Didier Julien is a Master Baker, Patissier and Chocolatier, starting as an Apprentice in France at age 14.

Artisan bread is best described as bread made by a craftsperson who is trained to the highest ability to mix, ferment, shape and bake a hand-crafted loaf of bread. As such, Didier understands the science behind the chemical reactions of the ingredients he uses and knows how to provide the best environment for his bread to develop.

An artisan baker's skills parallel those of jewelers, glass blowers and furniture makers – each craft, in order to be of the highest quality, requires the use of the finest materials, as does the creation of truly great bread and pastries.

How do you know it's the real thing? First, look at the ingredients. Artisan bread is made from flour, water, salt and yeast. If the bread is made with sourdough there may not even be yeast in the ingredients. Flavoured breads may list other recognizable ingredients like nuts, garlic, cheese and herbs. It wasn't necessary to add chemicals to bread for centuries and it still isn’t–our flavours are natural.

Touches like patterns cut in the tops of loaves and a light dusting of flour on some kinds of bread are more related to letting steam escape and to esthetics than the deeper craft of baking excellent bread, although these decorations have become associated with Artisan breads.

Didier's bread is always fresh, always tasty and always made from simple high quality ingredients. Most of our bread is baked in a wood-fired oven. This results in a different kind of heat that makes the bread crusty on the outside and moist and chewy inside.

He always bakes from scratch, uses real butter and eggs and delights in a hands-on approach to all that he does.

He also pays close attention to his customer's needs, ensuring that his breads and other baked goods evolve with the times. This has led to a whole new line of specialty breads, as well as an expanded collection of breads, rolls, pastries and cakes.

"Bread is merely flour, water, yeast and salt as the world is merely earth, water, fire and air"

---Carol Field

Our wood-fired oven at work--crusty and full of unique flavour!