When I think of what makes a good Italian bakery for breakfast I automatically think espresso drinks and pastries.  So when it came time to build the menu for Potenza Bakery  and procure products for this outlet we started with a local coffee roaster  and a whole lot of ideas of what we wanted our brew to taste like so after multiple tastings and refinements we wound up with what we consider our perfect blend for the bakery.

Now that we had coffee it was time to dive into my favorite part, the pastry development.  I wanted to use some familiar items such as cinnamon roll or maybe sticky buns, so why not combine them and put an Italian twist on it.  And the Cherry-Pistachio Sticky Buns were born.  For this pastry we start with a house made cinnamon sweet dough that is then rolled like a cinnamon bun but instead of the proof, bake and glaze we put them in a prepared 9 inch pan with dried cherry smear with pistachios then proof and bake.  These beauties are served in the mornings only fresh out of the oven between 8and 10 so get there early.

Another great item is the Nutella Bar.  This baby is loaded with cream cheese, brown sugar streusel and of course Nutella, that wonderful hazelnut and cocoa spread that was first invented in the 1940’s in the piedmont region of Italy.  These bars are addictive so be well advised I prefer mine to be served with a dry cappuccino, whole milk of course.  What a great start to the day. 

It is also time to start something new.  So this week Ill be working on a stuffed bombolini.  This should be fun!

Nutella Bar

Sweet Grape Foccacia

Don’t forget the fabulous bread, although not part of the sweets menu, the semolina baguettes and grissini are favorites.