Phoenixville is fortunate to have three bakeries, each with their own focus, operating in the borough.
Soltane Breads and Spreads
138 Bridge Street
Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Soltane Breads and Spreads has one succinct mission – to make the best breads and coffee possible. Every day, they offer a variety of daily bread specials. Last week’s specials included Whole Spelt and Kamut, Cracked Wheat, Country Sourdough, and Olive Levain. They also bake fresh regular artisan breads like french baguettes, Roggen Volkornbrot, croissants, scones or rolls. While the assortment varies, they typically carry 12 types of breads and rolls a day.
Making each loaf of bread is a time-consuming but delicious process, which begins each night with building a fire in their wood-fire oven. Once the wood burns down to coals, Soltane’s staff members close the door for the rest of the evening, allowing the oven walls to soak in the heat. The next morning, the coals are swept out and the oven is cleaned. The bread is directly baked on a stone hearth.
The intense heat absorbed in the walls enables each loaf to be baked with a thick crust. The wood fire oven is the best environment to efficiently bake bread for the ultimate carb experience. To top their beautiful breads, which are made from organically grown grains, they offer homemade raspberry jam, peanut butter and apple butter made from Camphill Soltane’s orchards.
Their gourmet coffee (without the pretentious attitude) arrives freshly roasted from Stumptown Coffee Roasters. This direct trade coffee is single served and each cup is brewed fresh. The organic roasts are available three ways: by mug, to go or by the 12 oz bag. They also offer a wide selection of organic teas and apple cider slushies. The slushies are made from apple cider pressed at the orchards at Camphill Soltane.
Soltane’s Breads and Spreads is an extension of Camphill Soltane in Glenmoore, which is a college for young adults with developmental disabilities. The bakery is staffed by Camphill volunteers and will eventually be a place for students and residents to practice cooking and baking skills.
Sweet Velvet Cupcakery
Bridgeside Deli and Grille, 402 West High Street
Thursdays or Fridays
Stacie Bellos, Sweet Velvet owner, takes great pride in her cupcakes. Each cupcake is made with the finest organic ingredients. Stacie uses no preservatives or artificial ingredients in her cupcakes. She uses European chocolates, Madagascar Vanilla, Philly cream cheese and local fruits. Her cupcakes are never frozen and are always made the day they are bought.
The cupcakes are available in 15-20 flavors, with the most popular being red velvet and carrot cake. Stacie even offers an homage to her homeland, a baklava cupcake made from her mom’s family recipe.
To please a bigger crowd, Sweet Velvet sells 8” or 9” cakes and cupcake towers. You can special order cupcakes by emailing [email protected]. Orders require 48 hours notice and a minimum of a dozen.
Stacie’s cupcakes have received sweet reviews by her customers, many have said it’s the best cupcake they’ve ever had. You can also find Sweet Velvet cupcakes at Phoenixville’s First Fridays.
The Wooden Spoon Bakery and Cafe
24 Main Street
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Wooden Spoon serves the finest produce Chester County has to offer and the majority of their ingredients are organic. They offer fare for vegans, gluten-free options and can cater your next affair.
The pastry chef, Barby Bonnett, trained at Le Bec-Fin and served as head baker at Metropolitan for seven years. She goes beyond just baking. Barby’s extensive knowledge of baked goods enables her to pull out the full potential of flavors. She’s known for baking her soft cookies into a specific size based on the cookie. Check out her enormous macaroons.
Their lineup of rustic mouthwatering baked goods includes pies, sticky buns, brownies, yogurt parfaits, biscottis, tarts, homemade Oreos, cakes, and scones. Their “hootey hoo” owl cookies, organic shortbread with a buttercream filling, fly off the shelves. Their peanut butter tiger sharks (similar to an organic Reese’s cup with a shortbread crust) are devoured just as quickly.
In case sweet isn’t your style, they also offer plenty of savory items to sink your spoon into. Every day, they carry two types of quiche (one meatless, one not) with an incredibly flaky crust. They offer a variety of sandwiches and salads including curry chicken and quinoa salads. When the weather finally cools down, hot entrees and soups will be added to the menu. The Wooden Spoon serves a variety of fresh breads daily.
The Wooden Spoon Cafe also offers something that can’t be found anywhere else in Chester County, a cup of hot or iced coffee from PT Roasters. This direct trade, award-winning coffee has a pleasant, non-acidic flavor. The Wooden Spoon is a great place to grab a bite for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
