A New Sourdough Bakery Finds Success Amid COVID-19

Just before the pandemic descended this past winter, Miami got a new bakery.

In February, Emil Hristov, a Wharton School MBA who left a job in the tech world to pursue his culinary passions, opened Domaselo in Little Havana with a goal of mastering the craft of baking organic sourdough bread.

Today, he has two bakers cooking up organic goodness daily, two drivers making daily deliveries to Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and an online platform that is generating business nationwide. Hristov estimates that he now delivers 2,000 loaves of various flavors of sourdough bread on a weekly basis.

“One of my main missions is to get better bread to all South Floridians and educate them on real bread versus what’s on supermarket shelves,” the baker tells New Times. “There are so many differences — including preservatives and other things — that make regular bread difficult for a lot of people to digest. We’ve actually had a lot of people with serious gluten allergies suddenly be able to enjoy and digest our bread. It is amazing to see.”

Hristov grew up in Macedonia, where he recalls every neighborhood having its own bread store. He remembers his mom and grandmother purchasing fresh bread on a regular basis and, when he wanted a treat as a young boy, he’d buy a loaf of his own.

When he visited Kansas as an exchange student in 1999, he immediately missed the quality of bread he’d get back home.

“I didn’t think of it as a luxury growing up, but when you end up somewhere else, you think about the things you don’t have,” says Hristov.

Domaselo's menu of organic breads includes country bread and baguettes (from $3.75), Kalamata olive bread and garlic and rosemary bread ($5), and seasonally inspired concoctions like a pumpkin-and walnut-offering (from $8). Additional items for sale include organic granola and muesli ($7.95 and up), organic flours ($4 and up), and other household staples.

As for a personal favorite bread, Hristov diplomatically says, “I love them all, otherwise I wouldn’t make them.”

Looking ahead, Hristov says his short-term plan remains to “make great bread and deliver it as quickly as possible” with a long-term goal of bringing his quality concoctions to the masses nationwide."

Domaselo. 2691 SW 11th St., Miami; domaselo.com. All pickups require online preorders and free delivery to Miami-Dade and Broward counties is available with an order of $5 or more.