Forn de Plaça

The Forn de Plaça was founded by Bartomeu Tomàs in about 1900, and takes its name from its location in the square called the Plaça d’Algaida. Later, the family business was continued by his grandson, Guillem Tomàs. The shop was subsequently taken on by Rafel Alabarce, who retired in 2019, and in October that year the current owner, Jordi Llompart, took the helm.

In the past one of the specialities of this traditional baker’s and cake shop was its ensaimadas (spiral-shaped puff pastries), which were exported to mainland Spain in large quantities. Nowadays these are also made with custard, chocolate, or cream and walnut fillings, in addition to the traditional plain variety.

This traditional baker’s shop recently won the 2020-2021 Llesca d’Or, or “Golden Slice Award”, for the establishment making the best bread in the whole of the Balearic Islands. In fact, a lot of people from other villages on the island come to Algaida just to buy this bread. The shop is a member of the quality label Pa d’aquí, forn i tradició, which identifies establishments with a baker’s oven where the different varieties of traditional bread from the Balearic Islands are made by hand.

Here you will also find pastries and tarts made according to traditional recipes with savoury fillings, such as trempó (tomato and onion salad), green vegetables, red peppers and other ingredients, depending on the season. The establishment also sells traditional savoury pies such as empanadas, cocarrois and rubiols, which are associated with Easter but are also sold here at other times of the year. In addition to all this, the shop also has a wide variety of birthday cakes.

The building containing this famous baker’s shop was re-built in the 1960s but still conserves to this day its traditional oven and other items of original furniture.