“Every Friday, my father and I would go to the bakery and pick up bread that was baked in the tannour oven,” shares Dona Murad-Gerschel, co-owner of Librae Bakery in Cooper Square. “Being around that definitely shaped my approach to Librae.”
Growing up in Bahrain, Murad-Gerschel was raised with the flavors of her mother’s native India and Bahrain’s expat community. “I come from a long line of bakers,” she explains, then lists her family baking pedigree. “There was always something homemade and sweet in our house.”
Librae Bakery was brought to life in 2022 as an attempt to introduce New York to Nordic baking techniques imbued with the flavors of Murad-Gerschel’s upbringing. The Murad-Gerschels proudly call Librae “New York’s first Bahraini-owned bakery,” with each baked good packed with the seasonings to prove it. “We bring a lot of regional spices commonly used in daily dishes across the Middle East: za’atar, sumac, hibiscus flower, rosewater—things that come from across the region, not just Bahrain.”
NOT EXACTLY HOW GRANDMA MADE IT
Instead of recreating traditional sweets, Librae combines the vast canon of flavors from the Arab Gulf with Manhattan’s baking heritage. “Bringing these sorts of flavors to New York was important to us. We’ve taken a Middle Eastern pantry and brought it to the city’s classics,” she says. One such example is the loomi babka bun. Using black lime and lemon curd, the bakers at Librae spice up a braided dough brought to the city by the Eastern European Jews.
The innovation at Librae happens collaboratively. Murad-Gerschel brings baked goods and spices to New York in her suitcase so her team can taste the inspiration for themselves. “We taste it, discuss it as a team, and we brainstorm ways to reinterpret it. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying ‘my grandmother made it this way—how can we go from there?’”
That nostalgia-rooted process birthed the rose pistachio croissant, a nod to the flavors of baklava, and the date-filled “pop tart” that Librae developed for Ramadan. “My grandmother would take dates and put them in a frying pan over her gas grill and add milk powder and cardamom. We took that and translated it into something for the bakery.”
DANISH AND BAHRAINI TRADITIONS
Librae’s baking philosophy doesn’t end with Middle Eastern tradition; it’s deeply influenced by methods developed in Denmark. “Our approach has always been trying to focus on Copenhagen’s fermentation techniques,” chimes in Andre Gerschel. “Traditional croissants in Paris don’t really focus on using levain,” he explains, noting that croissants made with sourdough are something of a Scandinavian development. “We use it to build a ton of character and flavor. That’s always been our approach, combining those Danish techniques with Bahraini flavor and a New York location.”
WHY NOW?
The bakery boom in New York post-pandemic aligns perfectly with Librae’s ethos. Gerschel observes that the growing interest in local bakeries is a product of New Yorkers appreciating businesses unique to their neighborhoods. “Post-pandemic, people are yearning for local, owner-operated businesses like ours. The fact that Librae is husband and wife and sister and mom, and many others, resonates with people.”
The increased cost of dining at restaurants is also a driver. “The one treat that people have held as a last bastion of comfort is a baked good. Even if people might be dining out less, they’re still indulging.”
He further comments on increased competition in the city: “When we opened three years ago, there were far fewer artisan bakeries in the East Village. Now, we’ve seen a complete turnaround. For a long time, there weren’t that many artisan bakeries on the East Coast. There just aren’t that many commercial places you can bake in Manhattan.”
Gerschel makes it clear: good business starts with knowing exactly where you stand. “Librae is a reflection of its neighborhood. We don’t want to duplicate that.” Sure, your average New Yorker might walk past Cooper Square without a glance—“it’s actually one of the oldest landmarked squares in New York,” Gerschel says, “but for years, it was just this forgotten little triangle.”
Librae’s menu moves at a fast, spontaneous pace: frenetic, impulsive, and unapologetic. Gerschel describes their bakery as highly seasonal, with items disappearing quicker than your parking spot on a Friday night—“Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
At the crossroads of Lower Manhattan’s most iconic neighborhoods, Librae captures the city in miniature. Hudson Valley grains mingle with seasonal produce from Union Square, while Bahraini spices—brought over in suitcases during the Murad-Gerschels’ early experiments—add a unique depth to the pastries. It’s a classic New York story: layered, worldly, and always a little unexpected.
LIBRAE BAKERY
35 Cooper Sq
New York, NY 10003