The History of Our Wheatsville Bakehouse
When we opened our South Lamar location in September 2013, we not only achieved the dream of a second location, but the vision of our very own Bakehouse. Six years later, Bakehouse supervisor Robin Roosa, and her talented team, make not just our delicious pastries and one-of-a-kind vegan donuts, but hundreds of fresh bread loaves and rolls daily. Our breads are made with all-organic flours and no preservatives. Nearly all of our deli sandwiches are made using Bakehouse sourdough and whole wheat sandwich breads, rustic rolls, and of course, French rolls for our famous popcorn tofu po’boys!
Our journey to bread production began the summer before South Lamar opened, when Robin traveled to Wild Oats Co-op in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She worked side by side with the bread bakers there to perfect the art of Pain d’Ancienne, the inspiration for our rustic breads.
Though the dough itself is quite simple (flour, water, salt, and yeast), the process is anything but. Once the dough is mixed, it must be proofed overnight. The proofing process creates air bubbles in the dough as the yeast works, creating the tender, open crumb that is the hallmark of our rustic bread.
The following day, the dough is cut into portions and hand-shaped, using a twisting method that looks easy but takes some practice to master. Finally, the loaves are placed in a 500°F deck oven directly on the stone.
At Wild Oats, the old deck oven did not have steaming capability, so the loaves were misted with a spray bottle of water. Steam allows the crust of the bread to remain soft for the initial stage of baking so that the loaves can expand. It also dissolves sugars on the surface of the dough so that they caramelize during baking to create a crisp golden brown crust. Our deck ovens have steaming capability and humidity control to ensure a perfect result every time.
When Robin returned to Austin, she immediately got to work creating our very own sourdough starter, feeding and it twice daily for several weeks and allowing it to ferment before beginning to develop our sourdough bread recipe. We use this very same starter to this day and aspire to match the bakeries in San Francisco that have been using the same starter for over a hundred years. We once heard from a transplanted Northern Californian that our sourdough is the best she’s had outside of the Bay Area—high praise indeed!
In addition to the sourdough, rustic, and whole wheat breads that we make year-round, we are proud to offer featured seasonal breads that are totally unique to Wheatsville! In September, we will be featuring apple challah bread, a beautiful braided egg loaf studded with peak-of-season apples and a hint of cinnamon. In October, we will be featuring mesquite flour bread. Mesquite flour is milled from the dried pods of the mesquite tree and has a distinctive flavor reminiscent of dark chocolate and molasses. We’ll also reprise last year’s delicious pumpernickel, reimagined this year as rolls topped with everything bagel seasoning.
We are so proud of our amazing breads and the bakers who put care and love in making them everyday! Please ask at the deli counter for a sample anytime!