The Baker’s Shelf: A Conversation with Arturo Enciso and Richard Miscovich

October 28 | 4-5 PM ET

Please join us for The Baker’s Shelf, a new Guild series celebrating books that shape the baking world — and the authors and bakers who bring them to life. 

For our first session, we welcome author and educator Richard Miscovich of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, and baker Arturo Enciso, co-owner of Gusto Bread in Los Angeles. This conversation is especially meaningful because Arturo’s path to baking began when he moved into a Long Beach rental with a dormant wood-fired oven in the backyard. Curious, he picked up Richard’s book From the Wood-Fired Oven: New and Traditional Techniques for Cooking and Baking with Fire (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013) — and something clicked. With no formal training, Arturo taught himself to bake, pulling his first loaves from that backyard oven and discovering a lifelong calling. Today, Arturo is known for blending tradition and innovation, baking exclusively with sourdough to create breads that honor his heritage while embracing modern techniques. 

In his conversation with Arturo, Richard will reflect on the inspiration and process behind writing From the Wood-Fired Oven and discuss how the book’s techniques and formulas are finding a new audience 11 years later. Together, they’ll explore how books not only teach techniques but also ignite new paths, keeping baking traditions alive and evolving. This session will be facilitated by Arielle Stevenson, Communications Coordinator at the Bread Bakers Guild. 

Check out Arturo’s recent Guild Member Spotlight HERE.

Arturo Enciso 

Arturo is a self-taught baker and the founder of Gusto Bread, apanadería in Long Beach, California. What began as a small home-based operation has grown into a celebrated bakery dedicated to wild fermentation, using masa madre (sourdough) and nixtamal to create nourishing breads and pan dulces rooted in tradition. Arturo received the 2021 Rising Star Baker Award and Gusto Bread has been a two-time finalist for the James Beard Outstanding Bakery award. They've also been featured in The New York Times, King Arthur Baking, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. At the core of Arturo’s work is a strong belief in bread’s ability to connect people—bridging cultures, and communities. Through Gusto Bread, he honors tradition while shaping a more creative future for the next generation of bakers. 

Photo credit: Lorena Caro Photography

Richard Miscovich

Richard teaches artisan bread baking to culinary students at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and to home and professional bakers at classes and conferences around the country. He served on the Board of Directors of The Bread Bakers Guild of America from 2006 to 2011. In 2014 he received the Johnson & Wales Distinguished Scholarship Award. He is the author of ‘From The Wood-Fired Oven’ and instructs the online Craftsy course, Handmade Sourdough: From Starter to Baked Loaf.