Portland bakery crawl

Thanks to many of your suggestions, and a perennial favorite, I spent a number of days Bakery Hunting in Portland. Crouched down, donned light golden brown camo, took aim with my discerning butter sensitive palate, shot down and dragged in a number of pastries and bread for comparitive tasting.

but first the CAKE pilgrimage:                                                                                              I drove up from SF on a Monday and Tuesday morning I took my whole family into Crema {SE 2728 SE Ankeny Street 503 234.0206} to order a most incredible cake, The Basque Tart. The story behind this cake is this: When I started visiting Portland a few years ago my friend Ann nonchalantly brought me into Florio, a light airy bakery with more ceiling footage than tables. We picked up what would turn out to be the best Ciabatta I've ever had and  a piece of blonde, almond scented cake with cream tucked in the middle. I had trouble sharing the cake so the next time I went in I picked up a few pieces. It got to the point that a visit had to include that cake and a speedy dash before any flight home so as to prolong the too short visit to this small plush city in the comfort of my own home kitchen.

Then I got the call. "Florio has been sold to new owners." Crying ensued.

In May, on a hopeful whim, I ran in and breathlessly told my story to the random fellow behind the counter. "Well, you see, I know that this place has new owners but you used to make this cake and I was, well, wondering if you might ever make it again?" And it that very laid back Portland way this wonderful creature pulled out a business card and wrote down the name of the baker, Sal. Jackpot! The baker had stayed on!

Sal said that yes, he did still sometimes make that cake, but besides the few people like me who were obsessed, it had trouble selling.

And so I special ordered it upon arrival. It didn't look exactly the same, but tasted Mighty Fine and wowed my Portland family of eight. It cost $22 and was best the day it was made, (inedible on its third day.) Crema has a special order list and they are soon to be creating a more extensive seasonal cake menu. The coconut cake is another favorite of mine. Coconut pastry cream fills the three layers and the cakey part is tender and moist. They serve Stumptown coffee and mine went nicely with an apricot jam filled scone.

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On a reader's suggestion I also went to Criollo {(503) 335-9331 4727 NE Fremont St.} Although I tend to love bakeries started by ex restaurant pastry chefs I thought this bakery was underwhelming, generic and many of the items showed complete lack of bakery baking skill. Cookies were under baked, laminated doughs were soggy, brioche was dry, petit fours were stale. One find was outstanding, the sourdough loaf. it was both dense and had a light crumb, (extremely hard to achieve with a good & sour sourdough.) It made fantastic toast and was also very good sandwich bread. I would make a special trip for this.

The two other bakeries on the hunt were St. Honore and Ken's Artisan Bakery http://www.kensartisan.com/{338 NW 21st Avenue (corner of 21st and Flanders)} St. Honore is barely worth a mention. It was horrible. I ordered 4 items all made with different doughs, a sure way to see how knowledgeable and skilled a bakery is. Puff pastry  in the Napoleon was stale, the custard tasted of nothing. Apple chausson left a film on the roof of my mouth, a sign that a fat besides butter is present. And the apple paste inside was salty!? Think this is too harsch? Check out what The Portland Food Dude has to say.

Ken's specialty, hands down, is bread. I sampled 4 different kinds, both from their farmer's market stand and the store. The brioche was the exception. The yeast had  gone off and it just was not tender and buttery enough. (Della Fattoria has spoiled me beyond reason.) On a first afternoon visit I tried an almond croissant, cannele and a French chocolate macaroon. The little sweet things look and feel like an afterthought. The macaroon was inedible. It was so stale it shattered on impact. The almond croissant had a negligible amount of almond filling that tasted like it had gone through the flavor extraction machine. But when I went back on a cool morning I ordered a mixed pot of Rooibos and verbena tea, cannele and croissant. Divine. I sat behind a massive vase of cosmos at a communal table and savored every bite of my flaky warm croissant and dark and custardy cannele.

At a pastry conference I once heard that bread bakers make bready croissants and patissieres make buttery flaky croissants. That it's a matter of where ones viewpoint lies.

But canneles are another story. A challenge like no other. The shortest recipe I've seen is 3 pages long. You need the right molds, the correct coating for their interiors, the dough needs a number of disco naps and one small hibernation, the oven needs to be hot and those little molds have to be spaced perfectly.

So I'm happy when a bakery takes them on.

Like neighborhood strolling in Portland, each bakery has it's specialty and it's best to go to each of them for theirs.

Comments

[FoodDude]

I pretty much agree with you on everything, though I've never been that impressed with anything but the coffee at Crema. Funny, I updated the St. Honoré Boulangerie review today after finishing up my Ken's bakery review. Criollo has been inconsistent, though is generally trending better as time goes by.

[Dave J.]

I've never understood the local fascination with St. Honore. I think it's the appeal of what people assume to be a genuinely French bakery--they got a downright fawning article in the Oregonian right when they opened that made it sound like they had lifted a piece of Paris c. 1954 and dropped it right into northwest Portland. It's way too crazy and chaotic in there, and then the food is generally subpar. I really prefer Ken's.

[dexygus]

hi shuna-
sorry criollo was pretty much a bust. really, i DID hear good things about it. oh well. since fooddude above says that they're inconsistent, maybe you were there on an off day (hopefully).

[santos.]

> I had trouble sharing the cake

you say that so casually, yet i feel that somehow the words "fisticuffs" and "bloodbath" come into play....

[Lindy]

Re cannele: I have never had a real one, but for some reason I have developed an overwhelming interest in them. (I'm really not sure why, I'm certainly more of a cook than a baker, and they are obviously extremely complicated.)
I have not found them anywhere in my Pittsburgh area. If I could find them, I'd buy them, rather than try to make them, much like my baguettes, which I make only because I can't find any I really like locally.
Because of financial considerations, I have not aquired the copper molds. I did buy a silicon sheet of molds, and made some per the Paula Wolfert Slow Meditteranean Cooking method, minus the wax. They were delicious and odd, but not so dark, and I suspect they probably missed the mark pretty widely.
Any advice? Is it hopeless without the molds of copper?
Thanks for stopping by.

[Shuna]

Santos!! So nice to have you over here! And thanks for noticing the innuendo.

Lindy, thanks for visiting and commenting.
I think that with the silicon molds they just do not attract the heat, or hold it, as well. But the fact that you attempted making them means that you deserve A Gold Star! That, in itself, is an accomplishment.
I don't know anything about Pittsburgh, but they have some fantastic bakeries in Philadephia. It's fantastic that you are making what fills in the gaps.

[Kudzu]

Can't speak for Portland goodies, but there's something I am trying to work out. It's part of one's (maybe DNA) constitution.

When I lived on Barrow St. in Manhattan a thousand years ago I could cross the street to a little French bakery and get cunning, small, buttery croissants. They became my standard. But here in California and in other places where I have inhaled them at breakfast they have been the bigger, more shattering, crash-against-your-chest-crumby sort of creation.

What's yer poison, Shuna? I find virtues in each, though I still would prefer to have the smaller butteries available in Marin and have yet to find them.

Shall we deal with this and get on with --- brioche?

Understand: I bake none of these. But I am an obsessive lover.

[Shuna]

Kudzu, The best croissant I have ever had was last summer from Lenotre. I like small buttery shattering things.
Know this: it's much much easier to make a few big croissants that a lot of little ones. The dough is delicate and difficult to work with, especially if the air temp is warm. The croissant at Ken's was very good indeed, and much smaller than the ones we have here at Citizen Cake and Tartine. But I must admit that this body has processed a lot of the latter's with butter and seasonal jam, so I don't think we are that hurting.
If in NYC you must have one at CAFE CLAUDE on West 4th st. !!

[Kudzu]

Thanks for the mini-tutorial on croissants. When Elizabeth had her bakery here in Mill Valley -- pre-Tartine -- we were blessed.

[Jean]

Hi Shuna,
You mentioned that there are some fantastic bakeries in Pbilly. Could you recommend some specific ones?
Most appreciated,
Jean

[joanna]

Hey Shuna,
Long time listener, first time caller (actually, I may have commented once before...)
Anyway, here's one to add to your list for your next Portland visit:

Baker and Spice
http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/?p=833

Just thought I'd share my recent bakery crush with you.

[Marc]

A new bakery/patisserie opened on 185th and Baseline in Beaverton. Excellent quality. (The name is a bit bland, though: La Bakery.)