BAKERY CHLEBA SE SOLÍ VOL.2/KAPLICE

The original Kaplice bakery begins a new life under the brand Chleba se soli. Its interior, inspired by a South Bohemian cottage, bridges the warmth of tradition with the precision of modern baking.

Project 2019

Lead architect Zuzana Kurz
Architect Johanna Nováková

Photo Lucie van Vureen
Completion year - 2019

Project 2019
Lead architect Zuzana Kurz
Architect Johanna Nováková
Photo Lucie van Vureen
Completion year - 2019

The Kaplice bakery traces its roots back to the previous century. Our friends bought it believing they could transform the legacy of a once state-run bakery into a traditional organic one. They succeeded in adapting old recipes and refining ingredients. They had an ambition of creating an entirely new kind of bread, unlike anything else available in the Czech Republic. Their journey led them deep into questions of food quality and composition; and here they reached the limits.

Through this exploration, they discovered that no flour on the Czech market met the consistent standard of 'living flour' – rich in nutrients and mineral essentials for proper fermentation. They even considered buying a mill themselves, but fortunately found a kindred partner just across the Austrian border. There, the flour is milled at temperatures below 50°C, preserving its natural qualities. It’s made from Czech organic grain, transported across the border for processing. This is a logistically complex yet uncompromising solution. Salt became another key chapter of their story. They found the answer in the nearby salt mines of Altausee, where the salt remains untreated and unwashed, unlike most commercial varieties. Water from the Novohradske Mountains, the brand’s spiritual home, completes the trio of pure ingredients: flour, water, and salt.

They soon realized that such a unique bread couldn’t simply be offered under their old name. A new product demanded a new identity – a brand that would reflect their values and philosophy of honest bread making. That’s when we met. Together, we began shaping what would become' “Chleba se solí'. After designing the brand’s first shops in České Budějovice, the time came to reconstruct the original bakery in the town of Kaplice. It has become a warm and inviting space where visitors can enjoy bread with spreads, pastries, and coffee. The entire bakery transitioned under the new brand, with every recipe refined to meet the same standard of quality as their signature loaf.

The interior design embodies the charm of a small-town bakery, evoking nostalgic memories of a grandmother’s kitchen and the aroma of curd-filled pastries. At the same time, you will be impressed by the modernity and technology of the new baking process. All materials used are natural and sourced from Czech suppliers. The exterior renovation preserved the building’s historical character. The restored façade, now in natural tones, and the new ceramic roof of historical tiles lend the house a fresh, authentic appearance.

Oak-framed glass doors welcome guests inside, where granite steps lead to warm wooden flooring and oak seating, encouraging customers to stay a while. As in other Chleba se solí bakeries, the heart of the space is a wooden counter lined with paneling, which serves as both a sales point and a workspace. Guests can see directly into the baking area, where loaves are finished in a deck oven – each baked twice for reasons you’ll learn when you visit. The Kaplice bakery is not just the heart of the brand, but it’s also a living laboratory. In the near future, it will undergo another major transformation by opening the entire production process to customers so that they can watch bread being made, from flour to loaf.

Materials 

žula  •  vápenná omítka   •  dubové dveře 

Materials

• žula
• vápenná omítka
• dubové dveře

All work © KURZ architects