Guerra’s baking background was decades in the making.
BARRIO BREADLineage means everything to Don Guerra. Ask him what he’s excited to bake at Barrio Bread, his Tucson bakery, and his answer will transport you to the winding streets of Paris, the mountain hollows of New York, and a broad swath of the U.S. desert Southwest. His story will include an artist grandfather, more than a few famous chefs, and a Chinese American family with deep roots growing wheat in Arizona. You’ll quickly see that at Barrio Bread—and its companion company, Barrio Grain—a decade-long mission to preserve heritage grain varieties rolls history right into the dough.
“Our style is artisan,” Guerra explains, leaning into the comparison people make of his bread as works of art. “People think that means ‘crusty bread.’ No! It means it’s crafted by a person, in their style, by their ideas and techniques.” Barrio’s naturally leavened breads display tans, rusts, blonds, and browns. He likens them to a Sonoran sunset—and his description is literal. Signature loaves include a round boule that’s flourdusted on top to produce the image of a saguaro cactus, the sun above and ears of wheat below. Saguaros also appear on “Desert Durum,” a sourdough made from organic durum flour. “Pan de Kino” features a striking star design mimicking the Arizona state flag and using the region’s heritage wheat, ‘White Sonora.’
These offerings, along withNations-designated City of Gastronomy. More than bringing something new to the region, Guerra believes his bread and flour companies are carrying forward a rich Southwestern culinary tradition that began thousands of years ago with various Yuman-speaking Indigenous tribes.