Orillia Bakery & Deli

Bakery: Orillia Bakery & Deli
Address: 155 Front St S, Orillia ON
Website: http://www.orilliabakery.ca/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

This is one of these places where it would be more apt to say Orillia Deli & Bakery than to put that highly coveted "bakery" title first. Of course, this deli/bakery does devote an ample section of their store to homemade breads, pies and loaf cakes, but the bread is definitely the highlight here. In truth, I was a little disappointed to find so little baked goods and treats available. Almost all are sold behind the counter by the cash and, of those there, most are sweets that are able to sit around for longer periods of time. I also didn't really like that these all came in specially sealed plastic bags, giving them a factory-made look. I hate when baked goods are sitting around in plastic: the texture - especially when something is supposed to be flaky or crunchy - is lost and you get that unpleasant supermarket taste. Bakeries take note!

The only loose item was the cinnamon bun (around $2.50; some items are priced/labelled, some are not). This consisted of a large spiral of dough topped with thick strips of classic icing. There was a nice amount of cinnamon rolled in throughout the dough, but I found the latter to be especially doughy and the stiff, somewhat airy consistency a bit too... generic. Not bad, but not remarkable.

The Eccles cake ($2.25) was a traditional puff pastry pocket stuffed with a fragrant blend of dried fruits. Perhaps not as spiced and aromatic as I like it, but the ratio of fruit to dough was good, as was the taste. However, the dough was too soft - this kind of dough should never come soggy. Fresh puff pastry should have that flaky crunch and a whole lot of mess (LOL); when it gets soft, the effect is just not the same.

 

Last but not least: Orillia (the town) seems to be a butter tart destination. Every bakery has them. And not only do they have them, they usually have multiple varieties. Why the butter tart love? Well, I don't know, but I too love my butter tarts, so I'm not blaming them. The undeniable star of the show ($1.35), the filling has that great crust and is ooey gooey and filled with pecans. The shell isn't too thick (as is sometimes the case), but why the airtight plastic baggies!?! A butter tart shell is just as important as the filling and by wrapping these in plastic, the texture is gone!

Rating: **1/2