Community Highlights: Meet Ammiel De Leon of Spring Oven Bakery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ammiel De Leon.

Hi Ammiel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It was a leap of faith without exactly knowing where I would end up but believing I was on the way nevertheless, if that makes sense. After studying Psychology and Management, I pursued a fulfilling career in Marketing, particularly in Brand Management in Manila. I had the privilege of working with Havaianas Philippines through the exclusive distributor Terry SA and closely collaborating with their Brazil office, even managing brand launches in Singapore and Malaysia. That time built my technical marketing skills but more importantly, it taught me adaptability, cross-cultural teamwork, and communication.

Then, I moved to the US after much prayer and discernment – not for greener pastures but to be with family. My dad’s passing in 2014 from a rare brain disease deeply impacted and reminded me that no amount of professional experience fully prepares you for life’s hardest moments. With the confidence in what I hope for and the assurance about what I do not see, I jumped into the unknown and began my life over as an immigrant in Los Angeles. I initially returned to marketing through 1Heart Caregiver Services; this opportunity enabled me to try different passions. I eventually stepped out of my comfort zone, experimenting with creative fields like videography. It was, however, my love of food particularly baked goods that led me to reconnect with a part of myself I hadn’t fully explored before.

I applied in a handful of bakeries armed with no professional kitchen experience but with the big appetite to learn so much more and contribute my strong work ethic. Matt and Brittainy Turnquist of Poppy Cake Baking Co. in Sierra Madre gladly took me in – this was my first official job as a full-time Pastry Cook where I got immersed in the different aspects of baking and pastry arts. This paved the way to discovering the specific department I wanted to build expertise on – lamination. Yes, I love croissants, but I fell in love more with the process of rolling and folding dough with butter to create numerous thin alternating layers that are responsible for their flaky texture. Hungry for more hands-on experience, I originally set my gaze on doing an apprenticeship in France like how most French bakers do. This did not materialize because of budget and time constraints. Instead, I decided to go local. I hopped onto Instagram and started looking. So here I am taking the risk of sending DMs to chefs and bakers who don’t know me personally. That was a bold move that paid off because the next thing I knew I was flying to Chicago to be an apprentice to Daniel Koester of Bad Butter (formerly Dan The Baker Chicago). He is a talented Pastry Chef, Baker and Business Owner who has a big heart to, not only welcome a stranger to his kitchen but, pass on everything he knew about lamination work at the same time. He trusted me with his time. And I realized there are individuals in this industry like Dan who genuinely care about the continuity of the craft. Speaking of craftsmanship, I wanted to honor it, so I enrolled at San Francisco Baking Institute to understand the science of Bread- and Viennoiserie-making. Founder & baker Michel Suas and his team broke it down to our class both in theory and application. I remember how amazed I was at the role each ingredient in a bread or pastry formula plays apart from flavor. To this day, I still apply one of my key takeaways from the program – that time and temperature are ingredients in baking. When bread school finished, I got hired by Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery in Yountville in Napa as Chef de Partie in charge of the Viennoiserie station. I honed my lamination skills there working 10 hours on the average (12 during the holidays), laminating several books under 5 minutes each, and producing at least 1,000 laminated pastries per shift. Amid the busyness and tiredness, it was during this time when the discernment came into completion to go on an adventure to make people happy through my own baked creations.

I packed up and went home to Pasadena in December 2022 and officially launched Spring Oven Bakery in April 2023, in yet another leap of faith. I sincerely do not know where I am going with this brand, but I believe I’m on the way, if that makes sense.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
From the get-go, I knew I didn’t sign up for a smooth road. I already had someone take me down on social media even before I formally took off. Ha! It was the Mother’s Day season in 2023, and I thought I might offer my baked goods to the local community on Nextdoor for order and pickup because I was already going to bake for my sister’s friend might as well see if there is any interest. I posted for the first time on Friday, and my feed exploded with positive reactions and encouraging comments, including DMs for that entire weekend. I had to turn down people because I reached maximum production capacity. But this one person accused me of scamming individuals. She tried convincing others to believe her accusation writing to their posts it was a fake account. I was not going to allow this to jeopardize my small business, so I politely addressed her as well as the few others that were backing her claim. I clarified my current position stating the legitimacy of my business with license and health department permit and offering to bake for them once all the logistics were ironed out. Also, I had several people on this thread verify I was a real local baker after they have spoken to me. Moreover, a handful of them posted photos of their orders with good feedback about the product after they have received their boxes. The community banded together in my defense, and it was so uplifting. I had an instant lesson on crisis management 101 right there right before my official start.

A year went by so fast and I found myself being confronted with the rising food costs (remember when egg prices skyrocketed and never went back to the original prices?), the reduction of my customer base due to the Eaton fires, the inflation that impacts the general customers’ buying power vis-à-vis the share of wallet, and the resources it requires to scale this business. Some adjustments had to be made to accommodate the brand’s continuity and keep my sanity at the same time.

As you know, we’re big fans of Spring Oven Bakery. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Spring Oven is a licensed cottage bakery in Hastings Ranch Pasadena that specializes in French-style, handcrafted, and freshly baked viennoiseries. Using simple ingredients combined with thoughtful execution, Spring Oven Bakery is a house of brioches that also features scratch-made fillings and sauces with nature’s seasonal produce in small batches. It’s been a lot of fun making my own vanilla extract, ricotta cheese, fruit jams, pumpkin puree and Nutella, to name a few, versus using store-bought ingredients. Plus, the brioche dough undergoes long hours of fermentation during the week before it is portioned for final shaping. I never use dough conditioner, ever. I employ the old-world technique of bread-making to develop flavor and make the bread easier to digest. All this to say, I don’t cut corners so that the customer can truly enjoy artisanal baked goods.

While I trained in croissant-making, I chose to focus on brioche as my niche because why not? Both are viennoiseries made from yeast-leavened dough, sweetened with sugar, and enriched with butter and eggs. The points of distinction? Croissant is flaky, brioche is pillowy; croissant is literally everywhere in LA, brioche is hiding in a few places waiting for its moment. In addition, I wanted people to enjoy brioche as more than just burger buns. And Spring Oven Bakery is a testament that brioche is just as versatile. With that said being a one-man show, I do one thing – and I do it with all my heart.

The pastry flavor combinations are another highlight for Spring Oven Bakery with a menu that is changing every season. They are well balanced made using real ingredients. I only work with the actual Ube (Philippine yam) crop as opposed to the Ube powder or Ube extract, for example. In this manner, I get to highlight their natural tastes as well as their mindful pairings with each other. Every item on the menu is carefully planned communicating my personal journey – inspired and influenced by French-style baking, California culinary upbringing & experiences, Filipino heritage & hospitality, and world & local travels.

Within the 2+ years of operation, Spring Oven Bakery artisan brioches have been available via pickups, drops, and popups. Aside from online ordering through the website for pickup from my place, it has been an absolute blessing and joy to be received warmly by local small businesses in their shops for pastry drops and popups. I am eternally grateful for my fellow business owners and their individual teams at Altadena Beverage and Market, Berbo Studio at Plant Material, Carla’s Fresh Market, Coffee JPG, Co-Mrkt, LA HomeFarm, Lavender & Honey, Mandarin Coffee Stand, Our Place, Regent Coffee, Sidebloom, and Windrose Provisions. Their kind support, since the day I literally knocked on their doors – trusting me and believing in the product, has played an important role in reaching many customers and sharing a good pastry experience with them. It has been a remarkable opportunity to integrate and nurture their respective communities through Spring Oven Bakery.

For catering orders for any occasion and popup schedule, please visit www.springovenbakery.com or follow @springovenbakery on Instagram.

Fun fact: I started baking in April 2014, hence, the name Spring Oven when I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for the first time. Every year since then I devoted my free time using birthdays of family and friends as a chance to learn new techniques, bake more intricate recipes than the previous, and basically teach myself about baking. I became more involved in pursuing this passion in the last couple years.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I don’t get to read books or listen to podcasts frequently these days because of my schedule but when I do, it is a combination of good materials on baking, marketing, business management, finance, and spirituality.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://springovenbakery.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/springovenbakery/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ammiel-de-leon-5100a515/
• Other: https://medium.com/@ammieldeleon

Image Credits
All images were taken by me.