo Blahnik. They married in July 2022 in Eschbach-au-Val, Alsace, France — where Bruno’s sister lives.
The couple returned stateside just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
During lockdown in Brooklyn, the couple regularly bought sourdough bread from a local butcher. When the supply stopped, Bruno decided to learn how to make it himself.
“Bruno is French and needs bread every day,” Allison said.
With an engineer’s mindset and a passion for hands-on work, Bruno immersed himself in the craft, experimenting to perfect his sourdough.
He traces some of that connection back to his childhood in France, where his father worked delivering flour to local bakeries — an early exposure to the craft that still resonates today.
“It’s something that he really enjoyed and put a lot of time into,” Allison said.
After leaving his job in 2021, the couple moved to Salisbury to stay with Allison’s parents and began exploring how to turn that passion into a business.
While Bruno continued baking sourdough, Allison’s mother, Anne Cave, shared photos of his bread on social media — catching the attention of Gianni Moscardini, owner of La Cava, an Italian fine dining restaurant in Salisbury.
Moscardini invited Bruno to experiment with his bread in the restaurant’s kitchen during off-hours, baking loaves for service.
There, Bruno discovered that traditional commercial ovens weren’t ideal for sourdough, leading him to design an oven insert — what the couple now calls the “Baba oven” — that replicates the steam-injected environment of a professional bread oven.
They first considered selling the oven insert itself, but quickly realized the greater opportunity was in the bread.
“Initially Bruno didn’t think he wanted to be a baker,” Allison said. “But then he realized he actually enjoys it.”
By 2024, the Oghittus were selling bread and pastries at local markets, beginning with the Fun in Faith Farmers Market in the town of Faith, followed by the Salisbury Farmers Market and the Piedmont Farmers Market.
The couple has also trained with accomplished bakers. French master baker Jean-Claude Iltis, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France — one of the country’s highest honors for craftsmen — spent two weeks with them last fall teaching new recipes and techniques. They have also trained alongside bakers at La Fournette Bakery in Chicago under Pierre Zimmermann, the only two-time world champion of French boulangerie.
The bakery’s commitment to training extends beyond the owners. Their full-time baker, Audrey Oliphant — a Culinary Institute of America graduate — traveled to France in January to train in kitchens in Munster and Colmar, including Patisserie Gilg, the Michelin-starred La Nouvelle Auberge and Boulangerie Imhoff.
Now, with a storefront and a growing base of loyal customers, Baba Bread reflects a circuitous global journey that has taken the Oghittus from New York and London to France and, ultimately, to Concord — built through patience, craft and a steady rise, one loaf at a time.
Baba Bread is currently open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
People can follow Baba Bread on Instagram (@bababreadnc) and on Facebook.
Wonderful article. My mouth was watering as I read it! I will be visiting Baba bakery soon!
This is VERY exciting!! We’ve been patiently waiting for your store front to open!! YAY!!!