A former Dean & DeLuca pastry chef is opening a unique bakery in Brooklyn this spring

Koji is having a moment. And we're not just talking about miso soup.

The centuries-old Japanese fermentation culture responsible for staples like soy sauce and sake is stepping into the spotlight in Brooklyn, where a quietly luxe new bakery called Hacco is set to open its first brick-and-mortar this spring. The concept is pastries and drinks built around organic rice fermentation—and a belief that sweetness doesn’t have to come from refined sugar to shine.

At the helm is Raphael Boeri, former executive pastry chef at Dean & DeLuca, who now serves as corporate pastry chef and store operations division director for Hacco. Boeri’s resumé spans airport hospitality group OTG Management and years leading award-winning bakery concepts in New Jersey, but this Brooklyn opening marks a pivot toward fermentation-forward baking.

If you’re new to koji, it refers to cultures of the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, traditionally used in Japan to break down starches into sugars and unlock deep umami flavor. It’s the invisible engine behind miso, soy sauce and sake. Under warm, humid conditions, the culture converts starch into glucose, creating a natural sweetness and a complex, layered flavor profile without added sugar.

Hacco’s menu will lean into that alchemy. Expect pastries made with organic koji flour—a fermented rice flour that improves hydration and softens texture—and an organic koji syrup crafted from fermented rice. The syrup delivers a delicate sweetness with a clean finish, free from refined sugar, artificial sweeteners or additives. The end result is baked goods that taste gently sweet, nuanced, and surprisingly light.

While fermentation has long been a darling of fine-dining kitchens (chefs have used koji to dry-age meats and ferment vegetables), it’s only recently begun to inch into mainstream food conversations, including plant-based innovation and alternative proteins. Thanks to its long culinary history, koji is perfectly primed for broader adoption. Brooklyn, of course, is also fertile ground for that kind of culinary curiosity. Between natural wine bars, sourdough obsessives and koji-curious home cooks, the borough has never met a fermentation trend it didn’t want to dissect.

Hacco’s arrival suggests that the next wave of baking might be less about sugar rushes and more about thoughtful transformation. And if Boeri has his way, Brooklynites will soon be lining up not just for croissants—but for a taste of mold, simply rebranded.

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