Breads. Breads. Breads.
Im a self-confessed bread-whore. I eat bread everyday, at times half a loaf at one go (if not more) and I buy breads in bulk. My fridge has a minimum of 3 different types of breads at any one time (just so I can eat whichever one when the mood hits) and Im always on the look-out for new bakeries/cafes/hotels that sells healthy, artisan breads.
I dont eat Gardenia (unless its from Singapore check out the Gardenia from Singapore HERE ! ) /High Five or breads from Bread Story/Bread History etc. Those are empty fluffs, full of sugar & empty calories.
So yeah, in conclusion Im a high-class bread eater.
I find Levain Boulangerie decent enough (post HERE! & HERE) but not it wasnt really artisan breads per se.
The good news is I have found a few really worth of recommendation bakeries recently, and will be sharing them on my blog, one after another. Im starting off with Craft Bakers, a very traditional European type bakery and cafe, but unfortunately with a very annoyingly hard to find location.
Anyhow, location hardly deters hardcore bread-whores like me. After 40 minutes, I managed to park (Solaris Dutamas & the new Publika area is a maze) & thankfully found the cafe soon enough before my mood worsen.
The menu is extensive; and that got me excitedly starting to take my pick of breads, only to be disappointedly informed that most of them are not available, or available only on made -to-order basis, or available on certain days only. Ishhhhhh *annoyed* .
But enough of complains. The breads here is good. And thats we are here for.
We started with a sandwich each. Kevin ordered one with English Cheddar cheese, and this was paired with English gerkins/pickles & lettuce (RM11.50). The options for sandwiches were ciabatta, multi-grain or foccacia.
The one he chose was ciabatta and the texture was lovely (see the air pockets below?). Crusty yet chewy and soft inside.
It may look pretty sad here but I assure you that they were generous enough with the cheese. The whole ensemble was very filling as the breads here are dense and half a portion easily feeds a medium-sized diner .
I could only finish half of my Chicken and Crunchy Peanut Butter Sandwich (RM11.90) even though Im such a bread-whore. The multi-grain bread was heavy but wonderfully fragrant & fresh.
See for yourself the quality of the flour used and the actual grains present in each slice. Now, this is my kind of bread!
Each slice was thickly spread with nutty peanut butter and layered with cuts of chicken breast. Tomatoes, lettuce and Japanese cucumbers completely the package. The fillings were simple, no doubt replicable at home but it was the breads that made the difference.
Hence I lugged a whole loaf of wholemeal loaf home. It weighted almost 2kg ( I kid you not!) and it took me a week to finish it. All I could consume was ONE slice at any one time.
All breads from Craft Bakers are freshly made the traditional way, slow mixed and proved, hand crafted and then baked in their brick floored oven.
No addictives or preservatives are added into any of their baked goods. Craft Bakers only use untreated, unbleached flour and they do not enhance their breads with fats or sugar. They also proudly proclaimed that the flour they used are 100% organic stoneground wheat flour from Cann Mills in the UK.
Below are the usual range of baked goods that greets you if you were to walk-in into their bakery at any one time. Bagels, some danish and croissants.
I tried the bagels as there were samples given at the counter and find them to be lacking in texture when compared to the actual traditional bagels, where it should really dense & chewy. The ones here are Malaysianed I would say, more like dense buns than bagels.
Since its an European bakery, I had to try their croissa! nts. Im not a pastry person, as pastries are very high in fat content. I made an exception this time as I was impressed with the breads; and was hoping that I could find my ultimate flaky, buttery light croissant.
Unfortunately that wasnt the case. The croissant here; (as you can see below) is not as flaky as I would have liked, and at the inner folds the pastry sheets are thicker than it should be.
Croissants (RM4.00 each) .
Pies are available on Wednesdays, and pizzas by trays (where you can purchase them by slices) on Thursdays. I hopped in on a Wednesday, ever curious of how their pies are going to be like. No doubt I had high expectations, as this is after all an European bakery.
I was delighted at the sight of this huge chunky wedge of Creamy Chicken Pie.
It was loaded with chunky cubes of chicken, with the usual potatoes and carrots thrown in. I think Craft Bakers are trying to Malaysian-ised it a bit here, as I can see curry leaves added in and the fillings does tasted faintly of curry powder.
It wasnt as creamy as its namesake. As much as I would like to proclaim that I liked this, I have to honestly say that it fell way below expectations. The fillings was a bit bland and the potatoes were firm instead of the soft cubes that we are accustomised to in our pies. PrincessJoLing hopped in from her office for a taste and returned the same verdict.
Well, there are still the pizzas of which I have yet to sample. Anyone up for a Thursday pizza lunch here??
Interior shots:
Utilitarian set up with clean and functional tables and chairs. I wouldnt call it cosy but it was bright & airy enough. Service is warm and the baker, manager and staff (sorry I couldnt remember their names!) are very helpful and ever- ready to suggest and answer any queries you may have about their breads.
CRAFT BAKERS
Address:
D2-G3-05, Solaris Dutamas, No 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +6012 2900504!
CALL FOR ORDERS: +603 6205 3913
Opening times:Mon-Sat, 7.30am-5pm
Email: craftbakers@craftbakers.org.uk
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