A Visit to Butterscots Bakery in St. Helena
Feast your eyes on the butterscotch-lime croissant at Butterscots.
If you’re a baked-good fiend like I am, Butterscots Bakery in St. Helena is definitely worth a stop when you’re in Wine Country.
It’s part of the Cairdean Estate, which took over and repurposed the old St. Helena Outlet mall. When I dined at the wonderful The Farmer & The Fox restaurant on-site a few months ago, my only regret was that I was there in the evening, when Butterscotts Bakery had already closed.
On a recent trip to Napa, I made up for that by making a beeline to the bakery to buy a couple of goodies. The bakery is overseen by Joseph Humphrey, who is also the executive chef of The Farmer & The Fox. Humphrey, who earned two Michelin stars at The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, knows his baked goods. His popovers at the restaurant are the stuff of dreams.
If you’re lucky enough to arrive at Butterscotts when the butterscotch-lime croissants are still available, do snag one. Or two. The $5 burnished, buttery croissants are garnished on top prettily with fresh lime zest. And their layers are shot through and through with a sweet butterscotch paste, so you get the flavor in every bite, not just in the center.
Seeded sourdough.
The much-lauded — and extremely popular — seaweed bread was sold out when I was there. So, I comforted myself with a seeded sourdough ($5) instead. The hearty bread had a nice fermented tang with crunchy seeds interspersed throughout.
For a nice change of pace, Humphrey offers his loaves in smaller sizes, too. So, two people can easily finish one, rather than have leftovers that go stale or get forgotten about in the freezer.
What time were you there? I want to be sure to get there earlier to grab that seaweed bread. Sounds intriguing! 😉
Butterscotch and lime sounds like an excellent combo!
Ben: I went after attending a winery luncheon, so I didn’t get to the bakery until 2:30 p.m. alas.