“Old-fashioned:” Downie Street Bakehouse
Alan Mailloux came from the car industry in Windsor but found himself a graduate of the Stratford Chefs School and cooking in Stratford, St. Marys and Toronto. He then also found himself embracing the tactile nature of dough and baking. In this excerpt from Farm to Table (see sidebar for more information), Mailloux describes his baking style as time-honoured.
“What we bake is very old-fashioned. Flour, water, salt, and sometimes yeast. We make
a lot of sourdoughs and ferment them overnight in the fridge, giving them as much time as we can.”
Downie Street Bakehouse opened in August, 2011, and since then slowing the process down has been key – the longer it takes to make, the more nutritious it is and the better it tastes, Mailloux says.
He will also add that there’s “an awful lot” to be said about food that grows nearby, and in that we can include bread that’s baked nearby.
“Planting basil near your tomatoes helps keep the bugs away, and they go really nicely together in a sauce,” he says, to which I would add a nice chunk of bread to sop up the bottom of the bowl.
“And here we are in this space in Perth County with all this great food around us. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”
Downie Street Bakehouse is open Wednesday to Friday 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
You can also find them at The Market at the Western Fair.
[Banner photo/Terry Manzo]
