El Boleo Bakery, a Sweet Look at Santa Rosalía History

Much more than just a place to buy bread and pastry, El Boleo is now a symbol of the city. Probably the most famous bakery in the entire state of Baja California Sur, a stop there is a must. Here is its story.

Continua en la historia

**Bread is a tasty treat that brings the community together in a simple, everyday pleasure:** that of gathering when it comes out of the oven, warm and aromatic.

And there is surely no better description for the place it holds among the Santa Rosalía population. Over the years, the bakery El Boleo has become a meeting place for bread and pastry lovers, be they locals or visitors.

Our Daily Bread

One of the reasons for the popularity of the place is its history, so closely linked to the city’s mining past. The bakery was founded in 1901, to satisfy the craving of the French newcomers—management and technicians at the mine—for bread from back home.

As a result, the business got set up in one of the buildings in the city center that were erected in the area known as Mesa France.

Today, 122 years later, the bakery flourishes in its original location and is an example of the French architecture that is now a historic legacy in the city.

Since at that time the goal was **to produce genuine French bread, not only the ovens were imported from France but also the ingredients** that went into the bread and pastries.

**Nowadays, one of the many attractions of the bakery is that it stills uses the same ovens and shelves originally installed in 1901. Now, though, the bread is made with 100% Mexican ingredients.**

As before, the business is still mostly family, yet now the third and fourth generations are responsible for **preserving the bakery legacy.**

**Let’s Eat Bread from El Boleo**

After more than a century providing quality baked goods to locals and tourists alike, **the bakery** has earned its reputation as one of the city’s major tourist attractions.

While French pastries may no longer be the specialty, the bakery produces homemade bread for every taste: individual baguette-like birotes and virginia rolls; light and dark concha sweet rolls, named after seashells the design on their tops imitates; cajeta (caramel spread) empanadas and the stars of the show: pitahayas, sweet rolls with a creamy texture and singular taste that resemble the dragon fruit they are named after, and requeson(ricotta-style Mexican cheese)-filled ratoncitos, or little mice.

At 5 o’clock every morning, the bakery’s century-old ovens are lit so the aromas of its products can fill the air in the center of this Magical Town.

Happily, the luscious smell of recently baked bread makes its way into the streets around El Boleo several times a day. With a little luck, on your next visit you’ll get to inhale the aroma of wheat and butter making their magic inside the ovens.

Location

Álvaro Obregón, Center,
Santa Rosalía, B.C.S.
Two blocks from the Main Square,
or Plaza Principal
Hours: Mon to Sat, 7 am to 9 pm
and Sun, 9 am to 2 pm