20 Shekels Bread — Restaurant in Clearwater

As part of my small effort to support local shops, yesterday I ordered bread for today's breakfast. There was a small mix-up with the order (the website wasn't cooperating on one item), which they handled quickly and pleasantly. So I ended up with garlic ciabatta, carrot bread, chocolate-blackberry bread, and two prosciutto-ricotta rolls.

I tried the carrot bread first. It's heavy, like a good carrot cake, and moist like a good muffin. Plenty of pecans and visible shreds of carrot and pineapple chunks. Basically it's a really nice carrot cake muffin for people who don't like overly sweet things. It could stand up to cream cheese or butter, but I had it plain and it was wonderful.

Second try: chocolate-blackberry bread. It was dense, like a rye or some other heavy grain (they use sprouted grain flours), also not overly sweet. The chocolate is dark, or at least a quite darkish semi-sweet, and there's a good amount of it- not too much or too little. I only got one berry, but I also only cut a very small bit off the end of a rounded loaf so there are probably more in the interior. I won't take points from Hufflepuff for that. This one I also had plain; jam might be a good addition. I'd happily buy it again but it paled just a wee bit in comparison to the carrot bread, which was awesome.

Okay so...the ciabatta. Oh. My. Gods. This is some seriously garlicky goodness. Not only did it make a great sandwich (actually, four of them) but I'll probably never be bothered by fleas or vampires. I can see buying this on a regular basis henceforth.

And the prosciutto-ricotta rolls. I cut about a third off one of them, just to taste, figuring I'd go back and eat more carrot bread, and let Husband have the rest of the roll. Nope. That roll is MINE. (Sorry Husband.) First, the bread is really good. It's like a good, dense-ish Italian peasant bread, and slightly salty. Then there is a stripe of prosciutto running through it, sort of braided in, atop what is the perfect amount of ricotta (so it was not as much as I was expecting, in a good way). Again, no butter or anything with the roll, just bready, salty goodness. My step-dad would have approved. And eaten four of them.

So... Five stars. Go early, or order for the next day, because they apparently...

I love 20 Shekels Bread. They are so friendly, and will educate you on their sprouted breads and why they are better for you. They have many different selections of bread as well as breakfast treats, and some sweets. One of my favorites they call a "little " that is a pastry or bread dough wrapped around cheese and prosciutto. They are very tasty. I've liked the muffins I've tried. The muffins are also made with the sprouted flour. The sprouted cheesecake was very tasty. On Friday only they have Jewish rye bread and challah bread. Both are so very tasty. They are not the sprouted breads, but if you like rye, I highly recommend theirs. Fresh baked rye bread is so delicious. I love telling friends and coworkers about 20 Shekels and suggest they all try it. Everyone comes back with great comments and experiences. I cut into the bread before getting photos, but you...

First time picking up an order here and it was for Mother's Day. The staff was so kind and friendly when I arrived, that definitely left a good impression. I'm glad I ordered online the night prior because by noon on Sunday, it was slim pickings. But that's a good sign also. Good for them.

Now for the food ... As seen in the photo I got several pastries. 2 fruit tarts, a blueberry cheese, and a scone. Everything was so yummy. Far too often when I get pastries from bakeries, it's way too sweet. I think they forget that the bread is what should shine, not the sugar. But here at 20 Shekels Bread, they do it right. The right amount of everything went into these pastries. I'm writing this as I eat the blueberry cheese, a little warm up in the toaster oven along with my morning tea made it...