AMAM DACOTAN is a bakery from Fukuoka that pioneered the nationwide Maritotsuzzo boom. It has also opened a store in Tokyo, as well as a sister store “DACOMECCA,” another brand “dacō? and another brand “I’m donut? a specialty store for fresh doughnuts, and others. All of them draw huge lines every day for their creative baked goods! What is the secret of their popularity?

Creating stores that create “excitement” with delicious breads

Amamudakotan is located in Ropponmatsu, a little away from downtown Fukuoka City. Stepping into the shop, you will feel as if you are visiting a fantasy world in the stylish space with antique furniture and a lot of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling. The aroma of freshly baked bread fills the air, and it is a blissful moment when you are tempted to buy one thing or another! Six years after its opening, the store is still very popular, with a long line of customers waiting in line even before the store opens.

Starting from a small pasta store of 7 tatami mats

Ryota Hirako, the representative of Amamudakotan, was not originally a baker, but a chef trained in Italian cuisine for about 10 years. After becoming independent, he opened the pasta specialty restaurant “Hiraconche” in Hirao in 2012. It was a small restaurant of about 7 tatami mats where I was the only cook,” recalls Hirako. After the store flourished, it moved to a larger location in Kego, where it opened a café-restaurant on the first floor and a dried flower store on the second floor.

Bread and dried flowers is an unexpected combination. I have always loved antiques, so I wanted to open a dried flower store as well,” says Hirako. The café-restaurant has gained a reputation for the beautiful visual of fresh flowers hanging from the ceiling before they are dried. He also painted the walls and floors himself, creating a unique space that has become the cornerstone of the restaurant’s current design.

Dough from “Breadstock

Mr. Hirako says he has always loved bread. He says, “Like myself, I think that people who say they like bread like not only the bread itself, but also the excitement of going to a bakery and choosing bread. Six or seven years ago, however, most bakeries offered only a few items. The only bakery that satisfied his desire to go to a bakery was “Breadstock” in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City. Hirako fell in love not only with the wide selection of items, but also with the flavor of the dough. While he insisted on making everything by hand at his restaurant, he began to want to make his own bread, which was the only bread he purchased. Hirako learned to make dough at “bread stock,” which she was fascinated by, and opened the bakery “Amamudakotan” in Ropponmatsu in 2018.

From a chef’s point of view, he develops breads with a free spirit.

The “breadstock” dough, made from domestic wheat and aged for about 15 hours, is characterized by its crispy texture and rich moisture. The breads at Amamudakotan, such as sandwiches filled to overflowing with ingredients and hot dogs topped with homemade sausages, are both hearty and photogenic, and have captured the hearts of customers.

Bakers want people to taste the dough itself, so they tend to keep the ingredients in their bread simple,” says Hirako. When I go to a bakery, I think of bread as an ingredient, as a cook, and I feel like I’m visiting a produce or butcher store (laughs). (Laughs). “I always look at the bread while thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it taste better if I did this? As she looked at the bread, she realized that the best balance was to enhance both the ingredients and the bread, rather than focusing on one or the other, and this led her to her current voluminous style.

Hirako’s goal is to create bread with a sense of unity, where the ingredients are delicious, the dough is crisp, and everything enhances each other. Many people come from far and wide to enjoy the bread made from the chef’s point of view, with the flavor of the ingredients as the main ingredient and the texture of the bread as the supporting dish.

Every time a new product is released, it attracts attention, such as the “maritozzo,” a local Italian pastry that has made “Amamudakotan” a nationally popular restaurant on SNS.

Deep-fried brioche dough, a new kind of doughnut

One of the hottest items on the market today is a “raw doughnut” made by deep frying brioche dough. One day, Mr. Hirako was working on a prototype of a new product in preparation for the opening of “Dakomecca,” a sister store of “Amamudakotan. I especially like the brioche dough from ‘breadstock,’ and I was always looking for possibilities outside of bread,” he said. When he tried frying the dough, he was shocked by the texture, which melted in his mouth for the first time. The staff all tasted it together and were very excited. We were so excited,” he smiles. He named the new melt-in-your-mouth texture “raw doughnut,” and opened the raw doughnut specialty store “I’m Doughnut? a store specializing in raw doughnuts, in the hope that many people will enjoy them.

He named it “raw doughnut” after the new texture, and opened a shop specializing in raw doughnuts in the hope that many people would enjoy it. However, the soft, melt-in-your-mouth brioche dough from Breadstock is what made it possible for us to achieve this delicious taste. The dough is fried as if it were a fritter, further developing the “breadstock” dough. It is precisely because he is a chef that he continues to create new things from his own perspective.

I want to pursue the fun of creating a restaurant.

Finally, in 2021, he will open his first “Amamudakotan” in Omotesando, Tokyo. We decided to expand into Tokyo because we used to live in Omotesando and love the city, and above all, we wanted to open a store where our staff could see the possibilities for the future. In addition, there are three Dakoh stores under the “Dakoh” brand, six I.M. Doughnuts? has now grown to six stores in Japan and one overseas, bringing the total number of stores in Tokyo alone to 12.

What is even more surprising is that they do not simply open stores in the same format, but rather create a different concept for each store, taking into account the local characteristics of the area. First, Hirako looked at the property and designed the space himself, imagining what kind of interior would be best for this particular location, given the site’s location. He also produced the bread lineup, staff uniforms, background music, and merchandise. For example, the Ochanomizu branch of Dakoh has its first café, and the Shibuya branch of I.M. Doughnuts? The Shibuya store of “I’m Doughnuts?” has 50 different types of doughnuts on display… Although it would be more cost-effective to open stores following the same format, “It is fun to create one store at a time, even if it takes a lot of time and effort,” says Mr. Hirako.

I want people to enjoy going to the bakery.

Mr. Hirako’s extraordinary passion for creating stores stems from his desire for people to “enjoy going to bakeries. This is reflected in every aspect of the bakery, from the bread and space to the customer service of the staff, which continues to impress visitors.

With the increase in the number of stores and more than 100 staff members, my responsibilities have also increased,” says Hirako. But I think the most important thing for the company is to do what I want to do. The staff with long experience in the field has also grown up and has become a great support for Mr. Hirako’s creativity. There are still many things I want to do, so I would like to sort them out (laughs). We can’t take our eyes off Ms. Hirako’s new creations and new stores, which always surprise and thrill us.

The post A new kind of bread & doughnuts created from a chef’s point of view. AMAM DACOTAN” by Ryota Hirako / Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

While running his organic dried fruit import and sales business “AMBESSA,” he is self-sufficient in food through natural cultivation, uses solar power for energy, and builds his own store. Mr. Kimishima continues to acquire the “zest for life” in Minami-Boso that he learned on his travels around the world, and is quietly questioning how he should live and work in the future.

Visit “Abyssinia,” AMBESSA’s directly managed grocery in Minami-Boso

The southern part of Boso Peninsula is one of the warmest areas in Chiba Prefecture, where citrus fruits and flowers are cultivated. In this area of southern Boso facing the Pacific Ocean, Mr. Kimishima lives with his wife, Aguri, and their two children. Although it is less than a 10-minute walk to the ocean, the gently rolling mountains of the Boso Hills approach the coast, with lush green satoyama mountains in the background. Standing as if blending in with the scenery of Minami-Boso is AMBESSA’s directly managed store, “Organic Grocery Abyssinia,” located on the grounds of the main building.

Incidentally, these store names are derived from the Rasta philosophy, which has greatly influenced Mr. Kimishima’s philosophy. The lion used as a symbol in various parts of Ethiopia, the starting point of this philosophy, is called AMBESSA in the ancient local language, and Ethiopia is called Abyssinia.

Building a “store that goes back to the soil.”

Abyssinia, which opened in 2018, was designed and built by Kimishima himself under the guidance of the architectural firm Koufurin in Isumi City, located in the central Boso Peninsula, using natural materials found in our daily lives, such as mountain clay, ocean sand, thinned wood, and rice husks.

It took about three and a half years and a lot of hard work to get it into shape, but I was able to maintain it myself and make it functional. For example, the thatch in the walls helps to insulate the building. He looks back on how his own experience of building with natural materials made him rediscover the qualities of Japanese traditional houses.

The “Back to the Soil” store sells organic dried fruits, nuts, spices, and herbs, as well as breads and baked goods made by Akuri.

Giving Value to Substandard Foods

Kimishima-san recommended Abyssinia, a dried fruit made from apples grown naturally in Aomori Prefecture without pesticides or fertilizers, which is one of AMBESSA’s staple products. It is characterized by its delicate, sweet flavor and the rich nourishing taste that comes out with each munching.

The dried apples used for this product are originally small and flawed, and are considered out of standard in general distribution. Even though they are out of standard, the taste is certain. We buy such fruits and vegetables that cannot be distributed in the market and dry them to increase their value. Processing them into dried products is also a part of our efforts in this regard.

Dry processing of selected ingredients

In 2010, AMBESSA began importing dried fruits and other agricultural products from overseas and distributing them to natural food stores and restaurants in Japan. In principle, products are grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and are limited to those without additives or preservatives.

In recent years, in addition to tangerines, blueberries, raisins, prunes, and other fruits grown by the Kimishima family, the company has been increasingly using fruits from farms connected through acquaintances. These domestically grown fruits are dried in a dryer in his atelier.

The best moisture content is around 15%, but if the fruit is too dry, it will dry out and almost disappear, and if it is not dry enough, it will become moldy,” explains Kimishima. But if it is too dry, it will dry out and almost disappear, and if it is not dry enough, it will get moldy.

AMBESSA’s essential dried fruit is the date (jujube palm). In fact, it was a date that Mr. Kimishima encountered on a trip to North Africa that inspired him to start importing and selling dried fruits.

Bringing Dried Fruits to Japan

Mr. Kimishima was born in Fukagawa, Tokyo in 1977. When he was in his 20s, he worked part-time and whenever he had enough money saved up, he traveled around the world as a backpacker.

During his travels, he tasted dried dates from Tunisia and was surprised at how delicious they tasted. “At the time, there were no high quality organic dried fruits in Japan,” he said, and seeing the potential for business, he decided to start importing them. At the same time, however, Mr. Kimishima was not interested in dried fruit solely from a business standpoint. At the time, Mr. Kimishima was eating a vegetarian diet, and his interest in dried fruits was growing.

Living in Harmony with Nature in Central America

This was before his encounter with dates. During his trip to Central America, Mr. Kimishima stayed in a Rastafarian commune (a religious movement that emerged in the 1930s in Jamaica, mainly among the working class and peasants), which influenced reggae music and vegetarianism, and the experience of living in harmony with nature there greatly influenced his own philosophy. This experience greatly influenced his philosophy.

I felt that a way of life with nature, as in the Rastafarian commune, could provide hints for gradually solving various problems that society faces. I had a vague idea at the time that I might be able to convey this through products such as dried fruits. I also wanted to acquire the power to live like the people who helped me at the commune,” he said.

On a subsequent trip to Ethiopia, the starting point of the Rasta way of thinking, Mr. Kimishima positioned Ethiopia as the starting point of his own way of life.

Practicing a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle

After returning from his trip, Mr. Kimishima started a new life in Minami-Boso, as Mr. Akuri’s parents lived in Chiba Prefecture. He renovated an 80-year-old traditional Japanese house, generating his own electricity with solar power and practicing natural farming without using any pesticides or fertilizers in the rice paddies and fields. He makes a living and earns his living with his own hands.

He grows rice such as Sally Queen, a variety that goes well with curry and paella. Rye is used to make the bread and Stollen that Mr. Akuri makes. Vegetables and fruit trees for self-sufficiency grow in the field behind the store, and after harvesting, he also picks seeds. She says, “We should increase what we can do for our own survival, rather than entrusting it to someone else through money. If we do this, I think our current society, which is difficult to live in, will become a little more enjoyable and in harmony with the earth.

Bringing the Joy of Living to the Next Generation

Mr. Kimishima also enjoys “fun” to the fullest. He even renovated a warehouse on his property and built a disco.

He says, “We use electricity generated by solar power to make sound, spin a mirror ball, and have dinner while drinking craft beer brewed by a friend of mine from our fruit. I play like that with my friends,” Kimishima says with a laugh. While trying to get people interested in AMBESSA’s efforts through its products, Kimishima hopes to “convert this into something fun and open up opportunities to directly communicate our thoughts and ideas.

In the future, Kimishima’s vision is to promote community-supported agriculture, or CSA, in which producers and consumers in the same community work together to reduce food loss and purchase and support produce. What we are doing is also for the sake of future generations. It’s not a pretty word, but we have to leave a rich natural environment for our children. I would like to work together with others who share this vision.

Living in Minami-Boso, Kimishima’s daily life makes him realize that he is alive today. Through delicious food, Mr. Kimishima and his colleagues provide us with an opportunity to think about what is the fundamental joy and pleasure of being human.

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Freshly baked bread

Boulangerie & Cafe Sunny Side opened in 1976, and has continued to be continued to “freshly baked, freshly fried and freshly made” since the beginning. No frozen dough is used, and the bread is made in small batches from early in the morning, making it popular for the very fresh bread. There are 7 locations in Osaka and Hyogo that offer a space to eat, making it ingrained in the local scene.

The main store is located in a shopping center directly connected to the Minami-senri station on the Hankyu Senri line. It is popular with businesspersons who enjoy breakfast or lunch on the terrace, and shoppers who want to enjoy a break, making the store busy from first thing in the morning.

Received Gold Award for curry bread.

About 120 different breads line the shelves daily, from sandwiches to breads that can be eaten as a meal to sweet breads. The choice is almost overwhelming. The most popular is the “rich beef curry bread”. Only a few are fried at a time so that the shelves are always replenished with freshly fried breads. On some days, they can fry up to 50 times in one day. The outside is chewy, a perfect match to the curry filling with large chunks of beef that has stewed for 2 hours. The spiciness is just right to be enjoyed by young and old. Of course, it’s best eaten fresh, but it has a great texture even at room temperature, so many buy more than one to take home with them. Some stores sell up to 1500 during the week and 2600 on the weekends. It was awarded a gold medal at the Curry Bread Grand Prix 2020, western Japan fried curry bread division.

Breads to suit your lifestyle

One of the other reasons the store is so popular is that every bread is quite voluminous filled with delicious fillings, yet are quite affordable. There is a wide range to choose from – “kaku pan” made with quality brown sugar and salt, extra special bread using plenty of butter and fresh cream, bread using brown rice, and French style baguette made from dough that is allowed to rise in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

The filling used for the pastries and sandwiches are also made on site. There is a great variety of “cascroutes” which are baguettes filled with ham, vegetables and/or cheese. Continuously developing new products, the shop held a campaign where each of the 7 locations developed their own special flavor of Italian “Maritozzo”. The rum raisin flavor at the main store placed first, with the most number sold, and is now available at all locations.

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Bread solves the problem of local production for local consumption

Located in the small mountain town of Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, with a population of approximately 5200, “Kamapan” is a small bakery that aims to be a regional bakery, baking bread that is eaten like a meal every day by the people of Kamiyama. Kamapan” was born out of a working group held in 2015, in which the town office and residents came together to consider regional development in Kamiyama. The “Food Hub Project” was launched with the aim of solving the problems facing Kamiyama, such as the aging farming population, lack of successors, increase in abandoned farmland, and increasing damage from birds and animals.

Under the slogan of “local production for local consumption,” the “Food Hub Project” aims to connect local agriculture to the next generation through a cycle of “grow, produce, eat, and connect. As part of the project, “Kama Pan & Store” was started together with “Kama-ya,” a cafeteria, to sell bread and other food products as a place not only to grow crops but also to eat them in the community. All breads at Kama Bread & Store are made with home-brewed fermented yeast. Generally, this is called “natural yeast,” but since the “seeds” of Kama Bread are grown in the workshop, they can only be made here, where they are created by lactic acid bacteria and yeast living in the Kamiyama air.

Kama Pan’s Popularity Goes Nationwide

Kamapan offers two types of bread: “usual bread,” which has been popular since its opening and is slightly sour and glutinous, and “super soft and fluffy bread,” which is made with plenty of Jersey milk and is soft and fluffy all the way to the ears. The bread is firm because the dough is kneaded with boiling water, while the loaf is chunky because it has more dough than ordinary bread. The bread is sometimes a bit “sour” because it becomes acidic when the home-brewed fermented seeds, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria become active. The bakery also sells about 20 kinds of bread every day, including bread made with local vegetables. In addition, they sell vegetables grown by farmers from their own “Tsunagu Farm” and local agricultural production groups, as well as carefully selected additive-free foods from Tokushima Prefecture and extending as far as Shikoku.

In November 2020, Kamapan & Friends “Natural Products Exhibition” will open in Ginza, Tokyo, bringing together makers and eaters from all over Japan and featuring locally loved additive-free foods. Under the new concept of “Tomosan Tomoshoku” (friends-produce-friends-eat), local foods and seasonings, freshly produced vegetables and fruits, breads and baked goods from small bakeries around Japan, freshly produced combo sandwiches and delis, local additive-free soft serve ice cream, and other “as additive-free” foods as possible are gathered and sold.

The online store of “Kama Pan & Store” sells good products from all over Japan, including a set of two types of bread for comparison and an omakase bread set, as well as products handled by “Kama Pan & Store” and “Kama Pan & Friends”.

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“365 Days” in Yoyogi

Located in an alleyway just a short walk from Yoyogi Koen Station in Tokyo, the boulangerie 365 Days has been a hot spot for bread lovers and food lovers alike since its opening in 2013.
Owner-chef Akimasa Sugikubo was born into a family of craftsmen, with both of his grandfathers being Wajima lacquerware artisans, and has himself worked as a pastry chef. 24 years old, he became chef-patissier and went to France in 2000, gaining experience at the 2-star “Jamain” and 1-star “Petrossian,” and returned to Japan in 2002, producing several bakeries in Japan. After returning to Japan in 2002, he produced several bakeries in Japan before opening his own bakery, 365 Days, in December 2013. Based on the concept of “365 days of meals make a person, mind, and body”, he sells bread made from carefully selected ingredients from all over Japan, as well as carefully selected, safe, and secure ingredients and processed foods.

The most popular “Croquin Chocolat” for 365 days

The stylish exterior of the store was filled with delicious smells as I entered. The showcase displays dozens of breads, baguettes, and other delicious-looking breads, making it difficult to make a choice. According to one theory, as many as 60 kinds of breads are displayed every day.
The most popular of these is the croquin chocolat, of which several hundred are sold in a day. The brioche dough is kneaded with cocoa powder and filled with organic ganache and chocolate cereal. The rich dough and creamy ganache are combined with the crunchiness of the cereal to create a delightfully different texture.
Like the Croquin Chocolat, the Lemon Milk France has a cute appearance. The fluffy bread is layered with lemon cream and milk cream, and filled with white chocolate pearl croquins.

365 days to enjoy each and every ingredient

On the other hand, the simple looking “Somplesang” has an ultra-high water ratio of 1:1 wheat to water. Crispy on the outside, yet chunky, with a distinctive wheat flavor, taste, and aroma, this is also a popular product.
Other popular items include quiche made with onions that have been roasted until they turn amber to bring out their sweetness, chicken and seasonal vegetables from a contract farm in Iwate Prefecture, curry bread with a perfect balance of dough, ingredients, and mild roux, and bread with large pistachios kneaded into the whole-grain dough. Pistachio” is a bread made of whole wheat flour and richly kneaded with large pistachios. Each of these breads is delicious, and you can taste the individual flavors and tastes of each ingredient.

365 days with a select section.

On the other side of the showcase is a corner with a selection of special foods and food-related books from all over Japan. Coffee, Wako tea, Japanese ginger syrup, peanut butter, and other delicious-looking items are also here.
The “365-day postal flight,” a set of 30 assorted breads a day, includes an assortment of 13 kinds of breads, from standard breads such as bread and bean-jam buns to snack breads and side dishes, delivered frozen, as well as a rich and cheesecake with 70% cream cheese in the recipe and seasonal products, Some products are also available online.

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Word on the streets about “Melon Bread” in Kumamoto

In Arao city which faces the Ariake Sea, we heard about a special Melon Bread so we decided to pay a visit. ”Fukuyama Bakery” has being making ”Melon Bread” for more than 50 years, using a unique method.
Melon Bread or ”Melon Pan”, which is familiar to a lot of people from children to adults, usually has cookie dough on the surface. The outside is crispy and inside is fluffy. The ”Melon Pan” at Fukuyama Bakery also has the same texture, but what makes it popular is that is remains delicious long after it is taken out of the oven. They also have a variety with a peanut cream filling which is also popular. It is so widely popular that people come from afar to purchase the ”Melon Pan”. We recommend you reserve your ”Melon Pan” if you’re planning to travel from far away. Of course, other types of bread are available in addition to the ”Melon Pan”. The bakery takes orders by phone of fax.

Melon bread made with rice and melon

We also encountered another locally popular ”Melon Pan” while visiting Kumamoto – ”High School Komelon Pan” that was jointly developed by the Food Processing Department (食品加工部) of Kumamoto Prefectural Kumamoto Agricultural High School and Aso Delicious (阿蘇デリシャス). The Food Processing Department had been developing a bread using rice flour under the motto of ”locally produced, locally consumed”. They had a simple question ”Why isn’t there any melon in Melon Pan?” and created their own ”Melon Pan”. With help from a corporation, they created a very chewy ”Melon Pan” using rice and melon from Kyushu. The ”Komelon Project” gained attention from around the nation, and is sold in major department stores in other prefectures as well as in Kumamoto. In 2008, it won the highest award (Prize of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) in the food category in a nationwide contest hosted by Future Farmers of Japan.

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