Bakehouse — Restaurant in Frederick

As someone who bakes, and has done so for many years, I seldom think any place lives up to its hype. Bakehouse has had a lot of hype. I don't live local to Frederick, and the hours - Thursday through Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or whenever they sell out - don't make it easy to casually stop by.

On a recent Sunday, I found myself up early and walked down from a friend's house. There was a pretty long line at opening already. Waiting around in the heat was not my favorite, nor was listening to the barking of a poor dog who's owner was also somewhere in line. However, people who had been before were assuring me the wait would be worth it.

I don't eat many carbs anymore so when I do I want them to be really good. They should be tasty & well executed, worthy of a little deviation from my regular diet.

When I finally slipped into the sweet embrace of air conditioning inside the shop, I glanced over to a shiny pastry case along the back wall. I'd never seen croissants that tall. The ones that I remember them having that day were fig & honey cream, pain au chocolat, almond cream, plain croissant, & gouda with prosciutto. As I got closer someone behind me was talking about a strawberry cruffin, a muffin and croissant hybrid with strawberry. How good could it be, I thought. I've had cronuts & wasn't impressed.

I was just going to pick out a couple of pastries for friends coming up to join me for lunch.

What actually happened: I bought a few croissants, a pair of cruffins & a ginger peach hand pie. As I paid, the gentleman who waited on me heard it was my first time & gave me a pair of cookies (one with nuts, one chocolate chip). I scurried out clutching my pastry box, moving past the line, which of course was now longer.

Y'all.

Bakehouse is worth the hype. The lamination they've achieved on their pastries is lovely. The textures & balance of flavors are bold but delicately handled. The mastery of technique is evident in the consistency of quality, right down to small details. I still like my own chocolate chip cookies better, but that's by a scant whisker. Probably because I eat them warm out of the oven. 😅

But those croissants? I'll be thinking about those for a while. The cruffin turned out to be a wonderful treat. It had both pastry cream & a lovely strawberry jam inside. Please refer to the photographs I have of the partially destroyed cruffin. It was damn delightful.

Anyhow, if you find yourself up very early some Thurs-Sun morning & have the patience to stand in line - before everything sells out - I highly recommend a stop by Bakehouse. Plan on getting a few (or many, I am not the boss of you) irresistible things & enjoying them thoroughly. Get them home in the box & have your favorite coffee or tea. Something this good should be savored, not rushed.

Vive...

You probably noticed the long line in the morning and probably thought it’s not worth it but it actually is worth the wait. So make sure you get there early enough.

They have a variety of homemade baked goods and the portions are big enough to share. The croissant are good and the cinnamon morning bun was good as well. The morning bun was a bit too sweet and heavy for me but was still good overall. The croissant heats up well in the air fryer but the morning bun doesn’t. The sugar and butter makes it a lot more heavier; so it’s best to eat the bun the morning that you get it and share because it’s pretty large. Overall the croissant is a 10/10 and the morning bun was 7/10 for me personally.

The pumpkin muffin was perfect as it wasn’t too sweet. I didn’t eat the muffin immediately and it was wrapped in the fridge for a few days as I wanted to share it with family. Even then being warmed in the microwave it was still delicious and fresh the quality was amazing. I would definitely get this muffin again. I’d give it a 10/10

I also got some of the Chocolate chip cookies and they were also amazing. The flaked salt throughout the cookie was well balanced. The cookie itself is huge and I personally cannot finish a whole one. It’s also a bit sweet so for me just a piece of the cookie is enough but if you have a sweet tooth I’m sure eating the whole cookie isn’t a problem. I also wrapped the cookies and placed them in the fridge and just straight out the fridge they are still delicious. Overall a 10/10.

The customer service was top notch and everyone was kind. The price was perfect as well and I was shocked when it was time to pay as there was no option to tip; which has become the norm at a-lot of places. So bonus points for that alone. 20/10

I would visit this place often enough just for cookies and muffins as they are my personal favorite. The baked goods are such an indulgence and with the portion size I don’t think I could eat there often. But I’m sure they have regulars. Everything i tried was tasty so I do feel comfortable trying other things off the menu. I feel like no matter what you try you will like it. If you do stop by and try something I’d definitely start with the cookie and muffin but that’s just my own biased...

Wow! I totally get the hype around this place! Every time we’d go by, there is always a line; sometimes all the way down to the creek. I wouldn’t want to stand in the line so we never tried. Thankfully we stopped by early one day and there wasn’t a line technically out the door, yet. (Still quite a line, starting at the door up to the counter. By the time we left, it was out the door. Took about 20-30 minutes) however it was completely worth the wait!!! Firstly the service is spot on, the people there are very nice. They take their time to explain what they have. Everything is made fresh daily and they have all kinds of different pastries, cakes, cookies, sweet breads. Many they said are seasonal/ are switched out for different ones so you can get different items at different times. The best thing hands down is their croissants- any of them, the almond, chocolate and especially the cruffin! The hot chocolate cruffin was definitely my favorite. It had a cream inside which was so yummy. Nothing was overly sweet. It of course had sugar, but it wasn’t in your face that you can’t eat more than a few bites. You want to eat it all! The savory pastries were super good too - cacio de Pepe pastry, so flaky and cheesy. The prices are absolutely reasonable for such high quality. I don’t think anything is more than 6/7$. I suggest to get many different items to try, you won’t regret it. I will definitely be back. Best pastry shop I’ve...