Jane The Bakery

on 2022-07-27

Overall grade: A

# of visits: 2

Both visits are after 10am when selections are limited and freshness is past peak. So the review may not reflect its peak quality. Overall, the basics are solid. Their menu is very extensive from classic Viennoiserie pastries to their flavor variations to sweet baked goods to sandwiches etc. Every visit has new surprises that are either completely original pastries or seasonal flavors on the classic items. I'd give bonus points for the innovation. The part of trying new things is what makes exploration of good baked goods fun and anticipating.

Aside from the long list of pastry menu, they also have a very wide selection of bread. Though I haven't tried any of the bread yet, by the display and description, I have high expectations from the high quality flour and good-looking crust.

Since the menu is seasonal, some of the items reviewed below may no longer be available. I have some general impressions as a high level guide.

  1. basic croissant dough is very solid.
  2. twice-baked croissants suffer from soggy crust (may due to tasting time)
  3. brioche based buns are exceptional.
  4. custard or pastry cream are solid.

Best of the best

Plain Croissant - Consistently excellent. Thin flakey crust with the perfect amount of browning. Pleasantly crispy yet not too hard. Tender and stretch honeycomb layers. A sign of strong gluten and good lamination. Just the right amount of butter gives out plenty of aroma but none excess at hands.

Earl Grey Bun (limited) - Brioche bun filled with earl gray cream. Mind-blowingly good. Brioche bun is super airy. Cream is exceptional. Silky smooth texture. Balanced flavor between earl gray and vanilla. This was originally just for myself as I know A is not a fan of tea or coffee flavor. After having the first bite, I was so impressed that I decided to save half for A to try. It's absolutely love that prevents me from golloping the other half for the entire afternoon before A comes back. That's how good it is.

Almond Apricot Bun (limited) - Brioche bun filled with almond cream and apricot jam topped with almond slices. Light and fluffy. Creamy and jamy. Another masterpiece of filled brioche.

Nutella Bun - Brioche dough shaped in a small panettone mold filled with nutella and topped with almond strudel. Light fluffy brioche base. Almond strudel adds textural contrast to the otherwise soft bun. Runny nutella filling. This was recommended to me by the staff when I wanted an almond croissant but they were sold out. They reckon I could get a complete almond croissant experience by the combination of plain croissant and the almond strudel top of nutella brioche. I don't think the almond strudel top is a good representative of either the almond filling or the almond biscuit top in an almond croissant. It's very light dusting. Almost like pearl sugar finish on Pâte à Choux, a bit crunch and a tad sweetness. Whereas in an almond croissant, it's either thick custard filling or crunchy toasty biscuit. Nonetheless, it's a solid brioche with good filling and topping. It seems that it's the only regular brioche item I review here.

Seasonal Kouign Amann - Regular Kouign Amann filled with vanilla custard and blackberry jam. The exterior is crispy but not caramelized to crème brûlée crispy like regular Kouign Amann. It's actually a plus IMO. As the custard filling already adds sweetness, caramel crust would only overshadow the filling and make overall too sweet. Distinct croissant layers inside, buttery with a bit of chew. Crispy flaky crust. Delightful.

Cheddar Biscuit - Moist tender crumb with generous cheddar. It's recommended by the staff that I quote "I've never seen anyone who doesn't like it". It's tasty. Who doesn't like a cheesy biscuit?

Could be better

Berry Almond Croissant - It suffers from the most common pitfall of twice-baked croissant. Too much moisture gets into the croissant base. Layers get squashed together into a dense base. Soggy dough soaked in almond cream filling. May due to tasting the next day or steaming in the window not properly cooled down after baking.

Coffee Twist - Croissant based dough shaped into rope and braided into round. Filled with coffee strudel. I know I have to try it if it's coffee flavored baked anything. The coffee strudel is pretty decent. Not too sweet but enough coffee flavor. My opinion is on the dough. It's too bready and doughy. The layers of the croissant base are lost in shaping into ropes. What's left is a pretty dense and greasy flat braided base.