The bread of our kindness: A Tiraspol bakery with open doors for everyone

Every day, Ivan Cernicenko arranges bread, baguettes, rolls, and biscuits on the shelves. 

Few people know that Ivan, a well-known baker in the city, is a graduate of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics and was briefly a teacher in Dubăsari. 

"At one point, I realized that I could work for myself, have my own business. One day, I came across a video of a Ukrainian baker. Somehow, what he was doing convinced me, and it seemed very easy. Why not give it a try? That's when the idea of baking doughnuts was born," Ivan recalls.

Over time, Ivan realized that doughnuts alone would not bring in the necessary profit, so he diversified his production.

At his bakery, "Ivan's Bread," which opened six years ago, every product is made with great care and dedication, without flavor, color, or smell enhancers, using only natural ingredients. In the technological process, the dough is cold fermented for 24 hours. To deliver fresh bread to the store every morning, Ivan works late into the night. 

"Our bread is delicious. It has its own aroma, its own taste, which store-bought bread does not have," Ivan says proudly. 

The crises of recent years have brought him close to giving up the business several times. However, the financial support and mentoring provided with the support of the European Union and United Nations Development Programme, as part of the Confidence Building Measures Programme, were his lifeline. 

"Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs, they should try to get out of a crisis or a difficult situation, to steer it in the right direction. The European Union's funding is a huge help, without which I would not have been able to modernize my production process on my own, even in five years," says Ivan. 

Now, Ivan's bakery is equipped with a high-performance oven, a refrigerator for cold fermentation of dough, a proofer, and many other tools that will allow him to launch a new line of yeast-free and gluten-free bakery products. The new equipment will also help Ivan increase his production capacity, especially as the number of buyers has grown. 

"We have loyal customers who sometimes pass by, see us, smile, and, of course, come in. Others come to us specifically from different parts of the city for our products: baguettes, rustic bread, or onion bread. Onion bread is the most popular because it is unusual. Basically, there is no such bread in the city," says Iulia Verbanova, an employee of the bakery. 

Although the baked goods sell quickly and there is rarely anything left on the shelves, Ivan wants to make sure that the bread reaches as many people as possible and that nothing goes to waste. An hour before the store closes, all baked goods are offered at a discount. He also offers space in the store to other local producers.