Openbench Bakery4 Ovenstone Yard, OastmereBaked here this morning
Rye at 7. Buns at 8. Coffee till 1.
- Seeded rye, straight out of the oven$5.20
- Morning buns, usually gone by 9:30 am$3.40
- Drip coffee, refilled free on the bench$2.80
An open-air bakehouse with one wood-fired oven and three long benches. Everything on the board was baked here this morning, and the board tells you exactly when.
Fresh nowTomato & olive focaccia
Coming upCheese & chive scones
Shown as a normal morning at 9:40 am.
Bake times · Tuesday to Sunday
Fresh right now
Thirteen trays leave the oven every morning, at the same times every day we’re open. The board follows your clock. Yellow came out in the last half hour. Blue is still to come. Red is gone for today.
At 9:40 am: fresh now, tomato & olive focaccia. Next out, cheese & chive scones at 10:15 am. Sold out, morning buns.
Bench loaf
40 loaves · on the counter till close
$6.00
On the counter
Butter croissants
60 · usually gone by 10:30 am
$3.20
On the counter
Pain au chocolat
48 · usually gone by 10 am
$3.60
On the counter
Seeded rye
24 loaves · usually gone by noon
$5.20
On the counter
Cardamom knots
40 · usually gone by 10:45 am
$3.40
On the counter
Morning buns
36 · usually gone by 9:30 am
$3.40
Sold out
Baguettes
50 · on the counter till close
$3.00
On the counter
Porridge oat loaf
20 loaves · usually gone by 12:30 pm
$5.80
On the counter
Tomato & olive focaccia
24 slices · usually gone by 12:15 pm
$3.80 a slice
Fresh now
Cheese & chive scones
30 · on the counter till close
$3.00
Out at 10:15 am
Bench loaf, second bake
30 loaves · for anyone who slept in
$6.00
Out at 11 am
Leek & cheese hand pies
24 · on the counter till close
$5.50
Out at 11:30 am
Rye chocolate cookies
40 · the last tray of the day
$2.40
Out at 12:15 pm
Times are when the tray leaves the oven. “Usually gone by” is when it ran out on an ordinary day last month. Saturdays run faster.
The whole recipe, pinned up by the oven
Four things in the bench loaf
No dough conditioners, no secret. Here is every gram for each kilo of flour, and the share of each against the flour, the way bakers write it.
- Flour1,000 g · stone-milled wheat100%
- Water780 g · from the yard tap78%
- Levain200 g · our starter, fed at 9 pm each night20%
- Salt20 g · fine sea salt2%
- The ear. Where the cut opens in the oven. The crunchiest bite.
- The crust. 42 minutes at 465°F. Baked dark on purpose; that’s where the flavor is.
- The crumb. Open and glossy, because there’s so much water in the dough.
- The base. Baked straight on the oven’s stone floor, never in a pan.
Who we buy from
- FlourQuarrow MillStone-ground wheat and rye, seven miles up the river road.
- Butter & milkPloverdown DairyCultured butter, delivered in 10 lb blocks on Tuesday and Friday.
- EggsTansy LaneFree-range, collected by the baker on the way in.
- CoffeeCinder Street RoastersRoasted in Oastmere every Monday, while we’re closed.
Four steps, no reservations
How the bench works
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1Read the board
Everything on it is in the building today. If a line is red, it’s gone.
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2Order at the window
One line, and it moves. Cards or cash, no minimum.
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3Take a peg, find a seat
Clip your number to the table and sit anywhere. Scoot over for strangers.
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4We bring it out
Warm things on plates, coffee in enamel cups. Coffee refills are on us.
Leaving? Stack your plate in the tub by the tap. That’s the whole system.
Visit
A yard, three benches, one oven
We’re a bakehouse with a yard, not a café with a patio. Sixty seats on three long benches, no reservations, and room for a stroller at every end.
- A
- Under the awning, against the oven wall. Warm into November.
- B
- Under the awning, nearest the windows. Quickest coffee refills.
- C
- Open sky. Dogs welcome, with a water bowl at the far end.
- The oven. Wood-fired, lit at 4:30 am.
- Bread and pastry window.
- Coffee window.
- Tap and plate tub.
- Bike rack, twelve spaces.
- Gate from Ovenstone Yard. Step-free, no curb.
- Address
- 4 Ovenstone Yard, Oastmere
- Open
- Tuesday to Sunday, 6:30 am to 1 pm
- Getting here
- The number 4 bus stops at the yard gate. Blankets on the hooks when it’s cold.
Saturdays go fast
Hold a loaf
Put your name on a loaf and we’ll keep it behind the window until 11 am. You pay when you pick it up. No deposit, no account.
- Phone
- 555-0119, from 6:30 am
- hello@openbench.example
- Ten loaves or more
- Call the day before, so we can mix enough dough.
Asked at the window
Questions
Short answers. Anything else, ask whoever is at the register.
Can I reserve a bench?
No. Benches are first come. When it’s busy, people scoot over and share, which is the whole point of the place.
Do you take cards?
Cards and cash, with no minimum. Tips go in the jar and are split between everyone on shift.
What’s vegan?
The bench loaf, seeded rye, baguettes and focaccia. All pastry is made with butter. Oat milk costs nothing extra.
I have an allergy. What should I know?
Everything is made in one room with wheat, rye, milk, egg, sesame and nuts. Ask at the window and we’ll show you the recipe sheet for anything on the board.
What happens when it rains?
Benches A and B are under the awning. Bench C isn’t; we wipe it down when the rain stops.
Where does leftover bread go?
Loaves still on the counter at 12:30 pm go half price. At 1 pm, whatever is left goes to the Oastmere community kitchen.
Can I work on a laptop?
You can, but there’s no Wi-Fi and no outlets at the benches. Most people read the paper.