Delicious! The Rangel family recreates five generations of family recipes
A member of the Rangel family bakes a cake at the Legnar Bakery.
Joy Rangel is one of six siblings who work at the bakery.
While many Grantsville residents are just waking up to go to work, in the strip mall across from Maverik, Adventure’s first stop in Grantsville, the Rangel family has been hard at work mixing, rolling, shaping and baking their signature Mexican pastries to get them ready for customers.
A fruit tart made in a bakery.
The Rangel family is made up of eight members, including two parents and six siblings, who own the “Legnar Bakery,” located at 822 E. Main Street, in Suite C. The family uses recipes passed down from their great-great-great-grandparents, who lived in Mexico City. The name of their bakery, “Legnar,” is Rangel spelled backwards.
The bakery opened at its current location in 2022.
“My whole family was bakers and it’s a family tradition for us,” said Joy Rangel, one of the sisters and owners. “We were looking around the bakery and saw that this location was available. We thought it would be a good place to open our bakery because of the busy highway next to our house.”
Legnar Bakery offers cakes for all occasions.
After finding the perfect space for their bakery, the Rangel family began moving in, excited to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps. It took the family about a year to open.
“We had to do a couple of things to move in,” Rangel said. “We built a wall and had to paint the whole thing. We also had to build a handicapped ramp in the back. We had to order ovens and other equipment that was needed. Our oven was a real challenge because it’s a huge oven, and it took hours to get it up and running.”
Legnar Bakery offers cakes for all occasions.
The Rangel family was finally able to open their doors in September 2022 and was warmly welcomed by the community.
Their menu consists primarily of Mexican desserts and pastries, or “pan dulce,” which literally means “sweet bread.” Pan dulces are inexpensive treats and are typically eaten for breakfast, dinner, or a light meal. The pastries originated in Mexico following the introduction of wheat during the Spanish conquest of the Americas and developed into several different varieties due to French influences in the 19th century.
“There’s not a single Mexican who doesn’t know what pan dulce is,” Rangel says. “Most of what we make is sweet breads.
Pastries made at the Legnar bakery.
The family bakes sweet turnovers with pineapple, apple and Bavarian cream flavors. They also make chocolate and vanilla-flavored breads, Bavarian cream-filled cones topped with chocolate, muffins, cookies, cakes, flans and tres leches, which are among the bakery’s best sellers.
Legnar Bakery also offers other types of desserts, including éclairs, cakes, cannoli, cookies and fruit tarts.
For those not in the mood for something sweet, the bakery offers freshly baked, fluffy croissants and a unique Mexican bread called a “bolillo.” Bolillo is similar to a French baguette. It is neither sweet nor salty and has a neutral flavor. The bread is made with salt, flour, active yeast, water and sugar and has a crisp crust on the outside and is soft on the inside, Rangel said.
Pastries made at the Legnar bakery.
“The bolillo only costs 80 cents, but it’s a lot of work to make,” Rangel said. “Sometimes we ask ourselves, ‘Is it worth making?’ It’s very popular and people ask for it, so we keep making it.”
In addition to the many treats the Rangel family offers on a regular basis, they offer a rotating menu with different items, such as donuts. They also offer catering services and are able to make just about any cake for any occasion.
Customer favorites include fruit tarts, cannoli, stuffed cones, tres leches and flans. The Rangel family loves bolillo and tres leches, and spends much of their time making bolillo and cakes, which they say are the most difficult dishes to make.
When customers arrive at the bakery, they are given a tray to fill with the products of their choice, then the Rangel family bags their goods and collects payment. Items typically cost between 80 cents for bolillo to about $9 for some of the larger loaves.
Pastries made at the Legnar bakery.
In the future, sandwiches and coffee could be added to the Legnar bakery menu.
“Coffee is one of those things that everyone loves,” Rangel said.
Speaking of the future, the Rangel family said they may either move their bakery elsewhere or expand, but for now, they plan to continue business as usual and aim to please their customers with recipes that have been passed down for five generations.
“I really liked our recipe, which is from our area,” Rangel said. “Just selling our recipe is one of the things I enjoyed. When people tell us something is really good, it makes me feel good.”
Although the Rangel family often spends all night in the workshop cooking, they can take turns, which lightens the workload, Rangel said.
Pastries made at the Legnar bakery.
Legnar Bakery is open Wednesdays from 10am to 6pm and Thursdays through Saturdays from 10am to 9pm. You can find the bakery on Facebook and Instagram by searching for “Legnar Bakery.” To place a catering order, call 435-241-4100.
“Even though we thought it would be a little busier and it’s sometimes hard to get people to come, we love what we do,” Rangel said. “It’s a passion for us.”
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Pastries made at the Legnar bakery.
Pastries made at the Legnar bakery.
