Like Pharrell, Madonna and Elvis, Danny McGleno is best known around the Twin Cities by one name—Klecko, a nickname given when he was starting out as a baker. Call him a Renaissance man: He’s the CEO at St. Agnes Baking Co. (or master baker/problem solver, according to his business card), a father of two grown children, a longtime baseball coach for Highland Groveland Recreation Association, a poet and author, future politician, and village baker, which seems to be his preferred way of describing himself.
Klecko, 52, is nothing if not quotable, so in his own words, here is a mere glimpse into his story:
On becoming a baker:
“Growing up in Crystal, I knew I was going to bake when I was a child. I started working at Supermom’s state-of-the-art baking facility about 30 years ago. I was making gas station loaves (for SuperAmerica), but I wanted to make the Easter breads of my Polish ancestors.”
On his mission:
“It has been my goal to educate the Twin Cities about eating the highest-quality healthy breads. It’s more than just ingredients and flair. “Mouthfeel” is huge. And our hamburger buns are the best.” St. Agnes provides hamburger buns to a multitude of metro restaurants and recently began serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Klecko has been doing many of the 2 a.m. drop-offs there himself. “People who make the best buns run the city.”
On the typical baker at St. Agnes:
“There are two groups of people who apply to be a baker: People who have no idea about what the job involves and people who are culinary students and want to specialize. For me, I don’t care what you’ve done with your life. Are you loyal? Will you take a bullet for me? Will you bake wonderful bread?”
On what makes bakers special:
“We’re more chill. Chefs are divas and into the drama. We’re more observant and methodical. We know science. We’re the Robert Oppenheimer of the food business.”
On being a poet:
“I started writing poetry when I worked the night shift in the bakery at Supermom’s. My favorite thing to do was man the ovens, and it’s a solitary job. So I would sit and think and write poems.” Klecko is also the author of K9 Nation Biscuit Book: Baking for Your Best Friend, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.
On his political aspirations:
“I feed hungry people every day. I serve all of these neighborhoods. I’m a problem solver. Out of 24 hours in a day, I spend 18 in service. Saint Paul knows Klecko, and I am Saint Paul. It’s going to be like a Norman Rockwell experience. Visit my Facebook site, Mayor for Life. I have a book with the same title coming out later this year.”
Klecko Breaks Down the Breads
Like a father talking about the qualities he values most in his children, Klecko describes some of the shining stars in the St. Agnes Baking Co. bread box.
Black Russian: “We commit to real onions, and people will pay for real onions. I’d put pastrami, some horseradish and white cheese between two slices of this bread.”
Mustard Dill: “No one else on the planet makes this. You want to get the flavor of the mustard in there—it’s all in the fingertips. Every one of these loaves has energy.”
Polish Bride: “This loaf has Craisins, sunflower nuts and honey. It gives you sweet and salty, crunch and chew. It’s a kaleidoscope of wonder and I’m pretty proud of it.”
Wild rice sourdough: “This is the bread that put me on the map. When Mikhail Gorbachev visited Saint Paul in 1990, the St. Paul Hotel staff asked me to make a special loaf of bread for him. I was just a kid at the time. I read that Gorbachev was intrigued by Native American culture, so I made this loaf using wild rice. I was pretty excited by how it turned out.” Later in Klecko’s career, he traveled to Russia “to teach Russians to bake Russian bread,” he says.
