The Historic Valley Lahvosh Bakery

By KSEE Sales

March 1, 2013 Updated Mar 1, 2013 at 5:55 PM PDT

A local bakery will soon be put in the spotlight. Valley Lahvosh Bakery, which set up shop in downtown Fresno in the early 1900s will be featured at the food expo for all to see.

Here to tell us how her famous crackerbread has put the bakery on the map is the owner of Valley Lahvosh Baking Company, Agnes Saghatelian.

Valley Lahvosh Baking Company.

In the early 1900s, Gazair Saghatelian set out on a journey of freedom, immigrating from his troubled homeland to the United States, to bake in peace his wonderful Armenian breads. Setting up shop on the corner of M Street, next door to his family home in 1922 in the heart of downtown Fresno, the California Baking Company was born.

That company, now known as Valley Lahvosh Baking Company, celebrates over 90 years in business. Peda bread has been the staple of the bakery down through the years; its quality is legendary in the Armenian community of Fresno. However, it has been Valley Lahvosh crackerbread that has put the bakery on the map. This thin, bubbly cracker-type bread hearkens back to the Near East in biblical times. Throughout the Near East, crackerbreads were baked in tandoori-style ovens, serving as bread in many different cultures. Breaking-bread at mealtimes is a time-honored tradition enjoyed by Armenian families for centuries.

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