Housed alongside an old Jewish temple that turned into an avant-garde art gallery and shared space for whoever wants to make their imprint on its walls, lives Rebel Bread. The not-so-normal bakery, with a small counter space and kitchen in the back wide open for display, is only open Friday through Sunday for retail. A simple rack shows off all the artisan bread and pastry you could hope for as a weekend morning breakfast. Cookies and cakes are not the specialty here; instead, it is the labor-intensive five-bread doughs that require unwavering love for the best execution. The creation of this bakery seemed inevitable to owner Zach Martinucci, who recalls watching in awe as his uncle took mounds of dough and formed perfect spheres in his cousin’s bakery. He grew up entranced by the world of food, growing this love by studying food anthropology at UCLA. His studies demonstrated our relationships with food and how it binds us in ways outside physical nourishment. From then on, he stayed in California to attend the esteemed School of Artisanal Bread in San Francisco. There, he learned the art of making bread dough for every occasion. After years of slaving away in large-scale product, he switched to open his own spot in order to continue the conversation about the relationship between us and food while also putting a spin on the beloved classics.
Only recently did Rebel Bread expand to creating laminated doughs, which have buttery, flaky layers that melt during each bite. We can thank the French for this amazing creation as they are the creators of the beloved croissant. The bakery’s expansion came after scoring a cheap laminating machine and a remodeling of the tightly-packed kitchen. However, the brioche, ciabatta, baguette and San Francisco sourdough have been staples since the institute first began. Much like other esteemed bread companies, Rebel Bread loves the power of the oven and allows it to do magic on the bread by giving it a deep caramel color. The greatest mistake that a bread baker can make is fearing a loaf having too much color and throwing aside bread that has a crisp exterior, making for a perfect contrast to the pillowy interior. That juxtaposition makes eating each bite that much more divine. The flavor of these four staple loaves comes immediately with the pungent taste, reigning supreme to sea salt and vinegar chips. It is truly a unique profile that cannot be copied by an average country loaf. A “shmear” of butter and a hint of flaked sea salt tops it perfectly, but they offer their house-made tomato butter for an homage to Italia. The sourdough comes by the loaf, but the taste can make it feasibly a single serving size.
From these four bases, their display holds sweet and savory options that satisfy any craving, even though they are a bit unconventional. Though their bagels are seemingly ordinary, the shape is the only thing connecting them to their origins. These circular breads are made of baguette dough, which is often seen as the skinny long loaf that is in the bags of everyone shopping at a French market. It’s beloved for its versatility with accepting other flavor profiles because it’s the essential white bread of France. Baguette does have a bit more going on that most other breads with tender, air-pocket interior crunchy exterior. Often, it is the base for bruschetta in Italy, but at Rebel Bread, it is topped with flaked sea salt, rosemary, sesame or parmesan. Don’t forget to ask for a swipe of cream cheese so you can enjoy it immediately. If you are going to save it for later, you might as well forgo the small one and buy the family-sized bagel, which is almost as big as a small pizza.
Another interpretation of the bagel at Rebel Bread is the bagel bomb. They named it well as it explodes with a bunch of different flavors as you continue to devour it. It comes in a small monkey bread configuration, with many separate pieces baked together and torn apart until there is nothing left. Made with brioche dough—often seen in thick and rich French toast—each piece is rolled in their house blend of iconic everything bagel seasoning, fragrant dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, funky parmesan cheese and surprisingly, sunflower seeds. Together, this makes each bite erupt with bright flavor. No bagel is left dry; instead they put a healthy dollop of Dijon cream cheese to ensure this bagel is unforgettable.
Other uses for their rich and spongy brioche is their one-of-a-kind development of the Denver Danish. Normally, these pastries use the same dough as croissants, but Martinucci takes brioche and bakes it again after dressing up each slice a bit. The classic pair of blueberry and almond tastes similar to a blueberry muffin, while the other sweet options are meant to represent cheesecakes with either lemon curd or raspberry jam for the much-needed splatter of color. Martinucci really highlights the sweetness in the dough by injecting the brioche buns with chocolate hazelnut spread that fills the bread like a cream puff. His final masterpiece is the cinnamon swirls that get a devilish helping of orange-amaretto glaze that drips everywhere. The cinnamon flavor brings the joy of the holiday season whenever Rebel Bread is open. This swirl takes the white bread with butter and cinnamon sugar that every kid craves for breakfast to new heights. The sweetness isn’t overpowering, and the flavor of the brioche remains intact.
The ciabatta is where individual bakers shine, because in addition to the plan loaf, they do an olive with rosemary and a flavor of the week. All alone, the ciabatta is fantastic. With a denser chew of sourdough and a hint of salt, it can be the perfect sandwich bread or simply dipped in olive oil. Their addition of flavor gets a stylistic twist because the loaves are shaped in anything but a normal rectangle. Instead, they have done butterflies, wreathes, and trees. Sometimes it doesn’t have a clear definition at all, yet the taste remains. The olives’ notes of fruitiness are accentuated by the rosemary, but it still is a savory bread. The other loaf is often sweet. One baker, Liz, is known for doing a pairing of chocolate. In the past, she marbled swirls of dark chocolate cocoa butter with walnuts and dried cherries. With a vague resemblance of a trail mix, it far surpassed any version of nuts, fruit and chocolate combination. It’s always interesting to walk into the shop and see what shape and flavor are up for grabs this week.
Even though Friday through Sunday is their only retail time, Rebel Bread distributes their unique provisions to local coffee shops throughout Denver. While it is tucked away between LoDo and RiNo, Rebel Bread can definitely bake well enough for you to search out this little gem. While you’re there, make sure to talk to Martinucci about his background; even though he’s young, he’s got a world of knowledge about food. If you really have a passion for baking, they also offer classes to expand your personal understanding of bread and baking. This bakery won’t hide anything—just come in and learn all you can for yourself, because you’ll be glad you did.
