Basket of Bread

 Bakery: Basket of Bread

Address: 2783 Lake Shore Blvd W, Etobicoke ON

Website: n/a

Style: Polish

Price: $

 

This newer Polish bakery took a few attempts to actually get something sweet to review, but boy was it worth it! The first time I found it completely closed when it was supposed to be open. The second time all they had left was three loaves of bread. At last, on the third try, I hit the jackpot: trays of "mini" Polish doughnuts (pączki; $0.79) in the window along with small and larger sweet breads. The thing that really sets Basket of Bread apart is the fact that it's a bakery and not a Polish deli. No cold cuts here, that's for sure!

As a pączki expert, I have to say that the GTA is certainly lacking, especially after the good spots closed their doors. Those available are all the same: gigantic balls of puffy dough that hardly even qualify as doughnuts and can be never be considered fresh. Finally, there's someone who knows what they're doing! These are just the perfect size for you to appreciate that fantastic golden brown crust and yummy glaze. Inside, the dough is fresh and spongy. Amazing! My only real issue was that the raspberry filling is too generic and more gloopy than fruity, a somewhat lacklustre finish to a fantastic doughnut. 

Besides the doughnuts, I tried the peach cheesecake, which was excellent (the cherry cheesecake I had on another occasion, not so much; again the "cherry" was just tasteless red goop that ruined the cheesecake instead of embellishing it), as well as the poppy seed strudel ($4.99). This fresh, moist sweet bread had a delicious poppy seed mass (it could have used more) and was topped with crumble and icing. In short: my new favourite destination for Polish baking! I've been back since my inaugural trip and will keep on returning. 

Rating: ***1/2

Gerrard St. Bakery

Bakery: Andrea's Gerrard St. Bakery

Address: 635 Gerrard St E, Toronto ON

Website:  https://www.gerrardstreetbakery.com/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$$

 

This is an area of Toronto I'm seldom in, so I don't know how long this bakery, located right in the midst of the Gerrard St. Chinatown, has been here. Maybe it isn't as old and established as the name suggests, but it nonetheless serves a decent, though not too large selection of classic Canadian squares, tarts and other humble goodies. I recall hearing something about it being famous for their butter tarts, so I'll confess I came here with a purpose. To my disappointment, those "famous", albeit quite pricey butter tarts were gone.... 

I had to make do with the next best thing. At least, the pecan nut cake square was as close to a butter tart as I could get. This was in no way a compromise where I suffered in the end: this pecan square smelled amazing before I even got a chance to try it! That crunchy nut topping, the impeccably chewy filling with a delicious shortbread dough underneath - I can see how the butter tarts would be good. 

Equally fragrant and deliciously chewy and gooey was the gingerbread bundt cake. It didn't look like much when I took it out of the box, but you could really taste - and smell - the spice in this cake. Great texture, good taste. Overall a bit pricey and still a bit bummed that I didn't get what I came for, but good stuff nonetheless. 

Rating: ***

Gulbay Turkish Bakery

Bakery: Gulbay Turkish Bakery

Address: 90 Winges Rd #21, Woodbridge ON

Website: n/a 

Style: Turkish

Price: $$ 

I'm always a sucker for less common ethnic baking and Turkish bakeries definitely fall into this category (though I do have another one coming up shortly); this small bakery, though focusing predominantly on savoury baked goods and breads, does have limited selection of sweet items you probably won't find anywhere else. 

Beyond the Turkish-style pita bread and bagels, there were a few treats that I totally jumped at the chance to try. Namely, the korek ($10), which they called a poppy seed cake. Poppy seed? *__* You know you can count me in! Prompted by my initial surprise at not finding anything black inside, I did some online research and found that korek is actually stuffed with white poppy seed and walnut. That white poppy seed had a definite sesame seed taste and... I was pretty darn devastated. Fluffy, semi-sweet bread with a delicate undertone of halvah and nuts that - like everything both sweet and savoury from this bakery - could have most certainly benefited from more filling, notwithstanding my disappointment at not being the poppy seed cake I was envisioning... 

The other item was the intriguing "mom's cookie" ($2). Except I'm not quite sure I could call it a cookie, certainly not the cookie you and I are thinking of. For lack of a better description, it was like a ever so slightly spiced raisin bun with a rock-hard crust. Eating it, it seemed rather dull on its own, like it needed to be sliced and served with butter. I'm not sure if that was the intended purpose, but I'll admit I was expecting something a little more exciting?

Rating: **1/2