South Snohomish County Loves its Bakeries

A good bakery is necessary for a good life. Poets have written odes to bread. Pastries are the subject of works of art. An ’80s British pop band even wrote a tune to sing the praises of “Toast” (look it up, it’s fantastic). Humans first learned how to bake thousands of years ago because it was a nutritious and convenient food, but we quickly fell in love with the bread itself.

Baking dates back to ancient Egypt. They were the first to learn how to grind grain, make dough, and bake bread in simple mud ovens, and hieroglyphics in Egyptian tombs featured bread and baking. The Babylonians and Assyrians recognized not only

the nutritional value of bread but made sharing bread a part of their culture. The Greeks developed the first enclosed ovens and created the first pastries, but it was the Romans who brought the world the bakery.

Bread in the Pacific Northwest

Baked goods are just as important on this side of the world. In the Pacific Northwest, Native Americans prepared dough-based breads long before Europeans arrived. Early breads were made from grains, nuts, and even vegetables, and were baked on hot stones or open flame.               A bread called “bannock,” made from maize, roots and tree sap, has been made for centuries by Coast Salish, Lummi, and many other tribes, and a version of this bread supposedly kept explorers Lewis and Clark alive.

With the European expansion, traders and settlers quickly adopted these breads, and in the late 1800s the Gold Rush that expanded the range of baked goods in the Pacific Northwest even further. Seattle was named the “Gateway to the Gold Fields” and prospectors bought a new bread – sourdough.

Seattle became known as a key spot to find precious sourdough starters. Seattle’s Essential Baking Company proudly states most of its 16 million loaves of bread baked every year contain some of that same century-old sourdough starter that fed prospectors during the gold rush.

Bakeries around south Snohomish County

Baking has only become more sophisticated over time, and the most beautiful and tasty creations grace the display cases and shelves of modern bakeries. Fortunately for us, south Snohomish County has a seemingly endless supply. From European pastries to delights favored by our neighbors of Asian and Scandinavian heritage to gluten-free shops, the range of bakeries has grown far beyond a loaf of bread or sweet roll.

Little Prague Bakery: The legendary Little Prague Bakery & Deli recently opened a location in Mukilteo. Its original spot in West Seattle is still open, but the Ballard location has closed.

Owner Blanka Ly channels her great-grandmother and offers clientele classic Eastern European baked goods. Ly’s mother opened the bakery in 1999, and the deliciousness has tempted patrons from near and far for 25 years. From apple strudel to Hungarian goulash with dumplings, the recipes from her family in the Czech Republic have been passed down for generations.

Little Prague is famous for its kolaches, a sweet bread with a variety of fillings. Cream cheese is the traditional base, and Little Prague adds apricot, cherry, or poppy seed, and sometimes even blueberry or caramelized apples. This bakery goes beyond bread and baked goods, with sweet and savory breakfasts and lunches that focus on local ingredients while honoring the Czech recipes.

The Hungarian goulash is a slow-cooked beef stew served with, you guessed it, homemade steamed bread dumplings.

Learn more: As of The Beacon Magazine’s deadline, there was no website. The bakery is at 801 Second St., Mukilteo.

The Cottage Bakery: The bakery in Perrinville, on the Edmonds/Lynnwood border, is bright and welcoming, and most importantly has all of the wonderful smells and sights of fresh baked breads, pastries, and coffee. The windows are lined with fresh flowers in tin buckets, and their carefully curated shelves of select retail items (flours, jams, coffee, honey, and mustards) are arranged to celebrate the main event – bread! Their sign even says it: “Eat Real Bread.”

The owner, Conor O’Neill, believes in the thoughtful and centuries-old process of naturally leavened breadmaking. At the Cottage, his knowledge and love of bread utilizes the simple, local ingredients he uses to create a truly amazing array of baked goods.

When you arrive at the Cottage Bakery, the rows and rows of loaves – French, olive, sourdough, focaccia, and many more – are the visual main event. Their perfectly formed crunchy crusts tempt you to get several just to try the different flavors and textures. But below those racks are so many other options, like their famous pretzels or pastries made from apples or berries, with mascarpone or cardamom, lemon and lavender.

Learn more: cottagecommunitybakery.com

Mon Amie Bakery and Café: A croissant could be one of the world’s perfect foods, and when it comes to French baking, it is only the beginning of a journey in deliciousness. We do not need to go to Paris to visit a French bakery and patisserie, though. There is Mon Amie Bakery and Café in Mill Creek. The highly trained bakers are not just good at what they do – they are passionate about baking French breads and pastries. Discovering this spot means fresh-baked breads, puff pastries, cakes, cookies, scones, and macarons any time.

Mon Amie welcomes patrons with display cases full of those fresh baked goods, and when I say fresh, I mean baked fresh daily. Walking in, patrons are chatting and pointing to which treat they might have that day. Some are eating breakfast (yes, it is a café, too) and all are smiling. This is a bakery and café that wants its customers to enjoy their experience and to fall in love with French baking. Mon Amie has been serving its community for more than 12 years, and counting.

Learn more: monamiebakery.com

There are so many bakeries across south Snohomish County. Take a chance and stop at the little bakery in the strip mall that you have driven by a million times. Stop in to the bakery that has something different from the usual croissant or bagel.

The 21st century bakery may not look anything like the baking stones from history, but the industry continues to innovate and be at the center of the foods we want to eat. Families and communities will always gather to bake and break bread, and our area is home to an array of talented and dedicated bakers.