- When we first heard about OWL Bakery in Asheville, we wondered who it was named after.

But OWL stands for Old World Levain, and that perfectly sums up this European-inspired pastry shop and bakery.

[bouncy music] - OWL started in 2014.

I was working with someone who had a kitchen and little bake shop out of her house and a very beautiful wood-fired oven.

I took over the space and was baking pastries, my own pastries and breads.

And then in 2016, we opened our first brick-and-mortar in West Asheville on Haywood Road.

Since then, we have opened a second location here in North Asheville and we're just about to open this expansion of that space, which will be a cake shop.

[bouncy music] OWL stands for Old World Levain, which was the name of the first bread that I developed for the bakery, and it simply means a rustic hearth loaf that is naturally leavened.

Mini breads that you find are leavened with commercial yeast.

With sourdough cultures, it's simply flour and water developed into a culture where there are wild yeast present.

And so that's what we use to leaven our bread.

[bouncy music] - We first met Susannah when she was providing pastries for one of the local coffee shops.

And then she opened up her OWL West and we became regulars there.

I mean, we love the bread.

The bread is just superb, you know, the country sourdough, the baguette, the croissants.

We just got back from France and we, these are the best croissants.

[lively music] - We purchase local produce.

We also work with four local mills.

So our flour is 100% percent organic.

Our country loaf, for instance, is our daily rustic hearth loaf that we make.

It's very crusty.

It has a moist, open crumb.

And in that loaf, we use flour from all four of the mills that we purchase from.

[lively music] Some of the breads that feature inclusions and specifically local grains.

So one of our breads features a Rouge de Bordeaux, which is a variety of wheat that's grown by one of our local farmers and millers.

We also have some perennial favorites like our porridge loaf, which incorporates cooked oats, barley, and buckwheat.

With our pastries, we feature local ingredients.

And we're often changing our pastries seasonally, so the menu is in constant rotation.

We have a very inspired team, and they're always coming up with really beautiful, interesting, unique combinations.

[bright music] - It's on par with the great bakeries of Europe, but there's still something distinctly Asheville about it.

It's a real foodie town and the expectations here, I think, are high.

And OWL just always lives up with... You know, everything here is great.

The bread, the daily bread is amazing.

And this is like, you know, we live right up the street, so to be able to just come through here on my way to work or on the weekend, it becomes a really wonderful gathering place.

There's just nothing not to like.

[bright music] - I think they're a real treasure for our community.

It's a friendly, welcoming place, and it's got great bread and pastry, so I'm so glad.

It's one of the reasons why we moved to Asheville, was because of the independent food scene.

And I think Susannah and OWL really represent that.

[bright music] - I would love for any visitor coming to OWL to really fully experience the intention that we put behind everything, from the space to the ingredients that we choose, to the textures and flavors and aesthetic appeal of all of our products.

We also have a full beverage program.

We make everything, everything in house.

We just really want people to feel both delighted and surprised by what we do and also feel very welcome and at home in our space and like they're a part of our community.

[lively music fades] - OWL Bakery has two locations: 295 Haywood Road in West Asheville and 197 Charlotte Street in North Asheville.

To find out more, visit their website at owlbakery.com.