Is frozen dough a bread crime?
A few months ago, I had an email from a reader who was concerned about “bread crimes” in restaurants. She bemoaned the general lack of quality in the breads served around Calgary and was particularly piqued by the use of frozen, pre-baked products. I tended to agree with her; most of us have had enough stale, rock-hard rolls to last us a lifetime.
Around the same time, I had lunch at Avec Bistro and was served some fresh, warm, baguette slices. Nice crumb, crisp crust, excellent baguette. I asked our server if the bread was baked in-house. A sheepish look crossed his faced as he answered. “Well, sort of,” he said. “It’s actually Ace Bakery baguette that we bake-off here.”
Frozen or not, I was impressed. And if one of Calgary’s finer bistros is serving frozen “par-bake” breads, I thought it was worth looking into.
Ace Bakery was opened in 1993 by Martin Connell and Linda Haynes, a couple who were accomplished cooks and bakers. They had been baking natural breads at home for years and decided it was time to turn their passion into a business. Their artisan bakery and cafe, located on Toronto’s King Street West, became an instant hit and in short order they were supplying many of Toronto’s better restaurants with fresh breads.
In 2001, following a couple years of research, Ace launched a par-baked baguette. The idea was that the partially baked bread — it’s about 85 per cent baked — could be shipped to stores frozen. The stores would then finish the baking, offering fresh bread throughout the day. Ace slowly expanded its lines, but always adhered to the principles of slow fermentation, all-natural ingredients, no preservatives and seven different starter doughs to provide distinct character to its breads.
Ace became so popular that it was purchased by Weston Foods in 2010 for more than $100 million. Weston created a separate structure to maintain Ace as a unique business, but has expanded production and distribution across Canada. (It is also building a baking facility in the United States.)
The breads started to appear at Superstore in Calgary about two years ago and the food service line has been available to restaurants for about a year. Some of the Calgary places that use Ace products are Can- dela, Alloy, The Libertine, the Westin, the Redwater Rustic Grilles, The Unicorn and Avec Bistro.
Ace’s food service menu includes more than 50 bread products from hotdog buns and plain baguettes to rosemary focaccia and braided challah. They can be ordered in bulk and baked as needed to minimize waste, something every restaurant looks for.
So is it a crime to serve breads that were delivered frozen and baked-off in the restaurant kitchen? You decide. And let me know your opinion.
A couple of other notes about Ace. It sponsored an Artisan Incubator in June. Twenty artisan food producers from across Canada — including Tony and Penny Marshall of Highwood Crossing — were invited to a three-day workshop and product showcase in Toronto. The Marshalls say it was a great event, helping them build a national network for their products. The only problem was that they flew out to Toronto on the morning of June 20 and were away from their High River plant when the rains came. They hope to have the plant up and running again in the nottoo-distant future.
Also from Ace: It is currently sponsoring Canada’s Best Sandwich Contest. You have until Sept. 24 to come up with the ultimate sandwich for a top prize of $20,000. For details on the competition, check out www.acebakery.com
There have been some big changes at Bears Den (254028 Bearspaw Road N.W., 403-241-7611) recently. New ownership took over the lodgy, northwest restaurant last winter and did some renovations on the space, installing a new wine wall and adding new furniture. They also brought in the experienced Anthony Chalmers, formerly of Catch and Rush, to manage the place. In addition to Chalmers’ arrival, executive chef John Udell, formerly of Bonterra, has joined the kitchen team. Together with their staff, Chalmers and Udell are establishing a unique identity for Bside bistro, the casual side of Bears Den. It now has its own menu, including items such as bison bourguignon, lamb osso buco and salmon Nicoise.
Bears Den remains a challenging place to visit. To get to it, if you’re heading toward Cochrane on Highway 1A, go past the restaurant to Bearspaw Road. Turn left at the lights and then left again onto an access road that takes you to Bears Den. It’s tricky, but once you’re there, you’re wrapped in the cosy warmth of the clubby rooms.