When you're Seriously Seedy and you sell Crack at Cambie and Hastings, don’t be surprised if you’re not first assumed to be a bakery. One look though the windows of Purebread at the breads and goodies inside, though, and its true identity becomes very clear. Seriously Seedy is one of their popular breads and as for Crack, it's a bar that's like a butter tart but better, and just one of the addictive, cheekily named treats you'll find in store. Purebread is also home to Choc Therapy, a super chocolately loaf; OMGs — half brownie, half cake, all delicious; and Butter Crunch (like almond roca on, well, crack) and well over one hundred different breads, savoury baked goods and treats.
The Vancouver location of this bakery that's a Whistler institution grew out of Vancouverites' addiction to Purebread's offerings. Long a fixture at local farmers markets, they were constantly being asked when they were opening here, and in the fall of 2014 they opened in Gastown.
There’s always plenty to choose from at Purebread – a bustling Gastown bakeshop where cases are piled high with oodles of decadent baked goods – but the banana bread is divine here; depending on the day, guests queue to stock up on the treat. But if you’re feeling adventurous, try a slice of the Humming Bird cake instead, packed with crushed pineapple and bananas, and topped with pecan and cream cheese icing.
Founded in Whistler, this sweet little bakery has since opened a Vancouver outpost to offer downtown dwellers its popular selection of baked goods, including a variety of artisan loaves known as “the bread line.” Renowned for creative recipes, breads may include such intriguing ingredients as hazelnut and fig, lavender and rosemary, and cranberry, ginger and raisin. They’ve got simple tastes covered, too, such as the well-loved Whistler wheat and plain ol Italian.
Purebread offers a range of lemony treats in-store, as well as a deluxe special-order lemon meringue cake resplendent in lemon curd and salted caramel glory. Selections vary daily, but look for their three variations on the classic lemon bar, as well as their unique lemon chèvre brownie. Their lemon drizzle pound cake, available in whole mini loaves or by the slice, is named misleadingly; “drizzle” to most would suggest a light zigzag of frosting, but instead we’re treated to a veritable slab of icing on top. I suppose at Purebread, when it rains, it pours (icing, that is)!