Hewn Bakery [Evanston Lunch Group w/picnic: 9/25 12:30pm]

Hewn Bakery is a new artisanal bakery that serves coffee, vegetarian sandwiches, salads, and the like in addition to their main offerings of various breads, croissants, brioche, a few pastries and so on. Hewn is a storefront without tables. The Evanston Lunch Group will check out their wares and then head to Larimer Park a few blocks away at Oak and Crain to enjoy them.

Please join us! All are welcome.

Wednesday, Sept. 25th, 12:30 pm

Hewn Bakery
810 Dempster St.
Evanston IL 60202
http://hewnbread.com/

Larimer Park
Crain & Oak
Evanston

I'll be there.

I wish I could be there, especially because it's only two blocks away from my place. Unfortunately, that's the day my dentist wants to stick his fingers into my mouth.

I plan to join you.... Thanks, Evy!

I'm coming.

Hewn Bakery is serious about its products. I have tried their “country” bread, brioche, and fruit croissants. Cabbagehead and I thought the bread very good, the other pastries good.

The Evanston Lunch Group tried the whole lunch menu available yesterday—an eggplant sandwich and a brie sandwich plus a small Brussels sprouts salad. The sandwiches were on with baguettes made of stern stuff: tasty but crusty and firm. The pitiful biodegradable disposable knife we were given gave many of its teeth in the cause of cutting the sandwiches. They were tasty but unremarkable and seemed pricey at $8 and $9 apiece.

We also tried a savory scone, a kouign amann, a feta and dried tomato croissant, and one other pastry I can’t remember. All were good, but, again, on the expensive side. Tarte tatin said their coffee (Dogwood) was very good.

If you are in the neighborhood and want artisanal bread or a decent vegetarian sandwich, Hewn is worth a stop. I think the sandwiches at GNR Al’s Deli are much superior, and I prefer Bennison’s croissants to Hewn’s.

Hewn
810 Dempster St.
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 869-HEWN
http://hewnbread.com/

I found the pastries more successful than the sandwiches. For sandwiches, Al's is still my choice, but the baked goods are excellent, and perhaps Hewn will appear at Evanston Farmer's Market. Hewn is right down the street from Wiener and Still Champion, and as Hewn is vegetarian one could stop at WASC afterwards for some deep fried meat.

With no dedicated thread for Hewn, I figure this thread is probably the best place for an update about some of their breads, which are now being carried at Zier's Prime Meats in Wilmette. The few I've tried have been some of the best I've had in Chicagoland.

I was initially intrigued when I saw a few boules sitting on the counter at Zier's, wrapped in nothing more than paper and tied up with twine. Even through the paper, I could feel that this was a proper, hearthy crust and a tap to the bottom of the loaf sounded like a drum, which is also an excellent sign. A sample of a whole wheat loaf tasted great and had near-perfect texture. The crumb was slightly sour, moist and populated by inconsistently-sized holes, which generally indicates slow, natural fermentation and rise. The crust was firm, hard and totally delicious.

I bought a Country Boule and brought it home. I couldn't believe how sensational it was. There was such depth of flavor all the way through the chew. It was awesome on the first day. I ate a couple of pieces with some fresh butter. Over the next few days, I'd toast it up and eat some of it dry, some with butter and some as a base for sandwiches. It was addictive; compelling. For the first time in a long time, I actually left a stick of butter out on the counter, just so it would always be ready for the bread.

On my next trip to Zier's I bought a whole wheat boule -- same as the sample I'd originally tried -- that was equally delicious to the country boule and an epi, which was also excellent but not quite in the same league as either of the boules. Ironically, I've never been to Hewn's shop. Had I not found these loaves at Zier's, I may not have ever found out about it. It wasn't until I searched that I found this thread. In any case, I hope to check out their shop soon and see what else they have to offer.

Now, because they're a butcher shop and they don't move a lot of bread, Zier's has recently taken to putting the boules in plastic bags, under their paper wrappers. This is not ideal treatment for bread of this style on the day it's baked but it does provide some extended shelf life if the bread doesn't get sold on the day it's delivered to the butcher shop. I found that immediately taking the boule out of the plastic and re-wrapping it only in the paper fully restored it within a couple of hours. So, if you end up getting one at Zier's be sure to ask if it's been bagged and if it has, take it out of the bag as soon as you purchase it.

=R=

Hewn Bakery (website)
810 Dempster St
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 869-4396

Zier's Prime Meats (website)
813 Ridge Rd
Wilmette, IL 60091
(847) 251-4000

ronnie_suburban wrote:With no dedicated thread for Hewn, I figure this thread is probably the best place for an update about some of their breads, which are now being carried at Zier's Prime Meats in Wilmette. The few I've tried have been some of the best I've had in Chicagoland.

=R=

Hewn Bakery (website)
810 Dempster St
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 869-4396

Ditto and ditto



The quality of bread has gone so far up in Chicagoland, especially since our long ago bread tasting event at MAG's place. Still, you have something like a Hewn loaf, which I was lucky enough to be gifted, and you realize there's levels and levels out there.

The other thing I should add, and I do not know if this is a thing with slow-fermented breads or not, but this bread has stayed succulent much longer than most.

Per the Trib, Hewn is set to expand:

Prepare for a lot more artisanal bread in Evanston. Hewn, the cozy bread shop on Dempster Street near Sherman Avenue, plans to double in size over the summer.

For owner Ellen King, the expansion can't come soon enough. "Our walk-in is so maxed at the moment, it's beyond uncomfortable," says King. "The other day, I almost literally got stuck in it."

Hewn bread bakery in Evanston to double in size, expand menu

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As noted in "Openings & Closings" in early March:

POST #81 - MARCH 4TH, 2016, 9:44 PM
Hewn Artisan Bread bakery in Evanston is doubling its footprint, by taking over the former Paramour Bungalow home accessories store at 812 Dempster (they moved to Andersonville). Nice development.

Hewn Artisan Bread
810 Dempster St. Evanston, IL 60202
847-869-HEWN(4396)

sundevilpeg wrote:As noted in "Openings & Closings" in early March:

POST #81 - MARCH 4TH, 2016, 9:44 PM
Hewn Artisan Bread bakery in Evanston is doubling its footprint, by taking over the former Paramour Bungalow home accessories store at 812 Dempster (they moved to Andersonville). Nice development.

Hewn Artisan Bread
810 Dempster St. Evanston, IL 60202
847-869-HEWN(4396)

Thanks, for the addition to my post above. It's very much appreciated since information like this tends to fade away in the O&C thread.

=R=

Hewn, a popular Dempster Street bakery that sells bread and pastries to dozens of businesses around Chicago, is moving to a larger building on Central Street. The bakery’s new location is a vacant 92-year-old bow truss building at 1731 Central St. in Evanston.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ ... story.html

Very nice. Good for them. One block east of Green Bay road on the north side of the street. That 2 block stretch east of Green Bay road has really developed in the last 10 years. They'll get some business from Wilmette as well as from regular customers.

Well, hot damn! A good bakery within walking distance of the house! (Albeit a long enough walk to generate even more of an appetite.) I'd been following the saga in the Evanston paper but had somehow missed that their tax request had been approved by the city.