Breads and Rolls
All our breads are made with four simple ingredients—hard winter wheat flour, sea salt, water and sourdough starter developed with native yeasts. We create variety by adding roasted nuts and seeds, herbs, whole rolled oats, rye flour, dried fruits and olives.
The process begins with a pre-fermented dough—a wet mixture called a poolish or a stiffer dough commonly referred to as a starter or biga—which slowly develops flavor and texture with the help of ambient strains of yeast specific to our bakery’s particular environment. The poolish is “fed” over a 24 hour period as the native yeast develops and the dough gains strength. The sourdough breads are allowed to develop another 48 hours to insure maximum flavor.
Years of experience guide the hands of our bread bakers who mix, scale and form the individual loaves, buns and rolls. Each style of bread is shaped and scored in a particular manner which will express its individual character. The final step is a trip to our Pavailler ovens (constructed on site by French technicians) where the carefully handled loaves are laid directly on the stone hearth and quickly baked at a hot temperature.
How will they come out today? Like other live, fermented products which depend on the slow development of natural bacteria (think of fermenting wine or aging cheese) the end result is dramatically affected by heat and humidity—water temperature, air temperature, the temperature and moisture in the air during the retarding and proofing processes, the temperature and volume of steam in the ovens.
Our team of bakers daily accepts this challenge demonstrating excellence and consistency, using their intelligence and intuition as well as skills developed over years to produce outstanding breads—truly demonstrating the craftsmanship deserving the title Artisan Bakers.
Artisan Bread Varieties
Baguette—a consistent Award winner. This bread helped launch the bakery 35 years ago and is still the most popular baguette in town.
Eugene Sourdough—aged a total of 48 hours, this chewy bread has a flavor unique to our bakery. Develops a stronger flavor as it ages.
Whole Wheat Sourdough—again, aged 48 hours. A slightly softer crumb with a mild sour flavor which underscores the organic whole wheat flour.
“Birdseed Multi-grain”—a whimsical name to describe a hearty combination of seeds and grains. The classic French seed combination of sesame, sunflower and flax combined with rolled oats, whole wheat, rye and white wheat flour and a bit of honey. A favorite sandwich bread.
Pane Como—the classic Northern Italian white bread with a well developed airy crumb, just enough texture and a chewy crust. Makes great french toast and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Italian Ciabatta—Our version has a crisp crust and a very holey, springy interior, the perfect platform to soak up extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar or top with salami and aged Gorgonzola.
Specialty Breads
Whole Wheat Walnut—roasted walnuts flavor this mildly fermented bread. Outstanding with soft cheese (especially triple cream Bries) or toasted with lots of butter.
Fig Hazelnut—Roasted local hazelnuts and figs combined in a light, whole wheat loaf.
Rosemary Garlic—Fresh rosemary and roasted garlic in a rich, white loaf.
Garlic Ciabatta—Roast garlic in our crusty, classic Italian Ciabatta.
Greek Olive Ciabatta—our daily Ciabatta with ripe Kalamata olives folded in. Salty and chewy.
Kate's Rye—An aromatic light rye with sunflower and flax seeds.
Rolls and Buns
French Hard Rolls—the same dough as our baguettes—Chewy crust and soft insides
Ciabatta Buns—the perfect sandwich roll or use it in place of a burger bun—magnifico!
“Birdseed” Multi-grain Buns—bakes up with a slightly denser crumb than its parent bread due to the shaping. Excellent with cheese or just plain butter.
Our freshly baked loaves are delivered daily to these fine food markets:
- Capella Market
- Newman’s Fish Market
- Long’s Meat Market
- The Kiva
- Friendly St. Market
- The Red Barn Market
- New Frontier Market
- Whole Foods
- and all of the Eugene area Markets of Choice
Here at the bakery, half-loaves are available, as well as truly day-old breads at special prices.
