I’d been out to Salty Bread Pizza Café not long ago and had their crème brûlée cronut along with one of their pizzas, and both were excellent.
But it wasn’t until I stopped into Amazing Grains in Fairport that I started to understand the bigger picture behind the bread and the pastries I’d been enjoying.
I’ll be honest — I don’t know the full detailed history between Amazing Grains, Salty Bread Pizza Café, and Salty Bread. And part of me isn’t sure I need to. What I can tell you is that it feels similar to the relationship Stretch Bread has in Syracuse — a larger wholesale bakery operation quietly powering the quality you’re tasting at the retail level. If you’re from Syracuse, you know what I mean.
Amazing Grains had been on my list for a while, and I happened to have some extra time while I was out in Fairport, so I pulled in. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect walking through the door — I half figured I was stepping into a cozy village café kind of situation.
What I found instead was an industrial bakery operating at a serious scale. They have a dedicated sourdough room, a laminations room, and different production areas for different breads and pastries. Their wholesale operation sounds significant. But up front, there’s a great selection of breads, pastries, and treats available for retail purchase. I left with a bag of their granola, a sourdough loaf, and two pastries — a cinnamon sugar cronut and a cheese danish croissant.
Now let’s talk about the cronut, because this is where things get interesting if you’ve had the crème brûlée cronut over at Salty Bread.
They’re not the same thing, and that’s actually the point.
The Amazing Grains cronut is what I’d describe as the purist version. They keep it simple — sugar or cinnamon sugar, that’s it. The shape is different too. Not as wide, but taller. Lighter, airier, flakier. There’s no flavor bomb here, no crème brûlée topping to dazzle you. What they’re doing instead is letting the technique speak for itself, and it does.
The best comparison I can make is the difference between a regular taco and a birria taco. A birria taco has melted cheese and consommé going for it — of course it’s going to hit differently. But that doesn’t mean you’re always in the mood for birria. Sometimes you want the clean, honest version of the thing.
The Amazing Grains cronut is that. It’s a baker saying, “I’m not going to dress this up — I’m going to make it as well as it can possibly be made and let you taste that.” I have enormous respect for that approach. There are few things more impressive in food than a craftsman confident enough to strip everything back and just showcase pure skill.
Neither cronut is better than the other. They’re different expressions of the same idea, and both are worth your time.
If you’re serious about baked goods and you haven’t made it out to Amazing Grains in Fairport yet, put it on the list. This is elite level baking, and it shows.
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