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