For bakeries trying to increase sales, pivoting from a solely sweet space to one incorporating savoury items can benefit your bottom line. Here’s how two Toronto bakeries have increased profits by using both sides of the kitchen, sweet and savoury.

Pastry chef Junelle Casalan co-owns Castle & Coal bakery in Toronto with her husband and business partner, Aaron Colbert. Beginning her career by enrolling in the culinary management program at George Brown College in the city, she dreamed about all things sweet.

“For my culinary labs, I tried to get into pastry, but there wasn’t a lot of space left. So, I completed four labs on the savoury side and only one on pastry. I learned how to butcher meat, make soups and terrines. I’ve always enjoyed entertaining, so I challenged myself by creating new savoury items.”

However, pastry still called to her, and Casalan travelled around Europe volunteering in kitchens and working for free. “When I came home, I combined my skills to work in both savoury and pastry, before opening my bakery. Having all the experience in savoury cuisine has really helped my business grow.”

Depending on the season, 20 to 35 per cent of Castle & Coal’s offerings are savoury menu items, with varieties changing with the season. Casalan says the savoury menu comprises between 30 to 40 per cent of overall sales.

“Having a savoury menu has given our customers and our bakery more options, like offering brunch menus. We have 15 seats, which are mainly located at the bar, but in the summer we also have picnic tables available outside.”

A sample weekend brunch menu may include croque madame on house-made brioche, a leek tartine, a savoury soufflé with Gruyère cheese, ramps or chives, along with arugula and beurre blanc. It always ends with a dessert. But then brunch patrons develop a bit of a sweet tooth. “So, after eating, customers walk over to the showcase and order extra desserts to take home. I would say 60 per cent of our sweet sales are a direct result of customers initially coming in for something savoury or for our brunch.”

Weekends bring in hefty sales in sausage rolls. Some customers buy them as a snack straight from the showcase. Others buy frozen sausage rolls by the dozens, preferring to bake them off at home when the urge strikes.

“We make our puff pastry in house. The secret is keeping everything cold and giving the dough a good amount of rest in the fridge between folds. When working with it, if it becomes too warm, it is placed in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until it becomes workable again.”

Mushroom galettes with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onion, Gruyère cheese and thyme fly out of the showcase. Quiche is also very popular. Varieties include spinach, arugula, and goat cheese quiche, roasted butternut squash, and mushroom spinach and sharp cheddar.

And then there are the duck confit sandwiches that Casalan first indulged in over Christmas in England. “The meat can be expensive, so I generally wait for it to go on sale. It’s also time-consuming to make in house, but customers love it.”

Making the duck confit is a three-day process. Duck legs arrive frozen and require thawing overnight, then are coated in brine before resting for 24 hours. The next stage involves adding the duck legs to duck fat and placing them in vacuum bags to steam. The duck confit is then placed in hotel pans to cook in the oven for 30 minutes. “Afterwards, we put the duck confit on our homemade brioche, with tomato chutney, red onions, arugula, Brie, a bit of black pepper and crispy duck skin.”

Castle & Coal’s customers love the duck confit sandwich, a treat co-owner Junelle Casalan first indulged in over Christmas in England and that requires a three-day process. PHOTO: CASTLE & COAL

Goûter is a Toronto-based bakery co-owned by Paris-trained pastry chef Rodney Alléguède and co-owner Bianca Mazzi. Comprised of three storefronts and one production kitchen, it’s a thriving catering and wholesale business too. Goûter has grown quickly, starting with just one bakery in 2016.

“Our savoury products bring in 30-50 per cent of our overall sales,” says Mazzi, talking about the business. “If a customer comes in for a savoury item with a price point of four dollars and fifty cents, they will usually leave with a sweet of the equivalent price or double.”

Mazzi explains it’s all about keeping ingredients to a minimum, while offering maximum results. “We have over 200 product codes and try to give our customers as much variety as possible. Yet, we keep the ingredients low by mixing and matching.”

When it comes to snack takeaway products, Mazzi says, “My favourite is the spinach and feta Danish. It’s cut square and made with croissant dough. I like it because I can have it as a savoury breakfast option, lunch or mid-afternoon snack. When offices order pastry platters, with croissants, they also request these Danishes, as an option beyond the sweet.”

The breakfast croissant is made with scrambled eggs, turkey and either Swiss cheese or brie, depending on the customer’s preference. It’s toasted on both sides.

What is Alléguède’s technique for making croissant dough? “I could write a whole book!” he exclaims. “But the one thing that really brings it home is maintaining the correct texture between the croissant dough and butter for laminating.”

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