Shasha Bread Company Kitchenware Antiques

CEO Shaun Navazesh keeps ancient bread making relics on display at Shasha Bread Company headquarters in Etobicoke Ontario.

Photo: Shasha Shaun Navazesh

In December 2014 Shasha Shaun Navazesh gave me a tour of his organic food store and bakery in Etobicoke Ontario to show me how he does things differently.

We began in the Shasha Bread Co Sprouted Grains dept of his large bakery facility. ShaSha Bread Co.has been sprouting organic, vegan and non-genetically modified grains since 1999. I detailed the whole process of how Shasha makes flour and bread with sprouted grains in my article on Toronto is Awesome magazine, and wrote about the science of making baking bread with sprouted grains on Fuel Ghoul. At the end of tour, Shaun gave me a loaf of Ezekiel bread and walked me out past his mini- museum and store of antique bread making items.

A corn broom and cookie rolling pins in a well crafted wrought iron flat pan.  These are African cooking implements. The corn broom could be the whisk the breadmaker uses to gather the flour dust from the common trough in which the grain was ground.

 Here is Shaun Navazesh holding such a cooking trough. This is the whole kitchen for a family in an African village - every meal is prepared in here and flour was worked into bread.

Shasha also has Victorian Era Chocolate Easter Egg Molds

Easter eggs are a very old Christian tradition. The Easter egg symbolizes the empty tomb of Jesus. To ancient man the egg was a miracle. A chicken egg appears to be dead, like a stone, yet a living bird hatches from inside the rock. Similarly, the Easter egg, for Christians, is a reminder that Jesus also rose from such a grave, and that those who believe will also experience eternal life. This mold appears to be made of a tin and such molds were used for such confectioneries. Madelines, teacakes, and petit fours were all baked in small, stamped-tin “patty pans,”

This mold is for large chicken egg sized chocolate eggs. This relatively lightweight tin mold snaps tight to keep heat in and bake the oval objects hard with a smooth finish on the surface that happens naturally when the chocolate cools *in some processes with some types of chocolate. This is most definitely a sturdy, well-built, professional mold. Hinged on one side, it has hinges and a clapse on other side to hold it closed.

Inside, you will see that the tops of each egg have slightly different shapes which is a sure sign this piece is handmade by smiths pressing the metal. Egg mold will make four eggs at once. These small treasures and more are on display in the office of Shasha's bakery in Etobicoke. You can find out even more about the place, people and products and read about how Shasha bakes bread with sprouted grains on Smart Canucks.