40-42 Vyzantiou Street, Strovolos, 22263110, NICOSIA
Mon – Fri 7am – 9pm, Sat 7am – 3.30pm, Sun Closed
All-natural, hand-crafted, clean label, no E’s…these are the first things Yiannis will tell you when he talks about Wood ‘n’ Fire. Only 5 minutes with the owner and head baker were enough to realise that this is not just another fancy window. Everything is made fresh from scratch (he doesn’t even own a freezer), which means hours and hours of preparation in exchange for quality. Bread, cakes, muffins, pastries, sandwiches, pizzas you name it. Well, we like that!
Apart from many years in Cyprus, Yiannis has spent the past couple of years in Germany learning how to bake “properly” as he says, without GMOs, artificial ingredients and anything but natural and good-for-you stuff. Being a father himself he thinks it is vital to give our kids nutritious and delicious daily bread going back to what our ancestors used to give us and our parents. And he works day and night to avoid compromising with the “easy way out”.
The very first thing that I’ve noticed when I walked in was of course the smell of freshly baked bread. The bakery has a small sitting area outside, as they serve coffee as well. The inside space is small, cosy with a very rural-meets-modern type decoration. I was very interested in the different types of bread they offer. The most popular (and the one that ended up in my shopping bag), is the “Pick me Up” bread with sourdough, sunflower seeds, pumpkin, oat flakes, carrot and sesame. Very tasty and at the same time, light in flavour. Who said bread can’t taste like proper bread AND be nutritious? What I also appreciated is how you can simply state your dietary needs and guided through which bread is best. How about that.
Another type of bread to check out is the toast, made with first quality French butter, fresh milk and chia seeds. Something to note is that you can reserve your bread in advance and also order platters for any occasion.
Another type of bread to check out is the toast, made with first quality French butter, fresh milk and chia seeds. Something to note is that you can reserve your bread in advance and also order platters for any occasion.Fortunately they do offer vegan products such as delicious tahini muffins. Some of my favourite sweet and savoury pastries were definitely the broccoli and cheese muffins, the “tahinopitta” and “kifillopitta“. Very soft and moist, quite sweet but not too much. I felt like I was having a more refined tahinopitta with strong traditional elements.
Very attractive pastries on the counter include plain and butter croissants, pistachio croissants and Danish pastries. I can go on and on…all I can say is before going to work tomorrow pass by and try a pastry. Are you an afternoon tea person? Enjoy it with some sweet or savoury muffins or home made biscuits.
Also worth noting is that there are some sugar-free biscuits and pastries available. I particularly liked the sugar-free apple pie in served as individual cakes. The fact that it went bad after 4 days simply shows how fresh and preservative-free all the products are. I couldn’t help but notice the big wood oven where the pizza is being cooked in. Yes, homemade, prepared daily.
Overall I felt that they do know what they are selling and they do offer something totally different from the usual suspects, meaning the “mass production” bakeries all around. I will return for that pizza and more bread, that is for sure.
