Madrid European Bakery & Patisserie Delights the Senses

A Husband-and-Wife Team Brings a Taste of Europe to the East Side of Providence

Think you need to board an international flight to savor European-style sweets? Think again. Delicious pastries are yours for the tasting at Madrid European Bakery & Patisserie in Providence’s Wayland Square. With its sumptuous assortment of classic European pastries that are eye-poppingly gorgeous and mouthwateringly delicious, the bakery also offers customers the relaxed vibe of European cafes.

“The smell of chocolate and puff pastry baking keeps you here,” says Sergio Mendoza, who owns the bakery with his wife, Hercilia Corona. “People say, ‘You should bottle the smell.’”

WiFi, abundant seating and the large open-to-the-sidewalk windows also encourage customers to linger.

Timing is everything––in baking, in business and in life. While few would call it fortunate to open a business just days before Covid turned our world askew, Hercilia says, “It was good fortune that we didn’t have to pivot; we opened under the most restrictive conditions.” As the rich smells of freshly brewed coffee, butter and chocolate waft outside, Hercilia, who was born in Mexico, and Sergio, who was born in Madrid, continue our chat.

JUMPING AT AN OPPORTUNITY

After owning a bakery for several years in Marlboro, Massachusetts, the couple relocated to California, where they lived for several years. Missing New England and hoping to open another bakery, they traveled from their California home to evaluate buying a Brookline bakery. It wasn’t a good fit, but they didn’t go home empty-handed, thanks to a fortuitous visit to Providence to see friends who knew the Wayland Square space was available. “We called the landlord that night,” recalls Hercilia, and, during their first trip to Rhode Island, signed the lease in February 2020. “We didn’t hesitate; we’ve always been driven, impulsive people,” she says.

Hercilia handles Madrid’s backroom administrative responsibilities and works full-time as assistant director of Brown University’s Counseling & Psychological Services Center, while Sergio puts in 80-hour work weeks alongside his mother-in-law, Adriana Munoz. Adriana manages front-of-the-house bakery operations and helps out with the couple’s two young sons. “She’s very patient,” jokes Sergio.

A CHILDHOOD GAME BECOMES A CAREER

Sergio learned the art––and science––of European baking at an early age. At age 9, he began going to his father’s two bakeries in Madrid on weekends, holidays and summer vacations. “My father thought it was a good idea to start learning. At first it was a game; then the game became a profession,” he recalls. “I started knowing what I was doing––instead of playing with the dough, I was making sense of it. I got so attached; it became my life.”

Although European chefs typically kept their recipes and techniques secret, Sergio’s father sought the best pastry chefs and insisted that they teach their pastry skills to his four sons. “One [pastry chef ] was very good at cakes, another at croissants and another at cookies,” recalls Sergio. “I learned from their experience; after practicing, now I know how to do a little bit of everything.” Only a few years later, Sergio was leading production at his father’s bakeries, and overseeing highly experienced pastry chefs. In contrast, Sergio is Madrid’s sole baker, though some of the employees help with setup and packaging.

CULINARY TALENTS AND PURE DELICIOUSNESS

In a surprisingly compact kitchen, Sergio creates dozens of delicacies, including cakes, cookies, eclairs, tarts and bite-size pastries, filled with key lime, chocolate and peanut butter or lemon. Teasing customers’ taste buds and eyes, these tempting pastries, which look like bejeweled works of art, are traditionally consumed by Spanish families at weekend gatherings.

The chocolate ganache cake with raspberry jam is a favorite for Sandy Collins, who visits Madrid weekly. “The desserts are consistently delicious, and the case is always full of mini-desserts,” which her granddaughter, age 4, calls “candy pies.”

PLAYING WITH DOUGH

With its higher fat content, French butter is ideal for Madrid’s croissants, though “Cabot Creamery has pretty good butter,” says Sergio. Sergio patiently guides me through one small step of the four-day process of making croissants, his favorite pastry both to make and eat. Explaining the reason for every step, he has me repeatedly fold the butter-rich croissant dough or pâton (dough ready and waiting to be used). Then, I run the pâton repeatedly through a sheeting machine, which stretches it to the perfect length, width and thickness before it is eventually cut and shaped into croissants or pain au chocolate and baked off. They come out pretty well, too, thanks to my talented instructor.

MATTER OF INGREDIENTS

Sergio buys Vermont’s King Arthur flour and special chocolates from Belgium and France. Teas come from Sanctuary Herbs and coffees from New Harvest, both in Providence. “Sergio makes his ganache from scratch for all of the chocolate drinks, so the drinks are different here,” says Hercilia.

Nothing more than sugar, eggs and almonds is needed for Madrid’s wildly popular almond Santiago cake, whose recipe dates from the 1500s. In northwest Spain, people enjoy this as a simple afternoon treat, with coffee or a liqueur, explains Sergio. When the Massachusetts bakery closed, customers desperately missed the cake, in particular, and many now travel to Providence to indulge. “It’s naturally gluten-free, with no dairy, no flour, no grains, no leaveners,” says Hercilia. “Sergio makes variations of that cake,” including hazelnut-chocolate, lemon and others.

Reminiscent of the French mille feuille is the costrada, which comes from Sergio’s hometown, with layers of puff pastry, pastry cream, meringue and almonds, topped with a bit of sugar, for caramelization. For Thanksgiving, Sergio makes apple tarts and pumpkin Santiago and, for Christmas, the Rosca de Reyes (Wreath of Kings), a cream-filled brioche-like pastry.

What might the future hold? While the couple is always considering additional offerings––such as breads––they are working to capacity, says Hercilia, and dealing with supply chain challenges and inflation woes, too. More than two years in, they remain grateful for the community support they have received.

199 Wayland Ave., Providence
401.409.2300; MadridEuropeanBakery.com
Closed Mondays