The sleepy early morning traditional baker & Wilpert's friend

At Alvari's bakery, Karvian traditional breads are made by the sleepy early morning traditional baker Armas Alvari and his team. His background includes being a writer, among other things, who in turn is taking Karvia's bread tradition into the future.

Wilpert's friend is the bakery's mascot, who travels to tasting events, sometimes even to Paris. He usually takes care of the bakery's self-service shop, which is open 24/7.

Do you know why we call our mascot Wilpert's friend?

When you get to know Willi Karvia, you might guess the answer: willikarvia.fi/en.

The birth story of Karvian kakko and the beginning of the bakery

The crimes statute of limitations has probably expired. Or did a crime even happen? Everyone can conclude that after reading this, how did Alvari's bakery Karvian kakko get started. 

Armas Alvari, the sleepy early morning traditional baker, says:

"It was the 1970s. In Karvia, houses competed to see who made the best Karvian kakko. One house used more barley than another. Someone baked the kakko in full-fat milk, while another used buttermilk for the kakko dough or just the rinsing water from a milk jug. However, the bread were taken warm to the neighbors. And at the same time, baking tips were exchanged. 

Then the bakers went on a strike. This hindered life in houses where there was no baking at all. You see, the stores ran out of bread.

My uncle Jouko drove the Co-op's store on wheels. His mother, or my grandmother Sanni, came up with the idea of ​​baking Karvian kakko for the mobilestore using her own recipe, which the villagers already knew well. Jouko sold Karvian kakko under the counter. This was the first time that Karvian kakko was sold in a store using Alvari's recipe. So it was both a black market trade and strikebreaking.

People liked the Karvian kakko baked in Sanni's stone grill oven so much that even when the bakers returned to work, people asked for Alvari's Karvian kakko. That's when my parents Ulla and Matti Alvari started baking Karvian kakko for the markets and shops using Sanni Alvari's recipe. My mother was a skilled baker, who knew how to do emoustaminen which is an absolute skill. Karvian kakko is said to be the most difficult bread in the world to bake. For Karvian kakko to be baked successfully, it must be made by hand, without machines.

Let's carry traditions into the future together. That's where they are expected of us. From person to person."