Pane d’Amore calls itself an Artisan Bakery. One look at the beautifully burnished loaves behind the counter, combined with a whiff of the rich yeasty aroma of fresh bread, will firmly establish its baking credentials.
“I love it, it’s just like walking into a European bakery,” was a comment overheard shortly after the store opened its doors last month in Lynwood Center, on the south end of Bainbridge Island.
But Pane d’Amore is so much more than a bakery.
Skilled Pane d’Amore bakers also make pastries to die for; croissants, cinnamon rolls, croissant bread pudding, pain au chocolate, pear Danish, and Cannele -- addictive little bites described as “portable crème brulee” baked in molds that co-founder Frank d’Amore picked up in Paris. And at the end of the day you might be offered a melt-in-your-mouth soft breadstick encrusted with Parmesan. Warning: it takes a lot of willpower to resist buying all they have left and eating them on the spot.
Pane d’Amore may also be the only store in the country that sells eggs delivered by bicycle. Cathy Nickum loads Busy Bee Farm eggs into her bike panniers for the short trip from the farm to the store. And the fresh salad greens and braising mix in Pane d’Amore’s cooler come from Max Sassenfeld of Tani Creek Farm, a biodynamic farm just a mile or so away.
That cooler also contains farm-churned butter and milk in glass bottles from Golden Glen Creamery near Bow. And there’s cheese. Truffled Fromage Blanc, along with every other cheese variety made by Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend. And imported delicacies like Delice de Borgogne from France. Heading to FortWard for a picnic? It’s as if Pane d’Amore was put in LynwoodCenter just so one can stop there en route. A loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese, and maybe one of the many fine bottles of wine or beer displayed in the extensive selection at the back of the store and your picnic is complete (of course we all know that you can't take wine to the park).
The original Pane d’Amore has been a Port Townsend institution since 2003, when co-founders Frank D’Amore and Linda Yakush opened their tiny storefront in Uptown PT. Linda’s son Elliot Yakush and his wife Tasha have extended the vision to BainbridgeIsland.
But back to the bread, since that’s where it all began. Pane d’Amore founders d’Amore, who has been baking for more than 30 years, and Yakush visited bakeries around the world before opening the original bakery. Since then they have opened stores in Sequim, and now Bainbridge. All bread is baked in Port Townsend, and delivered fresh every morning to the Island store. There are as many as twenty varieties each day made with all-organic ingredients, from flour to fruit to seeds.
Pane d’Amore co-founder Frank d’Amore’s passion for local food has resulted in a partnership with farmer Nash Huber who grows grain in Sequim. One of Pane’d’Amore’s newest offerings is Nash’s Miche, a dense flavorful loaf made with wheat and rye grown and milled on this side of the Sound. Other breads include Fig-Anise (perfect a lamb sandwich), bestselling Organic Seedy, traditional baguette, Cranberry Walnut, and Ciabbatta. About half the breads are yeasted, the other half are made with sourdough starters.
The new Pane d’Amore store also offers dried artisan pastas, right next to Annie’s mac and cheese. There are FinnRiver flours grown and milled in Chimacum, and hard cider from the same farm. The store also sells charcuterie (salami and prosciutto), Cleare Creek seafood in the freezer, and an amazing collection of condiments from all over the world.
Their website says that “Pane d’Amore has discovered how many things a bakery can mean to a small town.” Now Bainbridge Islanders will have the opportunity to discover how much more than a bakery Pane d’Amore is.
Pane D’Amore is at 4569 Lynwood Center Rd. NE, between The Treehouse Café and the Lynwood Theater on the south end of BainbridgeIsland. They’re open from 8 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday, and 8 am to 4 pm on Sundays. You can reach them by phone at 206-780-1902, and follow them on Twitter at @panedamore.
