Wild Mountain Bakery

At the Health Sciences Farmers’ Market, the line for the “bread lady” was always, at least, 10 people deep. That bread lady, Karen Guse, makes some of the best pepperoni rolls around. Her various breads, which were produced in her basement, have now found a home at the former Tutto Gelato stand on High Street. My five years here have seen the unique gelato standing tall on High Street, but after stopping at the now-Wild Mountain Bakery shop, I was welcoming them with open arms.

The shop features artisan bread, muffins, coffee, scones, cookies and pepperoni rolls, which come in regular or jalapeno. What makes these pepperoni rolls lovely, though, is that there are tiny chunks of pepperoni throughout a delicately, soft baked bread. It’s not a chunk stuck to one end. The slightly smoked taste is spread throughout the entire bun, giving you a nice mixture of bread and spice in each bite.

They are open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For the inner carbaholic in all of us, this soft, light, airy bread with some warm butter is enough to keep me happy. On this particular day, I also opted for their two muffins: blueberry and orange-mango. Heavenly.

I first tried the orange-mango,  and I was skeptical. I was concerned it would be slightly bitter. But a large muffin, contained in a maroon paper, was handed to me. Topped with crystalized sugar, it looked gorgeous. And it tasted even better. This light, fruity muffin had chunks of real oranges and mangoes, surrounded by fluffy cake. I finished the muffin, feeling refreshed and my palate cleansed. Which is sort of the opposite of the blueberry. While still great, the blueberry is a heavier muffin, more of what I’m used to, but still with small bits of blueberry and a tasty, sweet, muffin. For around $10, I got two delicious muffins and a pepperoni roll that’s out of this world.

Try it; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Grade: A