BREAKING BREAD. GAINING GROUND
Photography by Luis Mora
My motto has always been "Everything You Need, Nothing You Don't."
When deciding what I want to offer in my coffee shops, I always consider the needs of my customers first. My goal is to accomplish this in ways that make sense for the everyday coffee drinker. While building sustainable relationships with local businesses that meet my customers' needs, I want to serve neighbourhoods consistently over the long term.
When I had the opportunity to lease a new shop at 6 Brock street in Parkdale, I wanted to collaborate with someone who could provide the Parkdale neighbourhood with more than just sweet treats. It has always been a dream of mine to have all the baking for my shops done in house. I approached Patti Robinson, an acclaimed baking instructor who was already well known for her skills. Before opening the bakery, she had already been hustling bread at the Dufferin Grove farmers market and wholesaling to local businesses like Burdock Brewery and Paris Paris.
For me, nothing goes together better than bread and Butter Knife Espresso. That was the idea behind the in-store collaboration between myself and Patti. If we could provide everyone with what they needed in a one-stop-shop, we could help ease everyone's errand load. We could give a meaningful daytime experience they could take home with them. Stop by for a fresh cappuccino, pick up a bag of beans, some sweet treats and a loaf of bread or two, and you're ready for the week.
I want to highlight here why you should buy Patti's bread over the grocery store competition. Patti is a grain educator and advocates for the science of bread-making. All of her bread is hand-made using organic flour. The sifted white flour is sourced from Manitoba, and her whole grain flours are grown in Ontario. Her whole-grain flours are freshly milled and delivered to the bakery weekly. The germ is still present using fresh flour, which adds more flavour and nutrients to her bread.
Types of Bread available:
Country White Sourdough: This is a classic white sourdough made with 90% organic white wheat and 10% organic whole Emmer. The sourdough has a naturally sweet flavour and custard-like texture (crumb). The Emmer is an ancient grain that brings in a nutty punch.
Seeded Light Multigrain Sourdough: A lighter multigrain using 45% whole grains, including whole organic spelt and organic whole rye. Covered with toasted sunflower, sesame and flax seeds, this bread has tastes and texture similar to the white, but with more nutty flavours from the spelt and rye and extra toasty flavour from seeds.
Whole Hard Red Spring Sourdough: This is a 100% whole wheat sourdough hearth loaf made with 100% organic whole winter red wheat. This bread has a robust wheat flavour with a molasses-like crust. The crumb is custard-like and slightly tighter. Red grain tends to have more protein (ideal for hearth loaves of bread) and a more bitter and robust flavour. Winter red is a modern wheat – not an ancient grain and is resilient, which means and can thrive in varying growing conditions.
Seeded Whole Rye Sourdough: This 100% whole rye pan loaf, made with organic whole rye, flax, sesame, and sunflower seeds. While rye is not a wheat varietal, it does contain gluten. This rye has deep floral aromas combined with its seedy toppings.
Whole Spelt Sourdough: 100% whole spelt pan loaf, made with 100% whole spelt. The tasting notes are nutty with a hint of cinnamon.
Baguette: is a classic baguette, with 15% whole spelt and covered in toasted sesame seeds, or without. The baguette uses commercial yeast and sourdough culture. Because there is commercial yeast, it is not considered a true sourdough. However, the dough has fermented for 36 hours.
Focaccia: Made with commercial yeast, olive oil and 15% whole hard red spring, 15% yellow Flint corn, which gives the crust crunch and a fluffy crumb.
As you can see, this project at 6 Brock street collaborates with Patti Robinson and the bakery team. This space brings together the best of SJCB and some of Toronto's best bread & pastry made before your eyes. Open Daily from 8 am, we stock this variety of bread plus all the sweet baking you'd expect with coffee all freshly made that morning. A complete menu of espresso-based drinks, and filter coffees, is served quickly by friendly, skilled baristas. We feature our very own SJCB coffee, roasted in Toronto and stocked fresh weekly.
The best news is that after one year of being open together, we can hardly keep up with demand. Don't sleep in too late because popular items like brown butter cinnamon buns tend to sell out before noon.
There is room to sit and enjoy your coffee on one of 2 heated concrete benches lining the side of the café. At the same time, you can watch bakers making sourdough bread and pastry or see the world go by from the open garage door to the street.
If you haven't checked us out yet, please come down to Parkdale, and we'll give you what you need. If you're a neighbourhood local, we'll see you soon.
Sincerely,
