Evergreen Bakery's Cruffin is a Delicious Labor of Love: Best of the East

At first blush, Kate Cook, baker/owner of Evergreen Bakery, makes the evolution of her one-year-old brick-and-mortar location sound easy. The reality is there were many tried-and-failed recipes, hours of practice and individual baking and steaming of sourdough in a pizza oven.

Fact is, she and her brother, Jim Sanders, owner of Heartwood Coffee Roasters, have been at it for 10 years now. She has been working behind the scenes baking pastries and croissants. The new location, across North Main Street from one of his coffee shops, means many more items have been added to her repertoire.

The bakery offers everything from sourdough and brioche to rye, wheat and Italian breads in addition to her cookies, muffins and pastries.  

But Cook says she takes the most pride in her croissants. “There are so many steps,” she says. “Some days it’s frustrating. It’s a long process. There are, of course, the rewards, she says. “It’s great eating them and the bread and everything else!”

69 N. Main St., Chagrin Falls, 440-903-1019, evergreen-bakery.com