Gerald S.
Yelp
Hearth Baker on North Broad Street, Lansdale, PA, knows from flour and water. Bread is their game, and they play it well.
The shop space was smaller than expected. The left wall was full of wooden racks loaded with beautiful loaves of bread. They were large and extremely tempting. As I was there 30 minutes before closing, they didn't have a full panoply of their creations, but still enough to satisfy me.
One of the women behind the counters attended to me, advising what was still available.
She first mentioned a half load of sliced rye, which I immediately said, "yes," to. The aroma was strong and I knew I would love it toasted with butter and jam. She next suggested their dinner rolls, of which she bagged a dozen mixed grains, but only charged me for six. She knew what she wanted to sell while fresh, and which would have longer shelf life until the next day.
I also grabbed a few large peanut butter cookies to sample later with coffee. Hearth Baker had no pastry, so I wasn't distracted by cakes, pies or other sweet possibilities. I didn't see those sandwiches mentioned by others, but anything stuffed between their bread/rolls would have to be great.
What I did buy was excellent. The rye had a slightly sweet, yet grainy savoriness that was delicious, both fresh and toasted. Perfect for sandwiches or accompanying soup. The rolls were also quite good, with semolina and other light/dark flours to modify their flavors. Also terrific just sliced and buttered and ripped apart by my incisors.
Those peanut butter cookies were also awesome. A little crisp on the edges, yet chewy toward the middle. Plenty of PB taste.
The Hearth Baker would be a great place to learn the artisan craft of baking breads.