Delicious ditties from Smittybread

For fans of baked goods, all sorts of delectable decisions await you in downtown Lafayette. I’ve extolled the virtues of Sweet Revolution’s personal pies here before. Scones and Doilies offers a more European spin with filled rugelach pastries and savory spinachand- cheese galettes.

On downtown’s outermost edge, you’ll find Smittybread, home to exquisite breads and sweets served up by proprietor Dave Smith. He’s a former journalist who parlayed his bent for baking baguettes into a staple of local farmers markets several years ago. As Smith says, this represented his “pursuit of meaning, happiness and income outside the newsroom.” Achievement unlocked, as 2020 marks the third anniversary of brick-andmortar business at Smittybread’s 4th Street location — where breakfast is bustling, lunch is lively and the selections are scrumptious. (During farmers market season, you can still find Smittybread in those spaces.)

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Smittybread specializes in handmade sourdough loaves and warm baguettes. Be sure to check out its website for the Daily Bread Sked, a regular rotation of Lafayette, Whole Wheat, Multigrain Rye and Seeded sourdoughs, along with the occasional specialty (like the zesty Jalapeño- Cheddar Sourdough). Looking for a meal? How appropriate that there’s a baker’s dozen of breakfast or lunch sandwiches — from the snappy Ellsworth (Welsh cheddar cheese, sweet pickles and Dijon mustard grilled on your bread of choice) to the not-broken-so-don’t-fix-it Breakfast Sandwich (sautéed egg, ham and melted cheese on a croissant).

Oh, those croissants. Whether they’re supporting a hearty breakfast or serving as a snack, you simply cannot pass up one … or two … or more. They are a must-have: Big, buttery, beautiful, perfectly flaky and available in an almond variety that’s sinfully good. Don’t sleep on the Pain au Chocolat, either; that’s often among the first batch out the door for any given day.

Beyond the croissant variants, there’s plenty on the sweeter side at Smittybread — all of it less about sugary weight and more about texture and flavor profiles. Seeking a not-so-hefty cinnamon fix in your a.m.? Switch up a gloopyfrosted roll for Smittybread’s Morning Bun — sugar, butter, cinnamon and orange zest in croissant dough, the perfect crisp-soft combo. Its Danish options are also a delight; go for the blueberry if you can snag one.

Sizes are such that it’s easy to split. However, at Smittybread, no one would begrudge you indulging yourself on goods so great.