Bread and Salt

Looks like several people had similar bad experiences at B & S. It’s OK though… their friend from the NY Times will bail them out with another bogus article.

«mmmmm nom nom nom, what’s that flavor? oh, it’s EXCELLENCE.»
–me, after every visit to Bread and Salt
There is a time and a place for your classic new york grease flop slice, but that time is not now, and that place is not here.
Here you will get locally sourced, ingeniously paired ingredients assembled brilliantly on a thick – yet somehow still cloudlike – base.
Now you will get obsessively baked loaves, rustic and delicately flavored sweet treats, freshly pulled espresso shots.
Sure, sometimes there’s a line out the door and you have to wait a few minutes for the pizza. But guess what? The kitchen is open, so you can spend your time waiting watching the unbearable babeness of the staff at work. What could be more delicious?
Long story short: Bread and Salt makes high-​quality, truly delicious breads and pizzas, and while the pricing and ordering and hours and whatnot may not be conventional, I for one, am happy to think outside the box and have a little patience if it means stuffing my face with heaven.
N.B.-I sampled one of the shortbread cookies that the angelic baker Becca made while waiting for a slice last week and it was, no joke, one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life.
****CASH ONLY, FYI*****

Amazing pizza slices with really imaginative toppings. I found the simple ones better than the ones with lots of toppings. It’s worth the wait.

I get it, Bread and Salt– you take your bread and pizza seriously, and it’s good. But do you really have to be so unwelcoming? Cold staff, not enough seating, no clear menu, confused people in line, generally an unpleasant experience. You’re cool, I get it. Why that is accompanied by a disregard for customer experience is unclear. It’s a bummer. I’d rather support friendlier small businesses.

The FACTS — The signs on the doors and on the chalkboard focus on what you can NOT do, not what they have. The sign on the outside said ‘we are bakery’ and the inside one said ‘no bread’. I actually had to ask what they did have. Also, the owner just may choose not to serve you if he doesn’t like you. This happened to me. I wish I could upload his snide voicemail. The discrimination at this place is REAL.
My OPINION — Heaven forbid, you suggest this guy increase his capacity around a BREAD holiday. Bread may be used for, I don’t know, stuffing. I encourage you to not feed this guy’s ego any more. I like to support local business. I walked to this place. But I will not be sad if his doors close permanently.

I went on a Saturday at 3:15 (it closes at 4pm) to try the pizza. It’s very expensive. $ 20 for 2 people and 2 «slices» (2 girls eating). The staff were uninviting and rude. The staff seemed annoyed by the late visitors. The food was good, definitely enjoyed it but the outside area to eat was dirty, unkept, poor attitudes from pretentious hipster staff. The staff don’t seem to value the customer experience.

We’re in Pittsburgh, so we came here based on Mark Bittman’s NYTimes article – «the BEST pizza.» It wasn’t. It was good, but not the best and there wasn’t much of it.
Bittman’s article is such an example of NYTimes ‘journalism’ – ‘We’re so smart and hip that we go to places no one goes to.’ You know what? There’s a reason no one’s going.

Pricey place with poor service. The counter lady passed over my friend and me and served 2 people behind us. Didn’t bother to apologize. Don’t bother to come here.

Interesting to read some of the other reviews. Stopped to try the bread on a recommendation, thinking it would go well with a meal we were going to have. The bread is very good. We were able to sample and took a half loaf home with us. As others have said, they weigh the bread and then you pay by the oz. Yes it is more expensive then many places but nice for a change of pace. When we want some special homemade bread we tend to get our bread at a little local bread and pizza shop near us and the B&S bread was just as good but a bit more expensive.
Tried a piece of the pizza al taglio. The turnip topping was good but the bread/​dough was soggy and just did not to my liking, maybe it needed to be in the oven a little longer.
Cash only!

Perfect hidden bakery in Pittsburgh. Amazing pizza worth every penny. There Espresso is amazing too. You have to try it. There is ATM inside, don’t worry about cash.

Stopped in because of all the positive buzz surrounding the place. The was approximately five people in the place and there seemed to be no real order to the line. In fact people coming in behind us kept attempting to order before us, I’m guessing out of fear that they would run out of pizza.
Took home one loaf of bread & four small pieces of pizza, roughly equal to three slices of sicillian pizza. Everything is priced by the pound. Total bill was $ 34. Although the bread was fantastic, the price of ~ $ 12 a loaf is a luxury. Pizza was tasty and I appreciated directions on how to reheat at home to maintain a crispy crust.
The place is cash only and the on site atm was malfunctioning. If you are going to charge top end prices for quality goods do everyone a favor and get a square account.

It was the best $ 12 loaf of bread I’ve ever had. But if is not as good as the $ 2 loaf you can get in the strip.

Oh my god. Bread and Salt is righteous. It lives up to every bit of hype that there is about it. I had never been much of a bread person. Historically, breads have never moved me; no bread would have made it into one of my «foods I would choose to have access to if I were stranded on an island and could only have access to 5 foods» list. That is, until I went to Bread and Salt.
Seriously, though, the bread is freaking amazing. On each visit, I buy them by the half-​loaf only because I know I’ll eat it all in a day if I buy an entire one, and that feels somehow unhealthy. This bread converted me into a bread-​lover. This bread makes me love a thick, partly burnt crust even though I typically hate anything that’s even remotely burnt. EAT IT — it will change your life.
Also, the pizza is amazing, mostly because the crust is made by the same guy who makes the bread. I’ve only had one sandwich so far here, but it was so delicious I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I cannot speak to the toasts, because why get the toasts if you can get MORE of that bread for the same price!!!
This is a place you should go if you really, really love good food and don’t mind paying a little more for bread (or pizza) than you would at your average bakery (or pizza place). I get that it’s not what everyone is looking for, but give it a try. I was skeptical, but I am fully won over.

Given the bipolar nature of the reviews, Bread and Salt has been crying out to me for an unbiased evaluation. Although I wasn’t super keen on the idea of paying $ 4 for a slice of toast, I couldn’t deny the visual appeal of the photos, so I decided to give it a try «for reviewing purposes,» as I always say.
I stopped by Bread and Salt at 11:15 on Sat. morning. Unlike some other reviewers, I had no issues with attitude from the employees – upon walking in, I was greeted in a prompt and friendly manner by the guy working the counter. I ordered the toast with ricotta and honey to eat there, and the guy helping me asked me my name and told me he’d bring it out to me.
My toast came out in under 5 min., and looked exactly as the user photos on Unilocal led me to believe it would, with crusty bread about 1″ thick sliced diagonally and a generous topping of seasoned ricotta and honey. Starting from the cut edges, the bread was substantial without being dense and had a very pleasant malty flavor, and the toppings added a nice mouthfeel and flavor. However, as I approached the crust, the bread was rather burnt and stiff, making it challenging to bite and giving it an unpleasant, overly charred flavor on the edges. While I realize that this type of bread is rather crusty by nature, the heat needs to be better regulated when making toast so that it doesn’t come out unevenly toasted.
Although I appreciate the amount of thought and effort that the owner has put into his product, I strongly suggest that he rethink his price point and business model, as it is turning off a lot of (potential) customers. Many competitors in the area offer a product of similar quality for ½ of the price – even for the ones geared towards high end, organic/​artisan bread (e.g., Great Harvest, Loafers). If you count the more conventional bread bakeries (e.g., Mancini’s, Bread Works, Sanchioli’s), they’re even closer proximally and their prices are even lower. And come on, if you’re going to charge $ 6/​loaf, at least have the decency to accept credit cards as payment (this is coming from a person who usually carries cash) – it’s just cheap for vendors of high-​end products not to do so, and is inconvenient for most customers.
Whenever I make a purchase, I always ask myself whether it was worth whatever I paid for it. While the non-​burnt parts of the toast were very good to excellent, I simply can’t justify paying that kind of money on the regular (or even on occasion) for this product. Thus, this is a one-​and-​done experience for me, and I will continue to support other bakeries like those I listed above offering a similar quality product to satisfy my high-​quality bread needs. Moreover, I can’t justify trying the pizza when there are many other artisan pizza places in PGH that offer excellent quality pies for what you’d spend for two slices here. 3.5 stars.

I came in here today and left quite disappointed. It was clear that they were trying very hard to put out a good product but missed the mark. First, at 8:30 or so they had no bread ready as it had yet to go in the oven. What kind of bakery doesn’t put the bread in before they open to have it ready for morning customers? I came back later in the day and what bread they did make for the day was sold out. I got a slice of pizza for lunch, which was pretty good, albeit very expensive. They weigh their pizza and the one I got (tomato, anchovy, and mint leave) was 21 dollars a pound. This translated to my single medium/​average sized piece (see picture) ringing in at eight bucks and change. They are cash only and at lunch time had a 20 minute or so line despite only 10 people or so being in front of me. It was quite hot inside. I really wanted to like this place as I appreciate the concept and the location. Hopefully they improve with time.

Stopped by at 9:30am on a Saturday morning in July.
The Good:
— The espresso is one of the better cups I’ve had in town. Bursting fruit flavors and a very hearty drink. You can tell these guys/​girls take this seriously.
— The bread (I had the lighter loaf) is solid. Very good crust and the overall flavor has a unique (pleasant) sourdough note.
— Locally sourced ingredients. This is great, but only to a certain extent (see price comments below).
The Bad:
— How can a bakery not have one of their two signature breads available at 9:30am on a Saturday? Wouldn’t this be their «busy» time that they should be prepared for? I’m a fan of fresh bread, but maybe start a few hours earlier to make sure the product is available.
–Disclaimer: There is a possibility that they ran out of this bread already, but I highly doubt it. This place is tucked in on the far side of Liberty, so I don’t imagine them getting much foot traffic and selling out of one type of bread in the first 1.5 hours open. And even if they had run out, they should probably prepare better to make sure product is available early in the AM (I understand if things run out later in the day because wasting product is not awesome).
— $ 14.05 for a loaf of bread an an espresso? Come on, man. Way too pricey, and not the trend we should start setting in Pittsburgh.
— The table next to me had the egg and prosciutto sandwich. It looked legit, but $ 9 for a sandwich with no sides? Again, too pricey. And, the guy brought their meal out with no napkins/​silverware/​etc.
— Cash-​only. Hey guys, 1998 called and they want their payment method back. The only way a joint should be cash-​only is if you’ve been around for 60 years and are grandfathered in.
— No coffee. I love espresso, but not everyone loves espresso, and some/​most people grab a loaf of bread to go. It makes sense to have coffee available.
Conclusion:
— If this place lowers their prices and works on logistics a little more, it could stick around for a while. But with so many bakeries within a 3 mile radius, I don’t know if they’ll be able to survive as-​is. The product is good, and I may try again, but right now I’ll stick to the Stripp

What an absolute treasure! Nestled in the streets of Bloomfield, Rick Easton has created a little slice of Rome in Pittsburgh’s Little Italy. The ingredients are of the highest quality and you can taste the thought and effort that goes into every bite. We started with the ricotta honey toast which was exquisite. The ricotta was fluffy and heavenly mixed with the toast and honey. Still dreaming about this! We got a piece of each of the available pizzas. I didn’t think I could like each one better than the last, but it happened! Even though we were bursting at the seams we had to try the prosciutto sandwich. Be sure to get it, if only to go! I guarantee that you will eat it on the car ride home! Cannot wait to return for more. I will be recommending this delightful piece of heaven to all of my friends here and those visiting from out of town.

This place is absolutely fantastic. Down the hidden ways of Pearl Street in Bloomfield, behind the indent of the 300 block you find this stowaway of craft baking. Upon walking you are immediately hit with the aroma of blackened crust of artisan loaves which are prominently displayed in grabbing distance at the storefront. You are greeted immediately by one of the floured up bakers or the equally floured up owner who are more than eager to let you try the daily bakes.
When I was there we had an assortment of three breads which varied at the level of locally sourced flour. You are give smidgens to try [do feel free to chat back and forth in debate of your favorite]. Once you select your favorite [or 3] your loaf is cut to sized and sold by weight, a concept that is just fantastic and gives you more control of your budget as well as your portion size.
Next, as you wander down the ramp you hit a selection of daily made pizzas that can also be purchased by weight. We had a selection of two despite having just had lunch because the smell is just irresistible. One slice was the potato pizza [yes i know carbs] which was pretty much perfectly scalloped potatoes over artisan bread infused with rosemary. A perfect polishgirl dish. The second slice was my favorite a ramp and stracciatella [stretched curd cheese] combination that was simultaneously sweet [from the curd cheese] and savory [with your hint of garlic] at once. fantastic. Especially when consumed on a sunny saturday midday on a random porch in Bloomfield.
Altogether we came out fantastically happy, flour infused and satisfied girls. Keep up the good work Bread and Salt and it will not be long before I return.

Bread and Salt completes the Bloomfield experience and fills in the last missing piece of the butcher, grocer, and breadmaker trifecta that areas outside of the Strip District rarely accomplish.
They sell their bread by the pound, but they also routinely sell out, so just go in and grab as much as you can. Carbo-​loading has never tasted so good. They also sell pizzas and toasts and coffee and put their heart and soul into the bread and salt.
Welcome to the neighborhood! Please stay forever.

Wow.
This is some of the best bread that I have ever eaten. When we came in the man behind the counter (who I suspect is the owner) was really helpful in explaining the two types of breads that he makes and the different pizzas. He gave us a taste of each and we got half of a loaf of one (I can’t remember which one), but they are both fantastic.
We also decided to try the swiss chard and bread crumb pizza (for science of course and for this Unilocal review). As great as the bread is the pizza is out of this world fantastic. I literally called it a religious experience as I was eating it. It is not traditional sauce and cheese pizza and if that is what you are looking for then you might be disappointed, but it is really amazing.
I can’t wait to go back and to introduce all of my friends and family to this place (just remember that they are cash only, though they do have an atm on site)!