West Hartford Bakery Couple Hopes To Take Folks To Europe, One Loaf At A Time

WEST HARTFORD, CT — One West Hartford couple recently transplanted from the Big Apple may not be able to take the community out to explore fine, European bakeries and their exotic breads and pastries.

But thanks to their new business operation, they can help folks eat like they are overseas.

Less than a year ago, Joe and Liza Padellaro moved to West Hartford from Brooklyn, N.Y., calling Connecticut home in May 2022.

In doing so, they brought with them a labor of love started in 2017 while living in New York — a fine, gourmet bakery offering up delicious breads and pastries, mainly from Nordic-inspired recipes.

Hence, the Spruce and Rye Baking Co., a family-owned, artisanal microbakery, was born. It officially opened earlier in January.

Currently, the couple's delicious offerings are available via pre-order on the bakery's website — www.SpruceandRyeBakingCo.com — starting Sundays for pickup at the bakers’ home or delivery (to West Hartford and local, surrounding areas) the following Saturday.

Spruce & Rye Baking Co. offers subscription bread deliveries and accepts special orders outside of the Saturday pickup and delivery window.

The couple also has "real" jobs in the corporate/business world, with Joe Padellaro operating a boutique hedge fund and Liza Padellaro working at the Edelman public relations agency as a digital strategist.

But, as far as the bakery is concerned, Joe Padellaro's title is "head baker" and Liza Padellaro's role is "chief marketing officer."

The couple's love of travel inspired the idea for a Nordic-style bakery, with visits to bakeries throughout Europe notched on their past travel belts.

The goal now is to blend their unique talents into a unique operation, offering cosmopolitan eats in central Connecticut.

“The bakery takes old Nordic and French recipes and modernizes them to taste like the top cafes in Copenhagen, Paris and NYC,” said Joe Padellaro, who bakes a variety of sourdough breads, buns and pastries by hand using traditional techniques, organic ingredients and long fermentation times.

According to the bakery's website, the hope is to have West Hartford-area folks view bread and baked goods the way they're viewed in European cities, such as Paris, where people purchase fresh items weekly.

In keeping with the Nordic region's traditional food and the bakery’s name, rye flour is featured in nearly every product.

And the list of what can be purchased is endless: signature sourdough to Icelandic rye bread; buns, bars and cookies, including cardamom buns, cinnamon buns, Danish raspberry bars, rye chocolate and rye chocolate chip cookies; cakes such as Dutch almond cake, Earl Grey lemon tea cake, Swedish dark chocolate rye cake and olive oil cake; pastries including croissants, chocolate croissants, lemon meringue tarts and caneles; and confections including maple olive oil granola.

“Everyone, whether it be a 7-year-old or a 70-year-old, can find something they like on the menu,” said Liza Padellaro.

For more information on the West Hartford-based Spruce & Rye Baking Co., including ordering information and menu items, click on this link.