Our story is not just where Copain began. It is the way we still bake now: slowly, by hand, and with a starter that has been alive for nearly four decades. Every loaf that leaves the oven carries that living history in its crust, crumb, and character.
Our sourdough culture has been fed every morning since 1986. It is the backbone of every loaf, the thing that gives Copain bread its character, its open crumb, its depth of flavour.
We shape by hand, proof slowly, and score with intention. There is no shortcut through these steps, only the patience to do them properly, every single day.
We source from regional mills who believe, as we do, that where the wheat grows matters as much as how it is baked. Great bread begins long before the oven.
Noble Food and Pursuits opens its first restaurant in Charlotte on March 3rd. From the beginning, bread is treated as part of the meal itself, never an afterthought.
On July 15th, Copain opens its first standalone bakery in SouthPark. The concept had been years in the making; the starter even longer.
Copain arrives in Winston-Salem on February 24th, carrying the same living culture, slow fermentation, and hand-shaped craft to a new city.
A third home opens in January, followed by another later in the year. The table grows, but the bread is still made the same old way.
Every loaf at Copain is shaped by hand. We don't rush the proof. We don't cut corners on the score. The techniques we use today are the same ones bakers in France relied on long before industrial ovens existed, because they still produce the finest crust and crumb available.
Our bakers serve as apprentices for years before working the line alone. That accumulated knowledge, the feel of properly developed dough, the sound of a well-baked loaf, cannot be automated. It lives in the hands.
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