Craft Bakers Bakery & Cafe, Solaris Dutamas – get your European breads here!

Breads. Breads. Breads.

I’m a self-confessed bread-whore. I eat bread everyday, at times half a loaf at one go (if not more) and I buy breads in bulk. My fridge has a minimum of 3 different types of breads at any one time (just so I can eat whichever one when the mood hits) and I’m always on the look-out for new bakeries/cafes/hotels that sells healthy, artisan breads.
I don’t eat Gardenia (unless it’s from Singapore – check out the Gardenia from Singapore HERE!) /High Five or breads from Bread Story/Bread History etc.
Those are empty fluffs, full of sugar & empty calories.
So yeah, in conclusion I’m a high-class bread eater. :P

banana walnut

I find Levain Boulangerie decent enough (post HERE & HERE) for variety & ambiance but not for the artisan, high grain breads that I’m seeking for.

Well, the good news is I have found a few really worthy of recommendation bakeries recently, and will be sharing them on my blog, one after another.
I’m starting off with Craft Bakers, a very traditional European type bakery and cafe, but unfortunately with a very annoyingly hard to find location.

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Anyhow, location hardly deters hardcore bread-whores like me. After 40 minutes, I managed to figure out where to park in that new Publika building (Solaris Dutamas & the Publika area is a maze) & thankfully found the cafe soon enough before my mood worsen.

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The menu is extensive; and that got me excitedly starting to take my pick of breads, only to be disappointedly informed that most of them are not available, or available only on made -to-order basis, or available on certain days only. Ishhhhhh… *annoyed* .

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Crafts Bakers, Solaris Dutamas-08

But enough of complains. The breads here is good. And that’s we are here for.

We started with a sandwich each. Kevin ordered one with English Cheddar cheese, and this was paired with English gerkins/pickles & lettuce (RM11.50). The options for sandwiches were ciabatta, multi-grain or foccacia.

He chose the ciabatta and both of us agreed that the texture was spot-on (see the air pockets below?). Crusty yet chewy and soft inside.

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His focaccia may look pretty sad here but I assure you that they were generous enough with the cheese. The whole ensemble was very filling as the breads here are dense and half a portion easily feeds a medium-sized diner .

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I for one, could only finish half of my Chicken and Crunchy Peanut Butter Sandwich (RM11.90) even though I’m such a bread-whore. The multi-grain slices were heavy but wonderfully aromatic & fresh.

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See for yourself the quality of the flour used and the actual grains in each loaf. Now, this is my kind of bread!

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My sandwich was spread thickly with nutty peanut butter and layered with cuts of chicken breast. Tomatoes, lettuce and Japanese cucumbers completed the package. The fillings were simple, no doubt replicable at home but it was the breads that made the difference.

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Hence I lugged a whole loaf of wholemeal loaf home. It weighted almost 2kg ( I kid you not!) and it took me a week to finish it. All I could consume was ONE slice at any one time.

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All breads from Craft Bakers are freshly made the traditional way, slow mixed and proved, hand crafted and then baked in their brick floored oven.

No addictives or preservatives are added into any of their baked goods. Craft Bakers only use untreated, unbleached flour and they do not enhance their breads with fats or sugar. They also proudly proclaimed that the flour they used are 100% organic stoneground wheat flour from Cann Mills in the UK.

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Below are the usual range of baked goods that greets you if you were to walk-in into their bakery at any one time. Bagels, some danish and croissants.
I tried the bagels as there were samples at the counter and found them to be lacking in texture when compared to the “actual” traditional bagels, where it is really dense & chewy.
The ones here are “Malaysian-ise” I guess, coming across more like dense buns than bagels.

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Since it’s an European bakery, I just had to try their croissants.
I’m not a pastry person, as pastries are very high in fat content. But an an exception was made this time as I was impressed with the breads; and hence was hoping that their croissants are up to mark. I like my croissants flaky, buttery & light.

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Unfortunately my ultimate croissant hunt continues. The croissant here is not as flaky as I would have liked, and at the inner folds (as you can see below), the pastry sheets were “stucked” together & thicker than it should be.
Croissants (RM4.00 each) .

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Pies are available on Wednesdays, and pizzas by trays (where you can purchase them by slices) on Thursdays.  I hopped in on a Wednesday, on an invite, ever curious of how their pies are going to be like. No doubt I had high expectations, as this is after all an European bakery.

And I was delighted at the sight of this huge chunky wedge of Creamy Chicken Pie.

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It was loaded with chunky cubes of chicken, with the usual potatoes and carrots thrown in. I think Craft Bakers are trying to localised it again, as there were curry leaves inside in the mix and the fillings tasted faintly of curry powder.

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But it wasn’t as creamy as its’ namesake. As much as I would like to proclaim that I liked this, I have to honestly say that it fell way below expectations. The fillings were badly in need of more seasoning and the potatoes were firm and hard instead of the delighful mushy soft cubes that we are accustomised to in our pies. PrincessJoLing hopped in from her office for a taste and returned the same verdict.

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Well, I would still recommend Craft Bakers for their European breads. And of course, for the pizzas of which I have yet to sample.
Anyone up for a Thursday pizza lunch here??
:P

Interior shots:
Utilitarian set up with functional tables and chairs. I wouldn’t call it cosy but it was bright & airy enough. Service is warm and the baker, manager (Gandhi) and staff (sorry I couldn’t remember their names!) are very helpful and ever- ready to suggest and answer any queries you may have about their breads.

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CRAFT BAKERS

Address:
D2-G3-05, Solaris Dutamas, No 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
+6012 2900504
CALL FOR ORDERS: +603 6205 3913
Opening times: 
Mon-Sat, 7.30am-5pm

Email: [email protected]

This Post Has 24 Comments

  1. ai wei

    new bread place!!! this and the one in hartamas, which is better?
    hmm, i never like the parking here

    1. rebeccasaw

      Which one in Hartamas? Got bakery?
      If you’re refering to Haute Food – that’s more for cakes..

  2. Feeq

    Cool. I just start my diet. Gonna try it soon =) Bored with Salad Bar 😉

    1. rebeccasaw

      Eh, diet… well.. this is good carbs, no doubt but still control the amount if you’re looking into trimming down 🙂

  3. Michelle chin

    I only eat artisan breads as well. My parents made the switch when I was 16. Gardenia is just too yeasty.

    1. rebeccasaw

      *Hi five*
      I’m glad KL is picking up on the artisan bread bakeries.. now I have more choices!

  4. Gandhi

    Thank you for your honest opinions. Since we started with the pies we have been improving constantly and have got better with it. Our bagels now are made differently and are chewy. You tasted the pies and bagels when they were made for the very first time at the shop. We listen to our customers and constantly improve our receipes. Unfortunately the sourdoughs and rye breads will only be made to order as can’t afford to throw away good bread. Our aim with all we do is keep it simple.

    1. rebeccasaw

      Oh hi Gandhi!
      Oh no worries, I’m sure the pies & bagels will improve over time. You guys are good at your breads, and pies & bagels are not that hard to get right!
      I will be back soon to sample the improved pies, bagels and definitely more breads.

  5. Baby Sumo

    The whole Solaris Dutamas place is a maze la. We always get lost when we come out of the parking lift.

  6. Caroline

    nice! i love bread too! simply healthy! i guess i shud pay a visit to here. 😉

    1. rebeccasaw

      yes you should! Publika & Solaris is seriously a good area to explore next! dont jz stay in PJ 😛

  7. Jess

    I am not a bread person, but the bread does looks tasty !! :yes:

    1. rebeccasaw

      Good lor u not a bread person! Me eat too much bread!! Too much carbs = FAT! 🙁

  8. JoinMe

    Hi rebeccasaw,
    Kindly be informed that this post has been reprinted on JoinMe.com.my, thanks. ^^
    P/S: We have put your name and link credit back to this article.

  9. Ilya

    Too funny. After your last suggestion to check out Craft Bakers I used Google only to be reverted back to your site :).

    The pics I saw here look pretty promising; though in the end it will be matter of personal taste.

    You raise a good point about the availability of items. Often I go to bakery for a certain type of loaf; only to hear that they sold it already. Luckily Ben’s (the one I mentioned earlier) now gave me their number so I can order up front. Actually only 1 of their breads I really like; the ‘White Country Loaf’…they bake only 4 per day, so most of the times I come there it has already been sold. The other breads there are quite ok too, but not ‘the best bread ever’ as I called my own personal quest to get typical European (healthy) bread. Bakers over here should just go on a culinary bread trip and find out what people in Europe actually eat on a daily basis…that is what am waiting for over here :).

    Anyway; will visit Craft Bakers somewhere next week and will let you know my findings :).

    1. rebeccasaw

      I love Ben’s Gen Food Store’s pizza & salads. But I havent been back fr a while, thanks for the heads up on the breads!
      Oh my, looks like we are getting more options on european breads now.. YAY!!
      I’m so sick of boring empty carbs.. yes yes let me know of your verdict after your visit. I’m gonna blog soon abt another 2 bakeries!

  10. lookahead

    Thanks for telling us this place. Good European bakeries are indeed difficult to find in KL. I’ll definitely go sample their bread, just so I can compare theirs to mine! Below are my home made sandwich loaves made from 100% wholemeal flour. Factory made wholemeal bread never use 100% wholemeal flour, they always mix in refined flour.

    http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/huaichien/09-25112011ReinhartWholeWheat1.jpg
    http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b222/huaichien/010-25112011ReinhartWholeWheat3.jpg

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hi hi! No problm! I love to share about good food/breads!
      So did you try Hagen Bake and Brew at Mt Kiara yet? That’s another good one. Do share w me too if you know of any bakeries that sells good breads, and do u sell your breads?

      1. lookahead

        I will give Craft Bakers a try this weekend. I don’t sell my bread but I am giving it away. I bake as much as I can to practice but can’t eat much so I need to give away. As you know, 1 slice is quite filling, 2 slices is like a whopper!

      2. rebeccasaw

        Totally agree! Especially when it’s baked with such ingredients. unlike those fluffy empty ones at commercial bakeries..

  11. Margaret Wing

    Having gone through the trial and error of finding the shop within this complex Rebecca, can you share with us how to quickly find it from the front entrance of Solaris Dutamas, and where to park?

    1. rebeccasaw

      ermmm.. let me get the owners to reply you on that.. they could give much better accurary in the directions

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