Village Baking Company
Kouign Amann
Chocolate Canele
Canele
Almond Croissant
Traditional in technique but rife with imagination, Clint Cooper’s “The Village Baking Company” is one of those places I imagine tourists rarely see, the small building on University Boulevard tucked away in Upper Greenville and visually not much to look at from outside – the nose a far better gauge of what is going on within the brick walls as smells of butter, yeast, and cinnamon fill the air. Small in size but varied in selection with laminated pastry and leavened breads present in plethora alongside tempting muffins, tarts, cookies, and much more it was with friendly smiles that I was greeted and with wide eyes perusing the options but a mind towards meals past and to come some restraint was shown to the tune of four selections tallying $13.50 taken elsewhere to eat as the weather remained unfavorable to the outdoor-only tables. Focusing on the personal favorites I frequent to judge a French bakery’s skills, plus one novelty, it was with a crunch meets custard canele that I began and moving on to its chocolate sibling I was admittedly impressed – the crisp exterior breaking to rich chocolate akin to Keller’s bouchons but superior in texture and richness; a dozen with a cup of coffee could have been consumed with ease. Moving next to more favorites, it was to a messy shatter of powdered sugar, toasty almonds, and hundreds of buttery layers that I greeted the almond croissant – reference standard and balanced in its rich frangipane, albeit a touch sweet with the added sugar, and moving last to the Kouign Amann suffice it to say that Cooper and Company don’t hold back on the butter, the crunchy puck so rich that the coffee I should have ordered from the start became mandatory, making me wonder whether the two fruit tinged versions would have proven more balanced – a question I’ll have to answer on my next trip to The Big-D.
http://www.villagebakingco.com/