Earth Bound Bakery, Saskatoon

It has become a Saturday morning ritual to visit the Earth Bound Bakery at 1820 8th Street East (next door to Mano’s restaurant).

What better way to start your weekend than with a chewy, crusty loaf still warm from the oven and maybe a croissant for lunch? When I learned that the owner, Trent Loewen, had started serving fresh sandwiches at lunchtime, I had to visit.

Trent says that he designed his store to be really open so he could visit with customers. Even better was to offer soup and sandwiches for lunch – “I like conversation and seeing people enjoy food,” Trent explains.

I’m all in favour – lunch was great. Andrew and I both had housemade hummus with sprouts and cucumber on hemp and sesame bread. I had a bowl of roasted beet and potato and green lentil and fresh dill soup, while Andrew had curry chickpea, cauliflower and summer squash.

I had a mini chocolate cupcake for dessert, while Andrew had a pain au chocolat. Every bite was delicious.

Certified Organic and Local

Almost all the ingredients Trent uses are certified organic and grown in Saskatchewan. And he buys all his ingredients from just two suppliers. The L’Oiselle family farm near Vonda and Bob Balfour of R & J Milling near Riceton grow, mill and deliver the grains, seeds and lentils.

“There is nobody in between,” says Trent. “I like to maintain that conversation with the local producer and support them.”

Variety is the Spice of Life

There is always something new on offer at Earth Bound. Trent bakes new varieties of bread most Wednesdays and Saturdays. There’s a new variety of bread today as well – oatmeal flax-bran sourdough with prunes. “That’s for my regulars,” jokes Trent. (I bought a loaf, and it was deliciously moist with a crunchy crust and big chunks of fruit.)

“I make new products as often as I feel inspired,” says Trent. “That’s why I’m in business for myself – so I can do what I want, what my customers want, and set my own standards.”

There’ll be a new product on offer today (August 13). Trent woke up from a dream about making croissants with reduced red wine butter. So he set about blending the wine and the butter ready for the next day’s croissants – some with blue cheese, some with walnuts, maybe some with both. (I am trying to think up a valid excuse for dropping by to buy some!)

Happy Anniversary

Earth Bound Bakery will be celebrating its second anniversary in September. They’ve come a long way from the early days at an outdoor stall at the Farmers’ Market. And I think we can look forward to more milestones in the future. Trent was a chef before he became a baker, and he hopes to open a restaurant someday. I’ve promised I’ll be one of his first customers. Won’t you join me?

And, in the meantime, please go buy me a croissant with reduced red wine butter and blue cheese and walnuts. Or a fresh sandwich. Or a mushroom and sharp cheese croissant. Or . . . .

News Updates

Trent is working on a website and says he’ll be “linking and jazzing up soon” (I foresee bread dough on his iPhone!). In the meantime, he does post sporadically on his blog – that’s how I found out about fresh sandwiches.