The Accidental Baker

By Amy Schwartz Kimlat

If you ate or purchased a challah at The Roth Family JCC any time between 2000-2015, you can probably instantly recall the taste of its sweet, doughy flavor on your tongue. The challahs sold at the JCC had a               uniquely sweet character – and while there are many delicious challahs in the world, the JCC challah became somewhat legendary.

So who was behind that delectable challah, and where did it go?

The JCC’s challahs were provided by Altamonte Springs-based Ben’s Bakery (also known as B&K Bakery), which was owned by local Jewish resident Ben Breslauer.

Ben didn’t grow up with dreams of becoming a baker. He was born in Oahu and spent his toddler years in Paris, but neither exotic location inspired a love of Hawaiian haupia cake or Parisian croissants. Instead, Ben’s family landed in New Jersey, where he grew up.

When it came time for Ben to choose his occupation, he decided to build cabinets. To make ends meet as a cabinetmaker, he worked as a night clerk at Cumberland Farms, a convenience store, and spent early mornings frying donuts. That was Ben’s first taste of confection. His baking break came in 1975 when a man walked into Cumberland Farms and offered him a job at the bakery he ran.

“This guy comes in and said, ‘You’ll never starve,’” Ben remembers, “and I said okay.”

Ben ended up working at that Italian bakery for two years. But it wasn’t all cupcakes and sprinkles. Some of the staff at the bakery made his life there especially difficult.

“The guy who hired me didn’t realize I was Jewish,” says Ben. “So when they found out, all hell broke loose. I would be by the fryer, and they would stand back and throw stuff in the fryer to splash me with hot oil. They would throw hot coffee on me. They called me the Judah.”

Ben was determined to stay despite the attacks.

“They couldn’t drive me out,” he says. “I wouldn’t leave. Either I was too stupid – or I really wanted to learn.”

Ben decided he had more to gain by sticking it out at the respected bakery.

“I knew they were German, so I could learn a lot from their work habits and their techniques,” he says. “They were phenomenal, tremendous bakers. So I took their crap, but I made out. By the time I was done, all those guys ended up being a bunch of idiots, but me... I had my own business and did just fine.”

Ben recalls one particular employee at the bakery                     with fondness.

“I learned to bake challah from a black man named Clyde,” says Ben, explaining how Clyde learned the art from working at borscht belt resorts in the Catskills. “Clyde taught me to make sure that when you braid challah, you have even sides. Then, you know you’re making it properly.”

After he left the bakery, Ben moved to another deli/bakery in New Jersey, called Cartsman, which he described as utopia.

“It was all Jewish, so I didn’t have a problem,” Ben recalls, almost with relief.

That’s where he sharpened his skills, making all the Jewish specialties – challah, kaiser rolls, rye bread from scratch, hamantaschen, sponge cake, and jelly rolls. The time between New Jersey and opening his Altamonte bakery involved a move to Florida, a stint baking at Publix, learning the art of Spanish baking at Tampa-based Olympia Bakery, and opening his own shop with his wife in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ben ultimately decided to relocate to Orlando to help his asthma. His then-wife, Karen, got a job working at what was known as Max’s Pastry Shop and learned that the owner wanted to sell it. So Ben and Karen launched B&K Bakery in 2000. At the same time, they took over Max’s challah business, providing loaves to the JCC.

At first, customers weren’t thrilled with the new challah Ben             was selling.

“So I enhanced it substantially,” he says. “To make the ratio proper, I added a little bit of salt, kept the flavorings, and added a bunch of sugar. Then, everything was beautiful, and they loved the challah for 15 years.”

These days, Ben is retired, but still loves his passion. He’s even open to the idea of someone partnering with him to keep his challah recipe active in the marketplace, though he asserts, “I’m not going to work 100 hours a week again!”

Occasionally, Ben comes out of retirement to share his delicious gifts with others. He especially likes to host baking workshops with the Jewish Pavilion for residents of senior-living communities.

Even if a commercial partner doesn’t come along, Ben is comforted knowing that his recipe will live on for years to come, as he has shared it with his daughters, Lea and Raina.

Although baking wasn’t his initial goal, Ben is grateful for the career.

“I got a lot of peace when I was alone in that bakery working,” he says. “It was gratifying.”

Then, with a chuckle, Ben adds, “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”