Our handmade or artisanal breads are baked fresh every day in small batches by professional bakers. Except for the pain de mie, they contain no added sugar, fat, eggs or dairy products and very little yeast or salt. Unlike frozen, factory-made products from Toronto that are pulled out of cardboard boxes and baked-off in supermarkets and some restaurants, our breads are never frozen. Please note, however, that they may contain traces of nuts because of shared equipment.
Contrary to the ill-informed media in North America, especially when it comes to food, bread made the French way is an exceptional contribution to a healthy diet.
A balanced diet requires a daily intake of mostly glucides, followed by about one third of lipids, and less than 15% of protein. In a nutshell, that’s why bread really is the staple of life when complemented by a little protein and lots of water, if not wine. Some studies also show that a regular consumption of bread helps reduce bad cholesterol levels thanks to its fibre content and reduces heart disease because of its high levels of complex glucides.
Baguettes
Developed at the beginning of the 20th century in France to meet the demand from growing numbers of urbanites who wanted to leave their country origins and dark, heavy breads behind them, baguettes are by definition white: “wholewheat baguette” is an oxymoron. Our baguettes are made with unbleached flour but follow the traditional “poolish” technique that provides both better taste and a longer shelf life.
Combining equal quantities of water and flour with very little yeast, our bakers concoct what some still call a ‘soft starter’ that will be added to the final mix. It takes almost 24 hours for this process to work but produces results far superior to breads that are literally forced to rise with too much yeast.
All our Baguettes - Parisien, Épi, Country - as well as dinner rolls and a demi-baguette, go well with almost any meal because their subtle taste will complement most flavours. The Parisien is denser with a strong crust, the "epi" or wheat sheath baguette tears apart in little buns, and the country baguette has a finer crust and a lighter texture.
Sourbough
Our Sourdough bread also rises very slowly with a natural starter, contributing to its remarkable taste, texture, and beautiful crust. It can keep for several days and goes well with most meals, and really well with soups, stews, and meats. Unlike most sourdoughs sold in Canada, it does not have a chemical taste because it contains virtually no yeast and no additives.
Nine Grains 
The Nine Grains in this mostly whole wheat bread are: wheat flakes, rye flakes, corn grit flakes, flax seed, soya grits, rolled oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, and millet. It makes great toast and sandwiches and stunning French toast because of its taste and consistency.
Pain de mie
Our only bread that contains milk, butter and eggs. It makes perfect toast, goes very well with rich foods, but is only available on Saturdays or with a minimum order of 10 loaves two days in advance.
Olive
We use freshly pitted, marinated olives, olive oil, herbs, and a little garlic in our Kalamata Olive Bread, available only on Saturdays.
Rye-Walnut-Raisin
This bread can be thinly sliced and keeps very well because of its high rye content. The raisins attenuate the bitterness of the walnuts and the rye tastes … like rye! Great with cheese. Saturdays only.
Light Rye
Goes very well with smoked salmon and gravlax. Its subtle rye flavour can also turn a ho-hum sandwich into a great one. Sundays only.
Organic Breads
We alternate between wholewheat and spelt breads on Friday. Both are made with organic flour and have soft crusts.
Added to the very high cost of organic flour is the difficulty getting large quantities of consistent quality, which is very important to a bakery likes ours that uses very little yeast, more (or less) of which is used by many bakeries to overcome problems with recipes, changing ingredients, or human error.