Detour Bakery
Apricot Croissant
Almond Croissant
Mixed Berry Clafoutis
Peach and Bavarian Cream Tart
Chocolate Pan Sucre
Located Southeast of Denver in the corner-pocket of a small shopping center, Detour Bakery’s naming may at first seem to acknowledge its out of the way location, but for those fortunate to happen upon the locals-only space owned by Jeff and Florence Payne a better descriptor may, in fact, be ‘destination’ as the small storefront is turning out some of the Mile High City’s best French pastry and viennoiserie.
Referencing France with it’s market layout, both the accent of the baker and her skill set making one curious as to whether her roots lie overseas, those walking through the doors to pleasant greetings plus the smell of freshly baked bread are likely to be overwhelmed by the vastness of options available, one particular morning’s creative energy yielding no less than eight styles of croissants offered alongside options both sweet and savory, the Stalk-like Epi and Baguette seemingly quite popular and described to me by one elderly patron as “better than the ones you get in Paris.”
Fighting through rush hour Tuesday traffic to assure an early arrival, the previous night’s snow already starting to melt, it was just past eight o’clock when I stood peering at a duo of glass cases, the contents all glistening with prices that seemed far too low to be real, a five part order compiled after a few questions taken to a small table with a viewing window allowing visitors to watch a kitchen at work.
Doing my best to take it easy and focus on favorites, a long day ahead with several stops including dinner at Frasca Food & Wine, it was with a small bites that I sampled the soft pan sucre and although chocolate had unfortunately been piped in a bit lopsided leading to areas of dryness the flavor of bread itself was still quite good, no such issues befalling a duo of Croissants as each cracked and flaked to the tooth before yielding their pronounced pureed fillings.
Told by Mrs. Payne that the Bavarian cream had just been made, while the double pocket surrounding both it and sliced peaches was itself still warm, it should be obvious to anyone accustomed that the fresh tart was a work of art well worth getting up early for, the same to be said for a custard-rich Clafoutis with walls of butter pastry chock-full of bursting berries.
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