Dutch Oven Bakery

I love this place, and I miss it so much. I wish we would get a Scandinavian type bakery down here in Springfield, Missouri. The Dutch Letters, and Dutch Horns are the best. If I had a complaint it would be I wish they had Kringlas. They are on the pricey side, but well worth it. If the owners read this: PLEASE… build a bakery down here in Springfield, they have none like you here, and your baked goods are SOOOOO awesome. Please consider it. I highly recommend this place.

not sure what manner of bakery this is. short rack of day-​olds, and sparse offerings in the case but it was late in the day and I suppose most folks were well on their way home… but I was there on my way from work to the post office and was hoping for a little something sweet.
picked up a dutch-​apple loaf, sac-​o-​challah-​bits, two rosettes and a frosted bismark: the frosting is too heavy for me on an otherwise enjoyable bismark (maybe there’s granulated sugar earlier in the day?); rosette was tasty but the light glaze was messy (like all good rosette glaze is); the challahs were challah-​y only smaller, good crust with a certain grain to the innards but less chew than I am familiar with; the dutch-​apple loaf was a bit of a disappointment but maybe ‘dutch’ is Iowonian for ‘light on the advertised fillings’ like ‘danish’ is english for ‘single serving coffee cake’

Two words: Dutch letters!!!
I must confess that I was never much of a fan of the Dutch Oven Bakery when I lived in Ames. Perhaps a reflection of my youth at the time or perhaps a result of not always sampling their offerings when they were fresh out of the oven. Now, returning to Ames with a mature palette, I cannot get enough of this place.
Love the lunch menu. The lowly Sloppy Joe, taken for granted in the Midwest, is underserved in the Southwest where I now live. A treat for me. Sure, the soups and salads are good too, but…
The Dutch letters, as you might expect given the bakery’s name, are fantastic. My Ames crew ranges in age from four to nine-​six. The letters are loved by all. The letters are the can’t go wrong choice for your first visit.
The frosted butterfly cookies are also a must for any kid after a trip to the Reiman Gardens butterfly house. But only if you love lots of frosting.

When the wife leaves me in charge of the kids, we almost always head to the Dutch Oven. It’s not like she doesn’t like it or is somehow morally opposed to baked goods. It’s just that, if given the choice, the kids include it on any «boys day» agenda. And I see why.
They have tasty cookies with great frosting. Lots of frosting. Like the last one my son had was about a 4:1 frosting to cookie ratio. What kid wouldn’t love that?
Also, the experience of picking out their treat is something they love too. It’s a good thing they have plenty of helpful and friendly staff because anyone behind us would be in it for the long haul if there was only one person working the counter! There is a great selection and my 4 and 7 year old will pace the length of the counter (leaving fingerprints all over) weighing their options.
I don’t need that much selection. I almost always go for Dutch letters. But that’s kind of the point. The Dutch Oven is a great pick for a «boys day.» It’s consistently good food and service whenever you are craving a treat.

BEST doughnuts and pastries in Ames. The frosting is homemade, and it looks and feels like your Grandmother’s place (in the best kind of way). The prices are unbelievable as well.

Eight years ago, Diana made my wedding cake. She was easy to work with, honest, accommodating (when I changed my design 1 month before my wedding), and did a fantastic job. To this day, it remains the best wedding cake I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been to dozens of weddings since, and none of the cakes have even come close. I’ve had several cakes (birthday, graduation, retirement) made at Dutch Oven since then and they’ve always been met with rave reviews. Ames is lacking a bit in bakeries — we’ve got HyVee, Dutch Oven, the cupcake place, The Café does some cakes. Dutch Oven is the best.

While working in Ames, Iowa I used Dutch Oven Bakery for a few events and was impressed by their service, professionalism and quality. My (new) husband LOVES their doughnuts and has many fond memories running from west Ames to Dutch Oven Bakery for a doughnut while training for his marathon. :-)
So, we of course asked Dianna to make our wedding cake. She did a fantastic job! I had met with her over a year before the wedding and had everything confirmed. Then, about 2 – 3 months prior to the wedding I saw a photo in Pinterest I LOVED and had my mom show her. She was totally game and did a GREAT job. She was so flexible and accommodating and made our cake look just like the Pinterest photo. Not to mention, our wedding guests raved about her red velvet.
We have since moved from Central Iowa, and miss this small bakery all the time!

If you can stop giggling about Dutch Oven’s name, give it a shot!
We often order from Dutch Oven for work, and everything I’ve had has been fantastic. I’m not a big fan of cake, especially white cake, but Dutch Oven’s is wonderful. The buttercream frosting is delightful. The pastries and donuts are all delicious, and they’re made fresh from scratch daily.
They have a full breakfast and lunch menu, too. I’ve had their sandwiches at a corporate event and they were boring, but then most sandwich platters at corporate events are. There’s a sloppy joe on the menu that’s always tempting me and it’s on my list of places to try for lunch.
Everyone who works there is friendly and helpful, and they’re lifesavers — when there was an incident with a birthday cake I baked for our six-​year-​old, we called Dutch Oven on the morning of the birthday party and they had a cake ready for us that afternoon. Dutch Oven is always willing to go the extra mile and take pride in what they do.

Good locally owned bakeries seem far and few between these days. The Dutch Oven is the «Real Deal» and they had me at the first bite of my chocolate almond horn. After leaving the first time, I couldn’t help but double back and purchase one of their delicious apple-​infused coffee cakes. It was a big hit at the Lake for breakfast. This place is a «heck of a good deal» and I’ll be back to supplement my parent’s pantry the next time I’m in town. Or maybe a bite for Lunch?

I am racked with guilt that I have overlooked one of my favorite places to do business in Ames in my Unilocal reviews.
Dutch Oven Bakery has fantastic dutch letters and almond pastries. They meet or exceed the ones that I have sampled in a Dutch dominated community like Pella, Iowa, Orange City, Iowa or Lynden, Washington. I routinely like to pick of a box of these to share with my coworkers.
Even though the name brings raised eyebrows and laughs to my friends, they have the best doughnuts and pastries in Ames with genuine customer service. Hands down. Premium quality pastries at a moderate price.