Amy's Bread

Hell’s Kitchen 672 Ninth Avenue New York, NY 10036 (212) 977-2670. Chelsea Market 75 Ninth Avenue New York, NY 10011 (212) 462-4338. The Village 250 Bleecker Street at Leroy Street New York, NY 10014 (212) 675-7802. http://www.amysbread.com/.

There are numerous bake shops to explore Manhattan, but one of the most interesting that I have read about is Amy’s Bread. Choosing among its various locations, I decided to head to the Chelsea Market, where each trip has always been fun for me because I find many interesting food stuff to buy. Not to mention great wine too!

Launched in 1992 by Amy Scherber, Amy’s Bread started as small store on Ninth Avenue in NYC’s Hell's Kitchen. Today, the bakery has over 150 employees and three retail stores including one at the Chelsea Market, where most of the breads are baked, and at The Village.

Stepping in the bright and busy Chelsea Market store, I immediately got excited (as I always do) when I see a wonderful selection of lovely looking, delightfully smelling bread. After all, Amy became famous for her Semolina with Golden Raisins and Fennel bread – as the kind staff who assisted me at the store explained.

So I quickly chose several delicious and interesting breads to try: Potato Onion Dill Bread, Black Olive Twist, Brioche, and Semolina with Golden Raisins and Fennel (of course I had to try what made them famous). Before paying I I knew I had to have something sweet so I also asked for the Sticky Buns (they claim these to be NY’s best). Since I wanted variety without overeating, I was happy to discover that most of their breads have the roll versions that are equally as good. The prices of the rolls and twists, compared to many bake shops I have been to, are quite reasonable at $0.55 to $1.60 a piece.

And they were quite scrumptious! The Potato Onion Dill Bread made from potato and unbleached flour had a crisp crust but a deliciously dense and soft buttery inside. The Black Olive Twist had an intensely chewy crust deliciously baked with the salty twist of olives in the center. The Sticky Buns had a wonderful caramel pecan topping on chewy bread that tastes of cinnamon and butter. Everything smelled good and tasted good!

But what surprised me the most was the Semolina with Golden Raisins and Fennel roll. This round golden brown bread sprinkled with crunchy semolina looked interesting, but the burst of flavour as soon as I chewed into the moist and chewy bread from the fennel mixed with the sweet golden raisins was wonderfully unexpected! I have never experienced and tasted this kind of bread before - certainly interesting and unforgettable.

Friendly staff? Check. Delicious, chewy, flavourful bread? Check. Variety of breads, cakes and pastries with a number of unusually interesting choices? Check. Reasonable prices? Check. A nice, laid back atmosphere? Check. Amy’s Bread certainly deserves the reputation it has gained for wonderful breads and pastries. Certainly a place I will frequent and highly recommend to friends. And yes, they do offer more than just breads - they serve sandwiches, salads, breakfast food and cater too!

Orwasher's Bakery

308 East 78th Street, NY, NY 10075. (212) 228-6569. http://www.orwasherbakery.com/.

I first heard about Orwasher’s Bakery from an article I read in Time Out New York as one of NYC’s best when it comes to bread. Purchased from its founding owners who made kosher bread back in 2007, owner Keith Cohen of Oven Artisans has since turned it into a bakery of classic and artisan breads, as well as cookies, cupcakes, pies, specialty cakes and pastries. Oven Artisans are makers of artisan breads and supply to retailers and restaurants in the city such as Dean & Deluca, Artisanal, Agata & Valentina, Zabar’s , Citarella and Gourmet Garage.



So one afternoon, my husband and I excitedly headed off to Orwasher’s at the Upper East Side to experience what it was all about. Inside, we found a brightly-lit, yellow and white tiled bakery that gave off a cheerful cafe feel. Though there was only a small counter on one side with some bar stools to have your coffee, there was a lot of space for the numerous shelves of freshly-baked bread, cookies, pastries, jams and cheeses. So many kinds of bread I could not make up my mind as to what I should buy. I literally wanted to try everything but of course, had to be realistic that I could not buy 10 different loaves of bread to try at one time.

I approached one of the staff who was just looking at us, impatiently waiting for us to order. I asked for their specialty and was told that it was their bread, which were freshly made in the store. Upon my further prodding on what the best seller was, she finally recommended their wine bread – either chardonnay (“if you want rye”) or cabernet (“if you like white”). I finally decided to buy a loaf of their Cabernet Rustica, the cinnamon raisin bun, a slice of chocolate strudel and a chocolate marshmallow butterscotch bar – all for $11 (the loaf was pretty large and sold at around $4.50). There was no line while we were there, but it was obvious that many regulars frequent the store because they knew exactly what to order and left just as quickly.

When we got home and tried our baked goodies, I realised that Orwasher’s specialty was really their bread and not their pastries. Though not bad, the chocolate strudel (with heavy doses of chocolate filling that was not too sweet but with crumbly bread that tasted old) and the chocolate marshmallow butterscotch bar (with a very sweet and very crumbly butterscotch brownie) were average at best.

The Cabernet Rustica bread though, which my husband and I ate with our home made herb balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil concoction, was wonderful. Crusty on the outside, it was airy but very moist and very tasty on the inside. Even my husband, who is not really a bread lover, could not stop eating it. Being wine lovers, we are now curious to try the other types of their Artisan wine breads.

Upon doing more research on Orwahser’s on their very informative website (I wish their staff could have been a wee bit as helpful as the site) it was interesting to note that Oven Artisans was created to “give New Yorkers different breads that represent our current culture”. Owasher’s alone specialized in 3 major types of bread: Artisan Wine (made from natural yeast found in grapes that carry the complex flavour profile of wine), New York Originals (such as Jewish Rye, Pumpernickel and Cinnamon Raisin) and Classic European (Ciabatta, Swiss Health, Sourdough and Multi-Grain). Their artisan wine selection each had their own style, flour, character, taste profile, and paired well with a certain types of food and wine. Now that I know all this, the Olive Bread- a soft, chewy and savory bread, made of unbleached wheat, and paired with antipasti, artisan cheeses, olive and wine- is next on my list.

So what do I think of Orwahser’s? They are indeed wonderful creators of fine, artisan bread. With the price as varied as their bread, I believe that the makers are truly creative, the breads delicious and the bakery worth being loyal to (once you actually know what your favourite is). One should not forget though that bread IS their specialty and NOT their pastries.

What was disappointing to me was the service. The staff could have been more knowledgeable and helpful in providing recommendations. With such a large array of these delicious breads, that each had their own character, it would have been much better if they asked questions and made recommendations for you to be able to decide which bread to purchase. Differentiating such wonderful wine breads as “if you want white or rye” truly destroys the care and creativity that the bakers have put into making these breads. Will I be back? Definitely. But this time I will come in much educated on what is worth trying. Suggest you visit the web site before you do too.