Firebrand Artisan Breads

simply sublime.
all of it… the breads, pastries, coffee, and even the friendly staff…
a neighborhood gem to say the least…

Bread & sandwich snob here! I worked at a bakery from high school through college and I get very picky. We drove around for 30 minutes trying to find a place one day when I wasn’t feeling well. Popped into the place on the corner but wasn’t feeling their menu. Came here and grabbed the Lao Sausage and Tarragon Chicken sandwiches and they were fantastic! Bread was great, service was helpful and friendly and man all those yummy looking pretzels… I have to come back!

Rule #77: Carbs are King
This place makes bread… REALLY DELICIOUS BREAD. Plus it smells like bread, so bring your computer and «work» at one of the little tables inside surrounded by delicious bread smell. By «work» I mean creep out staring at bread.
I had a German themed party with some friends so I decided to go to FIrebrand to pick up some Pretzels. The girl who helped me was attentive and sweet! They had three types: Habanero, Pumpkin Seed, and Classic. I got a couple of each and it was only 12 bucks (no extra tax added to the price shown, which I always like). All of them were a hit, and everyone asked me where I got them… I told them I made them… I’m a liar… but everything in this review is true.
… Because people like lists.
1) A cool space with tons of bread, coffee, and dessert options
2) Smells real nice
3) They have classes for things like making cookies or sourdough starters (65 bucks a pop)
4) People liked eating the bread they made.
5) Great customer service
6) Normally keep the fact that you and your friends have ethnically themed parties out of your review

Even prior to this site’s opening, I was an evangelist for Firebrand Bread, with my sales pitch of their «hearty, rustic, right-​from-​the-​oven breads» wooing more than a couple of folks to purchase and delight in their loaves. (Note to some of the critics: the bread is named Firebrand. FIRE BRAND. As in, fire-​branded. The oven char marks are part of their character.) But visiting their highly anticipated Uptown opening left my adoration somewhat in conflict.
Why? Largely from, in my head at least, an apparent brand dilution. Yes their signature crusty rustic offerings were still there … but what was with the sweet baked goods? Isn’t beloved Sweet Bar Bakery just a ½ block away? And, what was with the softer breads? The latter, I unexpectedly got with my order of the Kobe beef sandwich on what is listed as a kaiser roll but was as soft as challah bread. Mind you, it’s a delicious sandwich with incredible roast beef — but, while I hear the sandwich chef specifically had this bread created for his sandwich, personally I wanted the chewy contrast of the mainline Firebrand bread.
A subsequent visit’s bacon sandwich on their more-​classic torpedo roll offered the more-​coveted rustic crusted bread, but the sweet-​accented flavor profile of the dressings wasn’t something I’d indulge in again.
Those negatives aside: IMO, Firebrand has one of the top locally-​baked breads available, and yes I’m talking about their rustic offerings, charred crust-​marks and all. I’ve had many of their varieties and loved all, but still keeping their roasted bacon fougasse for a special occasion. Oh, and the pretzels? Top-​notch. Plus, their Highwire coffee was excellent both times ordered, fresh and delicious.
I can’t speak to their non-​savory baked goods. They ooze eye appeal, but Sweet Bar has my loyalty for the best sweets on the block for now. But for the savory offerings, Firebrand is more than just great bread, it’s a coveted gluten indulgence.

With all these ovens, you’d think they could heat up your ham and cheese croissant that cost a whopping a undeserved $ 4.50. Mocha was delicious; tastes like they use Oaxacan chocolate. Music doesn’t fill the space. They’ve got some kinks to work out.

OMGooodness… complete carb heaven and i’m floating on the light, decadent Firebrand cream puff… deliciousness! I’m so ‘disappointed’ i found this place and will have go back and be disappointed again to try other items… too bad its way too convenient, close to my work…
soo much for the getting on the diet bandwagon at the start of the year… only 1 foot on and don’t plan on jumping on for another week to indulge… i’m not ready to eat anything with kale, quinoa, lentils or kombucha (yet) unless accompanied by another cream puff.

This spot just opened up a couple months ago nearby. Huge space as the only woodfire oven bakery in Oakland. Tons of offerings, both sweet and savory, plus abuelita designed Mexican hot chocolate, High Wire coffee (Emeryville), lunchtime 11a-​3p sandwiches, challah, and a secret upstairs space for some peace and quiet enjoyment of your purchases. My first purchase at Firebrand by recommendation of staff member Boff was a cinnamon bun with decadent icing, $ 4.50 as of ½/​2016. The staff (hi Boff, Georgette, Madeline, and Daniel!) are knowledgeable, attentive, friendly, and local. In fact they have about 50 staff locally which is awesome (Oakland quality jobs!) and they support other local companies like the aforementioned Highwire coffee and Oaktown Spice Shop. I think I’ve found my go-​to local coffee/​bakery/​sandwich shop.
Full disclosure: I know Georgette and Boff from my time spot shift filling at The New Parkway movie theater around the block, another awesome local business, with more good food, drink and merriment!
ADDENDUM: Firebrand also has enticing sandwiches made by Pal’s Sandwiches which in and of itself has gotten some great foodie write ups from the likes of Luke Tsai of Eastbay Express and others, that I am eager to try next time I eat out for lunch in the neighborhood, and plenty of space to hold a casual meeting. They have WiFi and an upstairs seating area with plenty of power outlets that’s a bit quieter (staff tend to use it for the work breaks). What more can you ask for?
Even when Firebrand is closed at night I do enjoy walking by and seeing some of the bakers at work. It’s currently the only woodfire oven BAKERY in Oakland, so someone has to be there ²⁴⁄₇ to tend to the flames.
Overall a great addition to the neighborhood that is employing local folk, giving them a variety of opportunities to learn, grow, and excel professionally.

This place is a wonderful addition to the neighborhood! Since they are known for their pretzels, I went with a goat cheese pretzel and pretzel sticky bun. Both were excellent. The pretzel lends a chewiness to the sticky bun that I like, and it was not overly sweet and sugary.
Coffee is by Highwire if you care about that sort of thing.
If the person below cant differentiate and appreciate that this bakery focuses on breads, while the bakery up the street focuses on sweets, that’s on them.
Only downfall is the guilt I have watching people going to the ymca gym right across the street.

High-​ceilinged, industrial style space with plenty of bright lighting and a solid bread and pastry menu… Firebrand is quickly becoming a favorite stop for me when I’m in this part of Oakland. Even when I’m supposed to be saving my stomach for an actual meal, I somehow find myself drooling over the delectable bread display in their storefront window. At that point it’s only a matter of seconds before I find myself purchasing a sweet treat…
There’s a good amount of seating on the side, with even more tables and chairs upstairs (the lights are even brighter up here which I suspect is why it’s also warmer too).
Classic cream puff– Very well done pastry shell with all the structural integrity needed to house the happy helping of vanilla custard. Not too sweet or thick, and deliciously flecked with the telltale specks of real vanilla… topped off with a dreamy swirl of whipped cream and powdered sugar… how could you ever go wrong?
Bombolini– Any reincarnation of custard filled anything is a keeper in my book and this guy was no exception. Just the right amount of filling to fried donut ratio to enjoy both. :)
So far I keep missing the passionfruit pastry but one day… one day it shall be mine! Lol

Beautiful industrial space is warm and welcoming. Staff is just as welcoming and beautiful :)
The pretzels all looked apetizing and I ended up getting the éclair and the French Pullman loaf. All very good.

Another face has popped up among the new Broadway «Hive» storefronts: Firebrand Breads. The space is industrial, with exposed pipes on the grey walls and ceilings, but still manages to be cozy and welcoming. There are two small seating areas, one downstairs and one upstairs, but not many places to plug in if you want to work. The pastries and breads are AWESOME. Breads run the gamut from your standard sourdough (crusty on the outside, soft and savory on the inside), to Roasted Bacon Fougasse (I’m sure someone sells bacon jam and bacon ice cream to top it, but… not here). They make amazing pastries, including fancy Xmas cakes, cream puffs, coffee cakes, croissants, cookies (salted choc chip!) and cupcakes. One pastry will run you $ 4. Rocked my world: a pretzel sticky bun, which is a homemade pretzel topped with candied pecans and sugar. Holy lord.
The kitchen is open, so you can watch the bakers at work. It also keeps the space toasty and warm. From 11am-​3pm they serve sandwiches for lunch (menu attached). Not your average sandwiches, either, but Kobe roast beef on a kaiser roll with cheddar pimenton spread, deep fried Lao sausage, and miso-​dill salmon on ciabatta… OW OWwwww! Great place to go after a run at the YMCA across the street.
Welcome to the ‘hood, Firebrand!

Best croissants
Best bread
So happy
Unilocal won’t let me leave a review this short so please enjoy these Aquaquats lyrics. Seriously tho… the bread… omg
«I am the baker
I bake the cakes
Make no mistake
I like to bake
Once I discover my innate behavior
To mix, to make, to bake!
Up in the morning
To start my work
I cannot help wanting to bake a dessert
Like a gladiator
About to meet his fate
I enter my arena, bow my head and start to bake!
Flour, sugar, milk,
I send out for more
An unsung hero I need no reward
A short vacation I’d like to take
After I bake a chocolate cake
Sometimes it’s mighty lonely
When you’re all alone
(With a loaf of bread)
But I’m just doing my job
The best that I can
So the children can be fed»

Come. Here. Now.
So good. Loving the bacon gruyère brioche.
A little pricey, but I think you’re aloud to do that when you have artisan in your title.
Adorbs. Love it.
New coffee/​breakfast/​lunch stop in dtoak

I love this place. They just opened, but they seem to have a handle on things. The pastries are exceptional. I had the pretzel bread sticky bun and it struck a savory note in all that sweetness.
You can tell that everything is crafted with care, and the High Wire coffer is an excellent addition. It is a touch on the expensive side, but this place is a welcome addition to to my morning routine.

I just happened to walk by after my class and noticed it was open so I stopped in yesterday and they told me that they had only been open for 4 days. This place looks fantastic and now we have another bakery near Brooklyn Café and Sweet Bar. Now we have plenty of places to sit down and relax and chat. Everything looked good but I only tried the two sandwich cookies on display. One was lemon with marshmallow crème and the other was peanut with marshmallow crème. Both were tasty but too sweet for my taste. Next time I will have to try the bread!

Firebrand Artisan Breads offers french pastry, cookies, pies, cakes, breads, crossaint sammies, highwire coffee and pal’s take-​away sammies. he looks serious as he turns out his creations didn’t see any assistant. not saving their isn’t one.
eats:Aunt Malia’s deep fried Lao sausage in torpedo roll, cilantro– cucumber, relish, homemade mayo, argula (13)-alternating tastes of coolness and hots. fresh ingrediets, fab bread.
–now at home, pal makes fabuous sammies.
american «kobe «roast beef anyone (14)
crumbs: —
pastries look so decadently fab (4+)
–someday will indulge
–associates very. not all pastries are made daily, some are limited edison.

I’ve been stalking the opening of this place for a while, and I’m sure The Hive is welcoming this crew with open arms. A lovely space, it’s gorgeously industrial inside, with a loft above and some seating on main floor and out front. Coffee bar, bread and pastries. I think they’re also doing a sandwich and maybe salad lunch? Saw a menu, distracted by cookies… Very nice.
They carry baguettes and Fougaisse and challah, and these frame the back wall nicely with their lightly floured surfaces beckoning to be ripped apart and tasted. To the left there are some cookies, various flaky pastries and an assortment of sweets. The Crueller was a delicious churro like thing that I could have had 20 of, and the ham and gruyère croissant was flaky, savory and stellar with coffee. We also bought some bomboloni, which if you haven’t tried are stuffed Italian style donuts which are more firm than those of Doughnut Dolly, but are similar in yumminess.
And if you haven’t tried their bread, the baguettes here are great. The fennel raisin in particular does very well with aromatic jams and cheese, while the olive one begs to be ripped apart at a picnic. Side note, I think these used to be carried at whole foods in Oakland (where the same baguettes I think we’re marginally cheaper), not sure if they will continue their supply there.
If you’re in the neighborhood come Give this place a try. For God’s sake why did this place have to open across the street from the gym? There I can run laps or do the elliptical while contemplating the bread and cheese pairing for my next dinner. Great, just frigging great.

Why did this part of town become Bakers’ Central?! First came Sweet Bar and then Brooklyn Café. Now Firebrand has made Uptown the place to stop if your getting ready for party. The soft opening was yesterday and at least 20 of my neighbors in my building RAN down to try it. We were posting everything we tried and all of us were crowing with glee, a few of us ran out to try and exercise out of guilt afterwards. Between all of us, we tried ²⁄₃ of what was available and everybody was impressed. There were a lot of us to impress so I think that counts as a «group rave».
I got a chocolate croissant (which my teenager did not share), the crueller (amazing crunch on the outside and the airiest doughnut inside and not too sweet), and the almond croissant (my weakness and the best one I had). Reports from my neighbors are that the Kalamata olive focaccia and the sour dough baguette were also headliners.

Wow something new in this up and coming neighborhood. Today I did my running around as usual. The next thing I knew my tire pressure light malfunctioned again. So I head over to the dealership to do it off. After that I start walking around the area and what do I see something new. The crowd wasn’t crazy so who not stop. I walked in and it’s so open and buzzing with laughter. I walk to the counter and get greeted with a smile. I saw the passion fruit pastry so I’m all on it. I asked if the had water the girl was nice and hooked me up with some. so I sit down by the window and enjoy this amazing passion fruit pastry. If I didn’t already have my coffee for the day I would have sure tried their own coffee. The place is cool open concept so you can see them make everything. Now I have another cool place to try when I have to do of my ride at the dealer.

Time: 10:31am/60°F mostly cloudy
Purpose: My eastbay Fridays just happen to coincide with their soft opening schedule. It was perfect timing.
Ambiance: Located in uptown Oakland adjacent to Calavera, east of THE HIVE. Standing on Broadway looking in, it feels and look like any other one flat office space building. Once you make your way inside you’ll be quick to realize new bakery/​café with open prep/​production area. Downstair is a dozen seater mostly counter seating facing Broadway while sidewalk is another dozen seater metal table and chairs. Coffee corner with green diamond shape tiles covering wall with small cut-​out window looking inner back. Recycled wood counter along with sneeze guard glass runs end to end. In a way like horseshoe shape place. Massive air ducts and ventilation directing unwanted hot air away from the front. Hanging string light encased with copper housing for that distinctive rustic matching look. Upstair is 15 seater for gadget taunting folks that may want to get some work done. Much quieter with window looking out bottom production area. There are no entertainment only constant noise from workers and low convo chats among customer themselves.
Staff: A young crew about 15 most are back of house workers. Front of house about 4 – 5 warm greetings showing eagerness to serve in every way possible. I ask what is this and that? They answer back in a timely manner without dead pulses in between sentences. Good indication that they know their business or was train on how to answer customers. Recommendation of best seller were pointed out, but I just went with my usual. No problem there just place order pay and sit down.
Cleanliness: Grade A, immaculate downstair/​upstair don’t matter where you go, its clean. Wanna know how clean? The cement floor is so new, you can smell and see the coated strong odor of lacquer emitting from it. All pastries are behind partition glass or in display bins.
Eats/​Drinks: Ham+gruyère croissant $ 4 and gilbratar $ 3. Croissant had light airy and flaky puff pastry crust. From a distance, it looks burnt and dry. However, its their signature way of making them. Inside consist of two slices of ham and melted gruyère cheese with ham embedded. Each bite the crust would break apart in large pieces, I just use napkin to catch them and eat them in the end. Worth every pretty penny, IMHO. Washing it down with a leaf art gilbratar strong and smooth leaving a slight aftertaste. Satisfactory.
Main Features: Hand shaped rustic bread baked in old world, wood fired style oven.
Products/​Services: Breads, baguette, pretzel, bacon fougasse, croissant, brioche, pastries, cookies, scones, puffs, strudel, turnover, blossom, pockets, rods, fruit fill.
Punch Lines: Hip and happening, high energy, pleasing flavors, drool-​worthy, seats are minimal, always buzzing, personable staff, devotees, well-​prepared, zippy service, can’t go wrong, interesting takes, industrial interior, old world technique, hand shape, almond wood, full service bakery/​café, strong Wi-​Fi, street parking (difficult), YMCA, Hertz, Auto Row.
Tradeoffs: Paying a little more for manual labor quality is better than pour in mixer and come back later. Each item is never the same as the other. Has different indentation and unique patterns that machine can’t develop. That’s the difference between average bakery and artisan.
Final Thoughts: Uptown Oakland is definitely getting better each week. The saying is that Oakland is the next Brooklyn. I’m not doubting any of those claims as I can see, its happening. I like what I see here, and hope I can make it my go to place for baked goods every time in area. It’s hard to find a place that does everything on site. Its such a great locally owned place with good location creating positive scene and jobs for locals. Absolutely marvellous, its a work of art on each visit. Check it out if you’re in the neighborhood, you won’t be disappointed.