There have been loads of pastries making rounds on social media hype recently. One of them being Fortitude Bakehouse’s cream-filled beignets. Fortitude Bakehouse isn’t new though. They have been around offering wholesale and catering services to many other London establishments and have an unassuming little shop in Russell Square since 2018. The shop is tucked away on a quiet mews, away from the hustle & bustle of Brunswick Square. If you haven’t heard of Fortitude Bakehouse before, you probably won’t stumble across the location.
The main goal of our visit is to get our hands on the beignets. However, by the time we arrived at Fortitude Bakehouse on a late Saturday morning, their beignets were already sold out. We ended up waiting an hour for the next batch to be ready. During the hour, everyone – literally everyone – who came in was asking for the beignets. And when the new batch was about to be ready, a queue promptly started to form out of nowhere. It’s safe to say that, despite its quiet location, Fortitude Bakehouse is very well-established as a Londoners’ favourite!
Fortitude Bakehouse: the Artisan Sourdough Craft Bakery
Fortitude Bakehouse differs from other bakeries by specialising in the craft of sourdough. Not just sourdough bread, but also cakes and other patisseries made from slow-fermented sourdough baking. Founded by Dee Rettali, an artisan baker with a mix of Irish & Moroccan roots, Fortitude Bakehouse’s creations feature unique flavour combos that made them further stand out from the crowd. If you are interested in learning more about the artisanal craftsmanship behind traditional sourdough baking, check out Dee’s book: Baking with Fortitude.
The Baked Goods at Fortitude Bakehouse (what we ordered)
Date of visit: January 2023
While we waited for the beignets, we got our hands on the final pistachio chocolate bun available on the counter and we’re so glad because this bun was stellar! The filling was rich to taste and it was just so incredibly enjoyable. It was rustic, wholesome, and impeccably well-balanced when it comes to flavour. May I add that the size of the bun was massive!
As for the beignet, it was comparatively lacklustre in my opinion. Flavours are always changing for their beignets so you’ll have to try your luck if you’ve got any particular flavour in mind. On the day of our visit, the flavour was vanilla cream with blueberries. The beignet was much less sweet than I originally anticipated. Whilst they have been very generous with their cream filling, again, I was expecting a stronger hint of vanilla. This is not the say the beignet wasn’t nice at all. It was still a lovely bite but I wasn’t really blown away by it especially after the comparison with the pistachio chocolate bun.
Fortitude Bakehouse Review Summary
It is a shame that I personally didn’t enjoy the beignet as much as I anticipated. But it’s inarguable that Fortitude Bakehouse is a top quality bakery in town and deserve every attention. In addition to their wholesome bakes, they also sell single-farm coffee and Stonerolled tea, which would pair nicely with any baked goods you get from them! Please note that Fortitude Bakehouse only opens till 3 pm during the week and 2 pm on Saturdays (they are closed on Sundays). So make sure you head there early or you’re going to miss out on all the good stuff!
Looking for more bakeries & pastries in London? Check these out too:
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