BEACON FALLS — There's a new place in town to break (sourdough) bread — not to mention a variety of pastries and other baked good.
Owner Molly DeLong held a grand opening for Molly’s Bakery on Saturday following a soft open at the end of June. DeLong said her bakery will fill a need for the town and surrounding communities not only for baked goods but as a gathering place for residents.
“This spot was already here and it’s right in the center of town. There wasn’t anything else like it,” DeLong said. “There isn’t really much in the surrounding towns either. It felt there was a need for it. My old customers were asking for two years.”
DeLong had started her baking and selling out of her Oxford home in 2020, delivering her breads to customers in area towns by subscription and selling at farmers markets.
“There was like no bakery in this town,” DeLong said. “Oxford doesn’t really have a bakery and I’m already established from the farmers market with customers so I just decided to give this a go.”
The bakery has a café grab-and-go style but offers a dozen or so seats in a cozy setting, DeLong said.
All of the breads are made with sourdough including the bagels, biscuits and English muffins. DeLong said when they can they try to use local products or whole wheat and use olive oil rather than seed oils and avoid using food dyes.
Economic Development Commission Coordinator Emily Fitzgerald said Molly's Bakery is the first storefront bakery that has opened in town in several years.
“I felt like the town needed a more social hub and we used to go to Oxford Baking. I live very close to there and I love other bakeries I’m a big supporter of other small businesses and when they shut down, there was no place to go to hang out for a while,” DeLong said. “So I’m just trying to bring that to Beacon Falls. We have pizza and restaurants but nothing breakfasty.”
DeLong, who is originally from Maine, grew up eating sourdough made by her Polish grandmother. When she moved to Connecticut and found it was mainly Italian bakeries with yeasted breads, she started making her own.
“During COVID, everyone got into sourdough,” DeLong said. “I just took 10 steps further.”
Some of the bakery's foods are ancient grain bread made with organic flour and whole grains and French toast flavored sourdough as well as muffins, cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies that are gluten free. The bakery also serves a mix of egg, chicken, and chickpea salad sandwiches.
The drink menu includes coffee from Sleeping Giant Coffee Co. out of Woodbridge which roasts weekly; the bakery's own cold brew; lemonade with fresh lemon juice; strawberry and peach green teas; and iced teas.
Molly's Bakery will be open Wednesdays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
DeLong said she began baking when she was 18 years old in Portland as an overnight Panera and Cranberry Island Kitchen baker specializing in gourmet whoopee pies in the shape of seashells. "I just got the urge again." Her assistant baker Linda Stubbs has been with DeLong since she started.
“A big goal of mine is just I love baking bread and sharing it with people,” DeLong said. “We donate a lot of our extras to the food pantry and I’m very happy to share with them.”