Disseny IndígenaCAESEN

Home / Crafts /

Traditional craft of Mallorca

Forners

At a glance

Bread, cokes and ensaïmades cooked in a wood oven. Until the 20th century, many houses kneaded dough and took the bread to the neighborhood forn to bake; the…

Crafts
Traditional craft of Mallorca
Artisans in the register
33 · Palma, Campos, Pollença, Lloseta, Marratxí
Words
enfornar / desenfornar, flequer, forner / fornera, mostassaf, pala, pastera

#Forners

What it is and technique

Bread, cokes and ensaïmades cooked in a wood oven. Until the 20th century, many houses kneaded dough and took the bread to the neighborhood forn to bake; the forner charged for cooking. Today it is one of the most vibrant artisan trades in Mallorca.

Process step by step

1. Graze in the pastera (see pastera and forn shovel ).

2. Carry with sourdough.

3. Light the oven with wood and remove the embers.

4. Line with the shovel.

5. Undress and sell: “pa de fleca” and bread from the square (Garí Pallicer).

Forms and objects

  • Brown bread, llonguet, cocas, ensaïmada , crespells, robiols, panades.
  • Escut del col·legi: three forner shovels with three loaves each.

Vocabulary

  • forner / fornera: who bakes the bread.
  • flequer: baker (pa de fleca).
  • pastera: kneading trough.
  • pala: oven shovel.
  • enfornar / desenfornar: put / take out of the oven.
  • mostassaf: municipal official who controlled weights and quality of bread.
  • robiol / rubiol: sweet dumpling filled with brossat, jam or cream (Mall.).

Geography

  • Palma (room in the current Carrer del Sindicat) and each town.
  • Active historical ovens: Forn Fondo (Palma), Fornet de la Soca (Palma, 1916), Forn des Pla de na Tesa (Marratxí, 1899).

Short story

  • 13th century: the city's forners are already organized.
  • 1476: first known ordinations; patron saint of Sant Marçal (festival on June 30 in Sant Felip Neri).
  • 1518: list of "minor ovens" of the city (appendix by Garí Pallicer).
  • 16th-17th centuries: struggles with the mostassaf and against the ovens of the University; The guild supports Charles III in the War of Succession.
  • 2026: Miguel Gabriel Garí Pallicer publishes The guild of bakers in the city of Palma (15th-17th centuries).

State

Alive. Register of artisans (consultation 10/13/2026): 29 forner and 60 pastisser registrations in Mallorca. Pressure: imported flour, tourism, industrial ensaïmada.

Where and who today

  • Forn Fondo (Palma), Llull family since 1911; history that some date back to 1742 (to verify).
  • Fornet de la Soca (formerly Forn des Teatre), Palma, 1916.
  • Es Forn des Pla de na Tesa (Marratxí), 1899.

Why is it design

  • The neighborhood oven as shared infrastructure.
  • Regulated product: weight, price and shape set by the guild and mostassaf.
  • Modernist shop windows as urban design (catalog of emblematic ones).

For the project

  • Read Garí Pallicer (2026); interview a wood oven forner.
  • Graphic identity from the escut of the three blades.

Frequently asked questions

What is Forners?

Bread, cokes and ensaïmades cooked in a wood oven. Until the 20th century, many houses kneaded dough and took the bread to the neighborhood forn to bake; the…

Who practises Forners in Mallorca today?

The Balearic Islands Crafts Register lists 33 artisans linked to this craft, in Palma, Campos, Pollença, Lloseta, Marratxí.

What are the traditional words for Forners?

Some words: enfornar / desenfornar, flequer, forner / fornera, mostassaf, pala, pastera, robiol / rubiol.

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

Open it in the atlas →