Bread consciousness has risen like leavened dough all over the country. We鈥檝e gone from white, bland and soft to healthier, rustic and wholesome. Organic and Canadian-grown heirloom grains have made huge inroads in giving us a better daily bread and a better outcome.
Welcome then Audrey Enixon, who recently opened her bricks and mortar bakehouse, La Levaini猫re by Audrey, at the District Wine Village in Oliver.
Itsa国际传媒 a tres-chic addition to the Village thatsa国际传媒 becoming more varied in its offerings: besides the winery focus, there is now a bookshop, restaurant, brewery, distillery, and Wolf Tree Coffee is set to open their roastery and caf茅. And bread and pastries are a wonderful complement to all those things.
Enixon has built a devoted following since baking her first sourdough loaf in a Dutch oven in 2016, shortly after moving to the South Okanagan from Bordeaux with her classically-trained French vigneron and winemaker husband Jean-Marc. And while baking for her family, she would bring her freshly-baked sourdough bread to dinner parties to great accolades. One thing led to another and through experimentation with different flours and adjusting temperature times, etc. she soon was selling sourdough at the Osoyoos Farmers' Market, garnering consecutive Best Bakery awards.
Through her passion and subsequent demand 鈥 including from her popular TikTok account (artisansourdoughbaker) 鈥 she became aware of the District Wine Village space, giving her a chance at a commercial kitchen and to extend her reach as a baker, caterer and teacher. Her TikTok fans inspired her to start a fundraising campaign toward purchasing a new bread oven. Itsa国际传媒 full speed ahead as she can now bake up to 24 loaves at one time.
Enixon also offers workshops on sourdough baking and, for children, cookie decorating events.
Her breads see a 24 to 74 hour fermentation, and flours used are 100-percent Canadian including Fieldstone Organics' whole wheat and rye that she hand mills on site. (Levain or leaven refers to active sourdough starter, made from flour and water and wild yeast.)
Dig in to gorgeous golden brown sourdough loaves and demi baguettes, a nine-seed whole wheat and honey loaf, or an espresso-chocolate loaf,and Audrey's version of raincoast-style crisps for the charcuterie board. Burger buns are also available, and in the summer, find her 鈥渋nfusion loaves鈥 of olive tapanade or fig, and foccacia, including a bake-at-home version.
Itsa国际传媒 a meant-to-be-scenario for Enixon since she was trained as a microbiologist and has leveraged her deep understanding of yeast and bacteria to create high-quality sourdough and pastries. 鈥淚tsa国际传媒 logical for me to make sourdough,鈥 she admits.
Handmade puff pastry creates buttery ethereal croissants, pain au chocolat and the rarely-seen-here Parisian classic, the Swiss, filled with vanilla pastry cream and chocolate chips. Lovely macarons 鈥 exquisite with coffee 鈥 are made using her grandmothersa国际传媒 recipe, and are based on the original version from Saint-Emilion, not the sandwich cookie that is the new norm. Find also scones, one savoury, one sweet, and cinnamon rolls, a gooey delight in cinnamon syrup.
In the pantry section find wonderful foodstuffs from Maison Fayard for picnic fun. The Alsace-based company brings all the classics from duck foie gras and ceramic potted mustards to rillette, olives and flavoured potato chips 鈥 the mustard and pickle combination is outstanding! Indoor and patio seating make this a lovely spot to enjoy an espresso-fueled beverage and pastry, create an impromptu picnic or contemplate your next sourdough sandwich creation.
Right now, La Levaini猫re is only open on Fridays, but will be open seven a days starting in May. Pre-orders for bread and pastries can be done via lalevainiere.cococart.co or pop by between noon and 5 pm on Fridays and try your luck. There is always some extra bread and goodies available.
C'est magnifique!
