Any morning, from Monday to Saturday, in the bowels of Forn de Sant Francesc the frenetic pace is present. With their hands in the dough and the ovens at high temperatures, a team of nine people work tirelessly, but with the order and predisposition demanded by a trade that Joan Seguí, at the head of the workshop, has inherited from his great-grandparents.
In reality, Joan never really believed in having this type of life - because this is a way of life - but when the time came for his grandparents' retirement, he had to make a decision. Sell it, rent it or take it over. His wife, Maria, encouraged him and, twenty years later, sitting in the workshop, he describes his career with just one word: 'intense'.
Talkative, charismatic and smiling, Joan learned the trade thanks to his parents and Pep, his right-hand, who is still by his side today, and although times have changed, he and the whole team keep alive the spirit of an oven that opened its doors back in 1954. We try to keep the essence of the first origins. This was a teulera, and when the night came, bread was made for the family and neighbors. It turned out well and we came up with the idea of turning it into an oven'.
Without losing sight of these roots, Joan and María have recovered family recipes that they continue to execute today with mastery, 'helped with some machines, but in the most artisanal way possible and for sure always fresh', says Joan while the bread bakes in the old wood-fired oven.
'When we took over the bakery, the ensaimada in Mallorca was a weekend dessert mainly for older people. By updating it with an attractive filling, the young public became interested in a product that was indeed getting lost'.
Mythical and now it seems to be everlasting, the ensaimada is the star product, but it has not always been like that. The Mallorcan dessert par excellence has not always enjoyed the splendorous period that it is going through nowadays, but in Sant Francesc they knew how to give it a twist and update it from the traditional recipe. When we took over the oven, the ensaimada in Mallorca was a weekend dessert mainly and for old people. By updating it with an attractive filling, the young public became interested in a product that was getting lost'.
His public, more than being interested, became enthusiastic, so much so that now they sell this dessert daily to neighbors, to people from any corner of the island and to tourists, many tourists, who travel to Inca as if it were a pilgrimage. The tourism came to Mallorca and did not even pass through Inca. Now, they take a cab and come here. It gives us the chills to think about it'.
Their success is undoubtedly due to the excellence of their products, but also, Joan acknowledges, to the social networks, through which they have been able to transmit their craft and show their production from a different, novel and appealing perspective for the consumer. 'We were at the right time, we found the right way, and it has become a very important part of the work because we try not to make things up'.
'El Forn de Sant Francesc is a lifelong neighborhood oven. I know that from the outside it doesn't look like that, but for me it is still a traditional oven'.
Publishing a book of their most recognized recipes - such as panades, coques and their delicious cinnamon rolls - adapted to home baking and winning the award for the best ensaimada in the world, in 2017, of course, finished catapulting them. 'The award sparked a boom, and not just of ensaimadas. For a while, at 9:30 am we already had the store empty of goods', says Joan, who tries to relativize his success and keep his feet on the ground, modest, because he still thinks that 'Forn de Sant Francesc is a lifelong neighborhood oven. I know that from the outside it doesn't look like that, but for me it is still a traditional oven'.
Aware that fame raises the expectations of the clientele, his words are cautious. The products we make are very normal, like those of all the ovens on the island. I will never say that we make the best doblegats in the world. I show them -on Instagram- and let people be the judge'.
This prudence does not detract from Joan's pride, and no wonder. The road, besides being intense, has not been easy for the fifth generation of the Seguí family, but he recognizes that he is proud that his parents and in-laws are, at the same time, proud of the work done. When we started, we didn't know how it would turn out and now they see that what we do works and that the product is clearly recognized'. This pride is also extrapolated to the undeniable work of having contributed 'to revitalize the ensaimada, which is now greatly sold in Mallorca'.
The present of the forn de inquer is splendid, but the future, for Joan, who speaks sincerely and bluntly, is uncertain. I don't know if my daughter will be an astronaut, she is twelve years old, it is too early, but I see a bad future in the sector. Because of lack of personnel, because the big companies are gradually eating up the small ones.... This business has to do very well to maintain it and you must have a team that accompanies you. You invest a lot of hours'.
In order to mitigate fatigue and keep motivation alive, Sant Francesc closes on Sundays (something exceptional in an oven on the island) because for them it is vital to 'eat with the family, have a social life and take vacations in summer to go to the beach', although neither he nor anyone else knows what lies ahead for a guild that, in recent times, has been dwindling. Recently I saw a news item that said that one hundred ovens had been closed in ten years in the Balearic Islands. It's crazy. So the future... Who knows?'.
The future is yet to be written. Today, for the time being, at the Forn de Sant Francesc bakery his doblegats continue to captivate the palates of his unconditional customers and his ensaimadas -more updated than ever, but with the same taste as always- are the perfect ending to any lunch, dinner or celebration. It is the reward of a job well done. It is something to be proud of.
