Saturday, May 16, 2009

Silo Bakery, Kingston

Aaaah, Silo. Thy name triggers a deep welling of pleasure in my soul. Silo bakery is a bit of an icon in Canberra, due to the fact that they make some of the best sourdough, tarts and pastries in Canberra. Possibly the best, although I have heard that both Cornucopia in Braddon and Flute bakery in Fyshwick are pretty amazing too. Silo also do beautiful lunches, breakfasts, and have a gorgeously stinky cheese room with glass windows so the customers can drool over the products while waiting in line to purchase or order their bakery items.

They also tend to have a bit of an 'elite' (read: snobbish) air about them, partly due to the fact that they know there is little competition in Canberra against them. They don't open on Sundays, which is the one day when people often have the most time to relax and eat out or visit the bakery. Not all breads are baked every day - some only on particular days of the week or weekend. They also don't have signs/labels in the glass display cases and baskets behind the counter, which can make it a bit difficult to know what's what and prices etc. for non-regular visitors.

Still, it is definitely worth braving the crowds of customers patiently waiting for their goodies on a Saturday morning. Once you have tried Silo bread, it kind of ruins you for any other kind. The traditional light rye sourdough is heavy and roughly textured in a really rustic way with that beautiful sour, yeasty, floury smell. The crust is thick and deep brown and the inside is chewy and spongy at the same time, with a full and deep flavour. This is real bread, not in any way related to the bland, tasteless, textureless white sliced at your local supermarket. Completely swoon-worthy!


Silo's light rye sourdough

They also have a really, really good raisin bread. I was lucky enough to score the last loaf (not just of raisin bread, of everything!) on a Saturday afternoon at about 2.00pm, which goes to show how popular they are. The raisin bread is full of the plumpest, moistest, most luscious raisins I've ever had in raisin bread. I don't normally even like raisins that much, but this is so moreish! The bread itself is lighter than the regular sourdough, with a crisper crust, but still with a great texture and heft to it.


Silo's Raisin Bread

Silo's pastries are also to die for. The absolute best is the chocolate and blueberry snail, with a buttery, soft interior studded with juicy blueberries, bittersweet chocolate pieces and deeply caramelised, flaky layers on the outside. If you close your eyes while eating one of these, it might just give you a tiny taste of what heaven is like!

Unfortunately these also sell out first, being so good, so when I visit I opt for one of the few tarts that are left, a passionfruit and mascarpone tart. This also has that excellent pastry, so delicate and flaky, with a sweet and light passionfruit flavoured filling. Much lighter than I expected, the mascarpone flavour is less strong than anticipated, but on consideration I think this worked well for this delicate tart.


Passionfruit and Mascarpone Tart

Silo is open Tuesday to Saturday 7am to 4pm, so if visiting, be sure to get in early to be able to choose from the full range of products. Even though I'm not a morning person, this is one thing that is worth forgoing the sleep-in for :)

5 comments:

  1. I have my eye on that raisin bread!

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  2. It makes me want to drive to Canberra to try the raisin bread! i love a raisin bread that is packed with fruit :)

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  3. Having had Silo raisin bread, I cannot go back to anything else. Package raisin bread from Coles and Woolies just doesn't come close.

    Canberra is really fortunate to have Silo, but you are right, SweetLin: it is a shame that the service is so snobbish due to lack of competition...very un-Canberra, don't you think?

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  4. If I had $1 million I would install a Silo bakery in my kitchen!!

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  5. Hi SweetLin!

    We went to Silo today and had to stand in a queue that went right to the back of the shop, just to get a sourdough bread loaf!! Admittedly, the bread WAS amazing (as was the chocolate and blueberry pastry snail!).

    Do you have any new posts for us?

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