Artizani: the art of bread-making

Founded by Nikolin Kola, a technology entrepreneur who fallen in love with bread baking and the world of fermentation, Artizani is a premium quality bakery located in Tirana offering organic and healthy baked product. After spending more than 20 years in the field of ICT between London and Tirana, he started becoming more and more interested in the world of gastronomy. The initial inspiration came from his younger brother chef Bledar Kola of restaurant Mullixhiu, with whom Nikolin established RRNO an organization that aims to preserve, develop and promote Albanian gastronomy.

THE STORY

When COVID 19 pandemic crisis started, Nikolin decided to completely shift his focus and go deeper in the world of gastronomy. He started exploring the art and science of sourdough bread, and this is how Artizani was conceived. The initial challenge of Artizani was to produce high quality, purely sourdough bread that was made from 100% wholegrain flour freshly grounded on stone mill. A very complex and difficult process that requires loads of experience, time and patience. Today the bakery is an open space, where visitors can see all the processes from grinding the grain on the stone mill to dough preparation and baking the bread or making lakror. After more than two years of passion and hard work, now Artizani has established its name as one of the best bakeries in Tirana that makes high quality and healthy products.

THE COLLECTION

At Artizani you can find different types of wholegrain sourdough bread such as wheat bread, barley bread, rye bread, corn bread, all-grains bread as well different types of lakror/byrek, cakes, biscuits all baked daily using their own wholegrain flour. Apart from baked products, Artizani offers different types of fermented drinks such as boza, kjumsht, as well as trahana, wholegrain pasta and all kinds of freshly grounded flours. <<This year is very important for Artizani>>, says Nikolin <<since it will be the first time we will be able to control all the process from the first step of sowing the seeds on the soil to final step of baking the bread>>. Being a food artisan producer is a very challenging and at the same time exciting job, since you are everyday in touch with the all the elements that Mother Nature offers. <<The kind of excitement you get when experimenting with different types of fermentation, you can never get it, even with the most sophisticated man-made technology system, and this is what drives my passion>>, says Nikolin. 

INFORMATION

Find out more about Artizani. 
Location: Rruga Gjik Kuqali, Pallati nr.6, Tirana.