Harri Bakery [RIP]

Bakery: Harri Bakery
Address: 223 Algoma St S, Thunder Bay ON
Website: n/a 
Style: Finnish 
Price: $$

A case of the exploding cinnamon bun :P

Ever on the quest for Finnish baked goods, I've been wanting to visit Harri Bakery for more than a year; ever since the National Post ran a travel article on local eats in the Thunder Bay area, with Harri being one of the selections. So when I heard that the brothers were driving through Thunder Bay (staying a night, in fact), you know what the orders were: freeze and bring back whatever you can! And, for once, they delivered. :)

Operating from a red wooden building in the quite Finnish Thunder Bay, Harri has all the classics: dark rye breads, cinnamon buns, pulla, etc. And we got it all. Realistically, how can you not when the next Finnish bakery is in Sudbury? ;)

Forever a sucker for cinnamon buns...

For one, I got some cinnamon buns (with its variant, the apple cinnamon bun). I'm sure everyone must know my fondness for Finnish cinnamon buns; the ones from Harri were a bit doughier and the layers plumper than your average bun, with a sprinkling of regular sugar instead of the usual rock sugar. This meant that for a whole bunch of dough, you didn't get that much cinnamon or sugar in a mouthful. There was a nice amount of cardamom and I liked the dense, yet soft texture, but would have personally preferred more than just one roll-around. The apple variation, with chunks of apple in the centre, was an interesting take on the classic bun. I will say I prefer the original, but it was pretty good in its own right.

Give me pulla and I'll be happy ^^

The pulla, a braided sweet bread, was also tasty. Some bakeries sprinkle them with sugar and others add raisins; I probably like the sugar better, though I can always do without raisins, but this was a very good one, though probably not my all-time favourite: hints of cardamom, soft dough. Mmm... no matter what, I'll take whatever Finnish baked goods I can get -- yes, even if it means a two days' drive! *-*

Rating: ***