"Gurmand Vital", a bread forest in Tarui Town, Gifu that will satisfy both your stomach and heart

​"Guruman Vital" has its main store in Tarui-cho, Gifu Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Ibuki. The bakery shop in the lush green "Pan no Mori" is like a fairyland of bread and sweets. There are many breads and sweets lined up in the store.

*Information is current at the time of the interview.
Please check the latest information of each facility and store.

Cafe "Bellwood"

Behind it is the cafe "Bellwood" with a pizza oven and fireplace, which is crowded with people enjoying morning breakfast in the morning and lunch at noon.

Also, we would like you to spend a relaxing time in the garden and atelier behind the store. The happiness of having freshly baked bread at an outside table seat surrounded by trees makes you feel as if you were in a European town.

Guruman Vital delivers special breads for your daily life, from sweet buns and side dish breads to authentic stone oven breads baked in a German kiln. We will tell you plenty of its charm.

Guruman Vital story

Gourmand Vital began in 1950 as a bread manufacturing and wholesale business under the name of Marsepan. It seems that it was sold wholesale to greengrocers and supermarkets in the form of so-called bag bread.

We want to deliver delicious freshly baked bread to our customers! We want to see our customers' happy faces! That is why they opened the bakery "Gurumand" in 1981. Gurumand," meaning "foodie," has brought smiles to the faces of many customers with its freshly baked delicacies.

Although it became possible to provide delicious freshly baked bread, president Masahiro Suzuki said, "What is it that only gourmands can do?" Therefore, they returned to the origin by making bread using firewood and stone kiln, which can only be done because of the vast land of Gifu Prefecture.

In 2002, they opened the stone kiln bread studio "Vital" after repeated trial and error until they could provide delicious stone kiln bread. Vital means "something important to sustain life" in French. With a focus on natural ingredients and traditional bread making, they have pursued the natural deliciousness of stone oven bread baked with the residual heat of a wood fire.

In addition, mail order has also started as "delivery bread". At Atelier Vital, located in the Pan no Mori of the Tarui store, events such as bread making classes have begun in earnest. They began delivering bread to hotels, high-end supermarkets, and various other facilities, and delicious bread from Guruman and Vital came to reach many people across the country.

They opened stores in Ichinomiya, Nagoya, and Toyota. Currently, the name of the store is "Guruman Vital", and it manufactures and sells all kinds of bread, and continues to wholesale as Marsepan.

Guruman Vital Tarui store sells only cute and delicious baked goods and Western sweets from the patissier's workshop "Grenier".There is so much variety that you can get lost in. It is also recommended for sweets and gifts.

Guruman Vital's Commitment to Bread

Guruman Vital has a wide variety of breads. More than 130 types of bread are available every day, including sweet buns, side dish breads, baguettes and breads that go well with meals, sandwiches, and authentic stone-baked breads. We are sure that everyone, young and old, male and female, will be able to find a bread that they will want to try.

Even if there are many varieties of breads, they never compromise on making each bread the best it can be. They use a wide variety of yeast, including natural and home-bred yeast, as well as wheat, to find the best match. To keep the dough moist, they add a lot of water to the dough, which is something that is not possible in other bakeries.

Open kitchen is adopted. They also place importance on being able to see faces.

Many customers were coming in and out.

Based on the principle of local production for local consumption, they have cultivated a richer bread food culture by making bread that is always visible to the makers and buyers. They use as few additives as possible to deliver safe and reliable deliciousness.

They are especially particular about baking their bread in a stone oven over a wood fire. The stone oven is a massive one, imported from Germany, the home of bread.

Using an abundance of local wood from Gujo, Gifu Prefecture, they heat it to 500°C and bake the bread  in the residual heat of 300°C. The far-infrared rays cook the filling and the crust at the same time, locking in the moisture and making the texture chunky.

It takes about 5 hours in total to raise the temperature of the stone kiln and distribute the heat to the stones. It takes 12-48 hours to ferment the dough. Guruman Vital's stone kiln bread that is carefully baked with time and effort for about 3 days from preparation. Please enjoy this luxury.

Full of commitment
Recommended bread of Guruman Vital

Here are some recommended breads from Guruman Vital's many products.

Use domestic wheat Boolean 108 (Ichimaru Hachi)

410 yen (All prices below include tax and are the prices at the time of the interview.)

The secret to the softness of the popular Bourg 108 is its 108% moisture content relative to wheat, from which it gets its name. The crust is soft and the inside is moist and chewy. The texture and aroma of this bread is addictive.

Croissants made with carefully selected ingredients

216 yen per piece

Croissant made with Calpis butter. The outside has a crispy texture, and the inside is also moist with moisture trapped inside. The richness of the butter adds a nice accent.

Anchovy tomato

324 yen

Anchovy Tomato is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The dough of the French bread, fermented at low temperature for a long time, has a wheat flavor that spreads as you bite into it, with a fresh aroma of dried tomatoes, olives, and cashew nuts. The salty taste of anchovies and cheese will go well with wine.

Umami cheese

648 yen

“Umami Cheese” has a thin outer skin and a moist, soft and chewy inside. The taste of domestic wheat and the saltiness of cheese are the best match. Edam, Camembert, Gruyere cheese, three kinds of cheese are kneaded.

"Delivery bread" is shipped in such a vacuum pack. Quick freezing with a shock freezer is ideal for storage.

Director Seiya Suzuki says, "Not only is the freshly baked bread delicious, but the quick-frozen bread is also really delicious." I was also surprised when I ate the thawed one. It's moist and chewy, and just as he said, it's delicious. When you heat it up in the toaster, the aroma of the roasted bread is just like freshly baked. I and my kids ate it in no time.

Director Suzuki said, "We believe that the SDGs and food loss reduction are also very important, and we want to make bread that we can confidently recommend as truly delicious and share it with everyone. We are grateful for local production for local consumption and the bounty of nature, and through our bread we want to convey the importance of food and be a source of inspiration. We want to be such a presence that can communicate the importance of food through bread.

Frozen bread has a long shelf life, reduces waste, and can be eaten by many people. I hope that the bread filled with Guruman Vital's passion will reach as many people as possible.

We can share from “Pan no Mori” 

Pan no Mori is a place where you can enjoy bread surrounded by greenery, where Guruman Vital head office in Tarui-cho is located.

You can buy bread and eat it, or you can eat what you ordered at the cafe. There are many tables under the trees.

Feel the season and enjoy a happy time surrounded by greenery and the scent of freshly baked bread.

At Bread Labo, you can enjoy baking classes, wood-fired stone oven baking classes, and a private café, while Atelier Vital sells stone oven bread on Sundays only.

Atelier Vital's full-fledged stone kiln that was ordered from Germany is a must-see!

Pan no Mori is said to be a lively place for local exchanges, such as chartered bread classes, concerts, garden parties, and marchés.

While the world has become more convenient, the connection between individuals and local communities has become weaker, giving rise to the lonely phrase "eating alone." We want to fill our stomachs and hearts with bread and eliminate eating alone. Everyone is smiling and everyone is sharing bread in a friendly manner. Through bread, I hope that your time with your loved ones will become more loving than ever. ``Pan no Mor'' is a forest where such a dream is created, with the hope that it will foster a feeling of "sharing from here" in everyone's hearts.

Atelier Plus "Ryoan" is located on the north side across the road. It is a rental house that has been renovated from an old folk house and is equipped with a kitchen and pizza oven, and can be rented out entirely. Please ask the staff for details.

Seasonal recommendation

We will introduce two types of winter limited sweets from "Gurunie" using dried strawberries. How about a gift for your loved ones or a reward for yourself? It is expected to go on sale at the end of November.

strawberry chocolate

White chocolate and sweet and sour dried strawberries are exquisite. The crunchy nuts add a nice accent. The delicious taste and light texture will not disappoint your expectations.

Ichigo Horori

Stollen is a fermented confectionery that is carefully made using luxurious ingredients such as dried strawberries, strawberry chocolate, macadamia nuts and pistachios. Please enjoy the crumbly texture and the strawberry flavor that spreads in your mouth.

The carefully crafted items are sure to satisfy both your stomach and your heart.

Why not visit Guruman Vital Pan no Mori and spend a relaxing time with your favorite bread?