Comes from the Heart

Roman Chavez And Hangar Bread Rise To The Occasion

Words by Karen Bossick Photos by Kirsten Shultz

Hangar Bread never officially opens until 10 a.m. in the morning.

But, always, there is a steady stream of hikers and joggers, even hunters fresh off the morning hunt, following the scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls into the Hailey bakery beginning at 8 a.m.

They make their way past Charlie, the resident golden doodle who greets them—dish towel in mouth. And, once inside, they’re treated to the sight of seven workers, including owner Roman Chavez, stretching, folding and kneading tangy sourdough bread that boasts the unique flavor of the Wood River Valley before stuffing them into bread-proofing baskets.

Hangar Bread, tucked away on Carbonate Street around the corner from Java, has become a mainstay for locals seeking artisan bread like rye and pumpernickel and round loaves filled with sunflower, flax and sesame seeds, raisins and chunky walnuts.

High school students flock there at lunchtime for graband-go Americano sandwiches topped with pesto, mortadella salami, ham, pepperoncini and greens, as well as slices of thick-crust cheesy and pepperoni Sicilian pizza. And members of the Jewish community stop in every Friday for challah bread topped with poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

“It’s so close to what you find in the baguettes of Europe,” says Marie Gallo, a Hailey resident who grew up in Belgium. “I am so glad it’s there.”

This touch of Europe in the mountains of central Idaho is the passion of Roman Chavez.

He has had a love affair with bread dating back to his childhood when he mounted the banana seat on his Schwinn bike to pedal to Weber’s Bread, where he would trade a dime for a loaf to eat on the curb outside.

He fell in love with artisan bread while bicycling through Italy. Unable to find anything like it when he returned home to Los Angeles, he went to the San Francisco Bakery Institute to learn to make his own. And the minute he pulled his first loaf of bread out of the oven, he knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

He began baking bread in a commercial oven he installed at the Federal Express hangar at the Long Beach Airport, where he worked as a jet fuel broker. Soon, a couple of hundred airport employees were clamoring for his bread. He continued his breadbaking operation in a studio attached to the garage of his Hailey home when he and his wife, Rachel Schochet, moved to the Wood River Valley. And in 2019, he opened the bakery.

Chavez makes much of his bread with grain from Hillside Grain south of Bellevue. He grinds purple barley berries that turn bread purple in a small wood- en grinder. And he makes Kamut bread on Wednesdays and Fridays using the ancient grain grown in Montana and known for its buttery, nutty flavor.

“It’s hard to get because they send a lot of Kamut to Italy where it’s used in pasta,” he says, sitting in his office where he is ringed by 25-pound sacks of grain. “It has a lot of antioxidants and health benefits.”

The bakery rolls out 300 cinnamon rolls daily during Christmas and Easter. They’re not as sweet as most cinnamon rolls, and Chavez allows them to ferment overnight to secure an intense flavor. He also eschews icing, which, he says, would hide the nuances of the cinnamon.

Hailey resident Susan Blair often purchases a few dozen of those cinnamon rolls at a time to gift hospital workers and others or to say, “Thinking of You,” “Thank You,” “Get Well,” or Congratulations.”

“I am a No. 1 fan and eater of Hangar Bread goods—the quality of the items baked and sold there, including the Monday and Thursday baguettes, make for always consistently excellent products,” she says. “Going into the shop makes me smile. They’re hard workers with excellent customer service. And what can I say about Roman? He exemplifies everything wonderful. He cares about the community, is a craftsman of the first order, and is a perfect pitch mensch in my book.”

Hangar Bread was closed for just two weeks when the COVID pandemic forced businesses to shutter be- fore Larry and Sherry Kraay told Chavez they needed bread to sell to those afraid to shop at grocery stores. He and Jorge Vidal, his right-hand man, began to make loaves to sell at Kraay’s Market and NourishMe. And soon, they began to make extra rolls for The Hunger Coalition and Ketchum Community Dinners.

“I say: Don’t ever get tired of doing good. When you sow good seeds, they come back to you in another way—that’s the law of reaping and sowing,” says Chavez, adding that his landlord Wilderness Investors Inc. did not charge two months’ rent during the pandemic.

Alejandra Gomez, who came to Hangar Bread after 16 years of making pastries at Perry’s, has begun to infuse the bakery with a variety of chocolate chip and other cookies. She also makes birthday cakes to order and recently concocted a chocolate cake that she pokes holes in before pouring caramel and crushed Heath bars over it.

Vidal has concocted a pizza sauce he wants to market at Hangar Bread.

“I can roll in at 7 a.m. knowing that my employees own everything they do and that they make everything to perfection,” says Chavez.

Chavez says he would like to find a place where he can expand his business when his lease is up in a year. The current location is not accessible for the commercial equipment he needs—he had to forklift the equipment he’s using now through the windows when he opened his bakery.

He doesn’t envision including a sit-down restaurant; he wants to introduce new products and focus on the growing demand from Atkinsons’ Markets.

“I’ve already ordered a giant kettle so I can boil more bagels,” he says. “Currently, we make them Wednesday through Friday, but the demand is growing.”

Every time he sees someone walk out of his bakery with a loaf of bread, Chavez gets the same feeling as when he gave away his first loaf.

“I feel part of me is giving something to others—it comes from the heart,” he says. “Business is good, and people are so generous and happy here—I’ve never been in a place like that before. Every day, people thank us for being here—the bakery is a source of comfort for a lot of people. That’s what keeps me going. That’s my paycheck.” g

Where to Find …

Hangar Bread is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays. Employees bake fresh rolls for Atkinsons’ Markets in Hailey and Ketchum on Saturday.

Hangar Bread products can also be found in the Valley Market, Nourish Me, Ketchum Kitchens, Kraay’s, Scout Wine and Cheese and Tundra.

spotlight on: PIEDAHO PIES, PIES, PIES!

Deep in the kitchens of the Escoffier Culinary Academy at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, Rebecca Bloom honed her pastry skills and dreamed of bringing French baking techniques to American classics. Fast-forward 20 years, two kids and over 250 pie flavors, Rebecca’s award-winning pies are the toast of Idaho and the talk of foodies nationwide.

From the buttery, flaky crust to the luxurious cream pies to their unique fresh fruit fillings, everything about a Piedaho pie tastes homemade. “Idaho is blessed with fantastic fruit and dairy. Piedaho simply strives to showcase our local natural resources in all their tasty splendor,” declares Rebecca. Each Piedaho pie is also an edible piece of art featuring a unique topper design by their “pie-artistes” which has created a considerable online following and defined the new category of pie art.

While their pies have long been a well-kept local secret, Piedaho has a bevy of national accolades. Piedaho’s Brown Sugar Peach Pie won first prize in the Western Idaho State Fair and will resurface again this summer. Food & Wine Magazine declared Piedaho “The Best Pie in Idaho” but the ultimate endorsement was having Piedaho pies included in Oprah’s Favorite Things!

If pie is your thing or you are looking for a tasty Idaho gift, Piedaho pies can be ordered via their website Piedaho.com with free local delivery throughout the Wood River Valley and nationwide two-day shipping for all your yearround pie needs. You can also find Piedaho pies at Ketchum Kitchens, Hotel Ketchum, Goldbelly.com and at Piedaho’s newly-opened retail shop in The Warehouse Food Hall in downtown Boise.