Eat Bread: Pearl Bakery

A few years ago, in December of 2008, my now-husband surprised me by taking me on a culinary walking tour of Portland.  I could not think of a more perfect way to spend the day!  The tour offered by Portland Walking Tours is so much fun, especially for foodies like me.  We learned about beer making at Bridgeport Brewery, the history of tea at the Tea Zone, single origin chocolates at Cacao, and then my favorite – bread making at Pearl Bakery!

"Eat Bread" - Pearl Bakery's wonderful motto

We got to watch as the bakers prepared the levained bread.  It was incredible to see the sourdough bread process, which started as a small batch of dough then after a few short hours of letting the dough just sit, it would more than double.  I particularly loved watching the pastry bakers using giant stand mixers for the gibassier and cookie recipes, carefully folding dough to create beautiful croissants, and placing everything into the large ovens.   They do miracle work in my opinion 🙂

Growing up, whenever my mom had to go downtown, she would always make a detour to Pearl Bakery to pick up some freshly baked bread and of course a few gibassiers and cookies (no doubt where I got my sweet tooth from!).  I still love to go to Pearl Bakery whenever we have a dinner party and need a baguette or if a chocolate craving hits to get one of their chocolate bouchons. 

Pearl Bakery’s Gibassier

Pearl Bakery has started quite a following for their gibassiers – the traditional French breakfast pastry from Province that is flavored with anise seed and orange peel.  I was not ever too excited about trying this originally – too often anise can overpower a dish with its black licorice-like flavor.  Yet Pearl Bakery has figured out the secret behind using anise seeds.  Their gibassier has just a delightful hint of anise, using the seed gives the soft dough a nice crunch.  Not only does this donut-like treat have a unique and delicious flavor, there are very few bakeries in the U.S. that make it.  So definitely do not miss trying one for yourself the next time you stop in Pearl Bakery.  It is even better if you arrive early morning for the fresh-out-of-the-oven batch!