TL_pains-49.jpg
 
 

Artisanal Bakery in Ottawa, ON

 

Welcome to True Loaf

Thank you for visiting True Loaf Bread Company. We are a family-run bakery offering delicious breads from 7:00am to 1:00pm Tuesday through Saturday. All of our breads are freshly baked daily in our shop at 573 Gladstone Avenue in downtown Ottawa, between Bronson and Lyon.

We are passionate about health and food and we love bread, so our mission is simple: we are dedicated to baking the finest quality breads. We put great care into every loaf we create and we love to share this passion with our customers.

We bake breads for all occasions. There are crusty golden baguettes with fresh airy insides and oversize dark whole wheat sourdough miches that make a perfect accompaniment to any meal. We make tasty sourdoughs with flavours including raisin and chai spices, olive and rosemary and toasted seeds that will have you craving one more slice every time. We offer delicious chewy buns pebbled with dark chocolate, candied ginger and orange peel on a bed of sliced almonds - a delectable afternoon treat – and many others.

For authentic texture and taste, we use many different leavening methods such as sourdoughs, poolishes and pâte fermentée. Our ingredients are sourced from local and organic suppliers whenever possible.

True Loaf bread is available in different local businesses in Ottawa. You’ll find our bread list, bread keeping tips and more on this site.

 

 

Phone

(613) 680-4178

trueloaf@gmail.com 

Location

573 Gladstone Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1R 5P2

 

 

Hours

Tuesday to Saturday 7am–1pm
Sunday-Monday Closed

TL_elements-33.jpg

Breads

 

Bread Keeping

 

There are many tips and tricks to keep bread delicious as long as possible, here are a few we find helpful:

KEEPING

  • Ideally bread is completely cool before being wrapped. If necessary, a paper bag will interfere the least.

  • It will last all day “naked” or in the paper bag but if you want to keep it overnight or longer, a breadbox or a loosely closed plastic bag will work best.

SLICING

  • Ideally, bread is cut only when it is completely cooled and as needed with a good bread knife.

  • Once sliced, it will dry very fast and must be kept in a closed plastic bag for a few days or in the freezer for longer.

REFRIGERATING

  • Keeping bread in the fridge slows down the growth of mould but makes the bread hard and alters the flavour, we therefore recommend other keeping solutions.

WARMING

  • We recommend warming in the oven for a few minutes at a high temperature or at whatever temperature you happen to have the oven at for a little longer. If you are after a crispy crust warm it "naked". If you wrap it in foil, il will soften the crust.

FREEZING

  • Freeze bread in chunks or sliced in a plastic bag.

THAWING

  • Our preferred method to thaw bread is a room temperature “naked” or in a paper bag. It will take 1/2h to a few hours depending on the size.

plastic bags

  • If you keep your bread (sliced or not) in a plastic bag at room temperature, we recommend making a few holes in the bag. NOT if you freeze or refrigerate it!

Locations

Fresh True Loaf bread is available for purchase Tuesday to Saturday at:

Seed To Sausage (After 1pm)
729 Gladstone Ave • (613) 422-5202

Grace in the Kitchen (Saturday only)
442 Hazeldean Rd • (613) 521-4818

Little Euro Delicatessen
2 Goldridge Dr • (613) 271-0608

Jacobsons
103 Beechwood Ave • 613-746-6002

Marché Hintonburg
1059 Wellington St W • 613-722-2777

Whole Foods Market
951 Bank St • 613-565-7150

Continental Delicatessens
57 York St • 613-241-7025

Goodfood2u
613 745-6868

Britannia Bakeshop
2728 Howe St

Herb & Spice
375 Bank Street • 613-232-4087

Starting a starter

The bad news is: we don't give out (or sell) starter for many excellent reasons. The good news is: we will walk you through the process so that you have your own thriving starter at home. Here we go:

You will need:

  • Organic wholegrain flour (Wheat, spelt or rye)
  • A container with a lid (750ml or bigger)
  • A piece of cloth
  • An elastic (broccoli style)

Instructions:

  • Mix 100g of wholegrain flour and 100g of lukewarm water in the container.
  • Cover with the cloth and fasten with the elastic (save the lid for later!).
  • Leave in a warm spot (26-27C). Above the refrigerator perhaps...
  • Wait 2 days.
  • Discard half the mixture.
  • Add 100g of wholegrain flour and 100g of lukewarm water and mix.
  • Wait 1 day and repeat for a week or until it smells acidic and sweet and generally like something you would like to eat.

Comment:

  • My starter had bubbles on day 2 but did not smell very good. It is important to continue discarding and feeding until it smells good; that will mean the bacteria we are looking for are present and thriving.

Refrigerating:

  • 12h after the last feed, replace the cloth and elastic with the lid and put in the refrigerator.
  • Feed weekly (take out, discard half, add 200g of wholegrain flour and 200g of lukewarm water, mix, keep in a warm spot for 12h covered with the cloth and elastic, lid and put back in the fridge).

For use in a recipe:

  • Take out of fridge 12h before you need it.
  • Do NOT discard half.
  • Feed as usual.
  • Wait 12h.
  • Take what you need for your recipe and put the rest in the fridge.
  • Use as directed in you recipe.

More comments:

  • There are many ways to start a starter, this has worked well at home for many of us that work at True Loaf.
  • Different flours and different environments will produce a different starter at a different speed. Observing, smelling and tasting will help you develop the skills you need to keep it healthy! Good luck!

 

 Employment

We are always interested in hearing from quality candidates!

You’re the person we’re looking for if:

  • You are passionate about health and good food

  • You enjoy customer service or are interested in a career as an artisan bread baker

  • You want to work in a mature environment of growth and learning

  • You enjoy working with care and precision

Availability for holidays is essential in our bakery as these are the busiest times. We cannot accommodate time off the weeks before Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter.

Please drop off a cover letter with your resume at the bakery.

Current openings:

Front of house:

Customer service, Tuesday to Saturday, 6:30am to 11am or 7:30am to noon. 20-25h total.

ORDERING IN ADVANCE

 In an effort to accommodate the significant increase in orders placed in advance, we must ask you to:

  • Place your order before close the day before your pickup. Example: order must be placed before Friday at 1pm for a Saturday pickup.

  • Place your order by phone 613-680-4178 or email trueloaf@gmail.com (preferred).

  • Choose breads we make every day and/or on your pickup day.

  • Include your name, phone number, the pickup date and your order in your message.

  • Pickup your order after 9am on pickup day.

  • If you wish to order breads from 2 consecutive days, order before the earlier day cut off and pickup on the later day.

  • You will receive a confirmation call or email. If you don’t please reach out to us!

You can copy/paste the following form in your email…

Date/Day:

Name:

Phone number:

Bread:

Sliced?

Bread:

Sliced?

Bread:

Sliced?

…