The Village Baker of Ashland

My friend and I got a chocolate macaroon and a «fudgy» brownie. I always ask very explicitly whether brownies are very fudgy or more cakey, because I only like the fudgy ones. The guy behind the counter assured me repeatedly that the brownies were VERY fudgy. So I bought one. And lo and behold, it wasn’t fudgy at all. It was like a cheap chocolate cake. Plus, my friend’s macaroon was not good at all. My friend is very experienced with macaroons and she was super dissappointed with this one. Basically, if you like good macaroons and ACTUALLY fudgy brownies, avoid this place.

Their sourdough is very good and I buy it often from the grocery store. Their cookies are also tasty and my son quite enjoys them.
However I have to agree with some of the other reviewers who have commented on the cleanliness, as well as the occasional to frequent stale items in the cases at the storefront.
They could really stand to class themselves and their presentation up a bit.
Honestly it doesn’t seem like they particularly LIKE having the retail store front, evidenced by the lack of dedicated shop person. Every time we have gone in, we have to shout for the baker in the back rooms.
They seem set up more to just be a behind the scenes bakery. They really just need to decide what kind of business they want to run and do it, because their retail portion is just super half-​assed and it takes away from their overall standing at the end of the day.

Phenomenal. I bought several loaves — cheddar garlic, basil jalapeño, and apricot. They all were delicious. They had probably ten varieties in total for that given day.
I sliced and froze what I couldn’t eat in a few days, and 8 weeks later the basil jalapeño was still delicious when toasted
which doesn’t happen with other less substantial breads.

The place is so completely filthy, it boggles the mind that the health department hasn’t closed it down. Thick cobwebs embedded with months of dust cover the lights, door jams etc. The floor is revolting, it hasn’t been painted this millenium, I suspect. My chocolate croissant was meh at best. Hardly any chocolate and the pastry dough tasted like some cheese had fallen into the batter. Get a cleaning crew in there guys! More chocolate inside. The breads have been good in the past, but I don’t think I can stomach going in again. Bleh!

Stale scones and turnovers. Not worth it. Had high hopes but was very disappointed. The staff was nice.

We stopped by later in the day and bought 2 day old breads, one was a whole wheat sourdough and the other was a Cinnamon raisin bread. The first was very tasty and fresh, even one day old, tho the sourdough taste is not really a sourdough, but we were told that came from the gluten free flour. The other bread we waited a week before eating and it was just not as tasty, so don’t wait, it gets hard and dry. We also bought two day old fruit breads the next day which were eaten within a couple days. The first one, Cranberry walnut was absolutely delicious, very cranberry tasting, but the second one was disappointing, Cranberry Apricot was not nearly as good. Overall was happy with the breads we bought, the prices are very reasonable, esp for day old, but even for fresh, and they have lots of choices.

My husband bought me a loaf of their sourdough. It was amazing: dense and super sour! I would buy this bread all the time if I could.

I get bread here every time I’m in town, and I’ve never been disappointed. I don’t have a favorite, but the kalamata olive bread is a great choice. I just bought the whole wheat sourdough, and I’m really excited to try it given how hard it’s been to find a whole wheat sourdough anywhere, including grocery stores.

Disappointing. I’ve tried this bakery a few times, trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it’s just not that good in my opinion. There are better bakeries in town.

Flavors like mustard sauerkraut are outstanding. The whole wheat sour dough is wonderful too. I think they could make a better crust but now I’m being picky.
The place itself is none too attractive and has been seen as dirty. Will go back though for the apricot walnut and choc chip cookies as big as my head!

I’ve swung by a few times on my way out of town, and there always seems to be a good deal on bread. There are so many delicious sounding types of bread that it’s hard to limit my purchases! Thankfully, the bread freezes well. The apricot walnut was pretty good, but my favorite so far has been the basil, garlic, and onion bread.

I just discovered this place at the Thursday afternoon farmers/​crafters market at the Josephine county fairgrounds in Grants Pass… I sampled about 5 breads, all very good. All worth the $ 4 – 5 a loaf, but toss in the buy 2, get one free! Good, dense, hearty sourdoughs, with interesting ingredients and specialty flavors. Cinnamon raisin gettin’ toasted for breakfast, and a artichoke/​garlic will be doing lunchtime sandwich duties later. I suspect twice a month I will go into the Thursday market and get 3 more loaves since bread freezes well

Still going strong in its goodness. Before we left town :(we stopped in and bought two loaves for $ 6! They were in abundance and the baker was practically giving them away. I chose the jalapeño/​artichoke/​garlic loaf (jesus christ, it’s delish) and rosemary/​olive oil. These folks make me so happy I’d move here for them. Well yes, yes, I think I will…

I’m not sure why this is – perhaps I’m a more discerning (read: pickier) bread-​eater than I used to be – but the instead of dense, I would now describe the bread as gummy. And it tastes more yeasty and bland than I remember.
Also, a little while ago, my daughter asked me to get a muffin for her – one that was dotted with berries. But, when we got into it – we found out the berries were only on the top. Granted, the sign said «muffin» and not «berry muffin» but still… I felt a little cheated.

A friend told me he really liked the Village Baker, so I decided to stop in post-​hike this a.m. to get a breakfast treat. Honestly, nothing looked very good, except for the cinnamon rolls, which after a couple of bites tasted more like sourdough bread with a light dusting of cinnamon — just not my cup of tea.
I have feeling this isn’t a place you go to for the pastries, but for the bread, which did look lovely and the samples I tried were good. The best part of the experience was the super friendly and funny guy in there that served me.

There is a new wave of boutique bakeries in town, but if you want to go old school, then The Village Baker is the place to be. They also have a great buy two, get one free offer on their loaves of bread.
Two samples were available on the counter, but the employee said I could try anything in the store. I had to turn down samples repeatedly. «No really, I’m fine.» Funny to have such charming, but high pressure sales.
I bought a loaf of sourdough, but was intrigued by some of their other off-​the-​wall options like sauerkraut bread. Now I know where to bring my German family members. The loaves run about $ 4, which is fine when you factor in the deal above. The store is near the end of E. Main Street and not a place where you’ll want to hang out. Grab-​and-​go is fine by me.

Village Baker is slowly turning me into a heifer.
I walk past this place every time I go to work. Every week I take advantage of their buy 2 get one free loaves of bread. My personal favorites are the cheddar garlic, the basil feta, and the sun dried tomato. The biscuits are also HEAVENLY. They’re nice and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and they’re only $ 1. For sweets, go for the cinnamon chip scones.
I love The Village Baker. Seriously the best carbs you’ll ever shove in your mouth. Even though I have to do two a day workouts, it’s worth it.
Oh and be sure to bring cash!

my review’s based only on experience at the farmers market in Brookings.
The salesguy was chatting more with other vendors but the bread, the bread!
Garlic, parmesan, jalapeño, sourdough, challa, wheat– lots of artisan stuff very well made. i was hoping to toast the garlic cheddar sourdough loaf we picked up but it didnt last longer than an hour of us picking at it.
And the pastries looked awesome too: huge flat scones of all sorts of flavors, huge cookies, coffee cakes-didn’t try but all looked bomb.

Village Baker offers a nice variety of freshly baked breads of various flavors (from Basil Feta to Pumpernickel Rye to Cranberry Hazelnut) for around $ 4 – 5 each. Although I want to try their bread sometime soon, I’ve been going to this place for their assortment of pastries. Every morning from 8 – 10 am the Village Baker offers all their delicious-​looking pastries for only a $ 1.00! I also believe they offer coffee for a $ 1.00 as well.
Although some of the pastries look kind of iffy, I can say that their berry muffin and their berry coffeecake are both soft, moist, delicious and huge. Their chocolate chip cookies are crispy with a chewy middle and an excellent brown sugar flavor. They’re very tasty and usually about the size of my head.
They also serve large brownies, cinnamon rolls, scones (which are more more muffiny than scone-​like), and croissant pastries such as turnovers and bearclaws. They do run out of certain goodies sometimes so try to get there early before they’re all gone. Service is a little strange but they are always friendly.
I also saw the Village Baker at the Grants Pass Farmers Market and their loaves are cheaper at their stand. Their pastries and cookies are offered for a $ 1.00 at the Market too.

Gayle and I first had some most excellent Village Baker bread during a recent lunch at Paddy Brannan’s Irish Pub. I came back a few days later for a scone and a chocolate chip cookie (that went well with my cup of Evo’s coffee nearby).
The Village Baker does exhibit a «have it our way» vibe, which I’m used to based on some of my Berkeley experiences. And just because you are for peace, love, and saving the planet, doesn’t mean that good manners are required or even necessary. But what they lose in their «progressive» world view is more than made up for in some really good baked goods. This place is definitely worth multiple stops when you’re in town or in the neighbourhood.