From Olive Ciabatta to Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Rolls, Midnight Bear Breads has all the artisan baked goods you could want for sale at their quaint South Shore Kauai shop. On top of that, they offer open-faced sandwiches, hot paninis, and pizza all made fresh using the highest quality ingredients. In fact, they go above and beyond by only using local produce from Kauai farmers. Plus, they use 100% organic non-GMO flour and 100% European-style butter to whip up their decadent baked goods each and every day.
Beyond their ingredients, a lot of tender love and care goes into creating each batch of baked goods from scratch. Their sourdough starter, for example, has been going on nine years and counting, adding tons of flavor to each batch. After using it to make the dough, they handshape each loaf, proof them up in baskets and then bake them in their Italian stone hearth. The resulting robust crust and open crumb speak to their expertise and keep you coming back for more.
Although the bread is definitely the star of the show, they make all their croissants fresh each day as well. They expertly mix up the dough, and then painstakingly laminate it to create just the right flavor and texture. Buttery layers and pillowy soft middles are the fantastic results of their efforts, making it well worth visiting time and time again.
You can trust that just as much care goes into creating their danishes, cruffins, cinnamon rolls, and many other offerings. They work hard every morning to fill up all their bakery cases with these treats and then go beyond all that with their lunchtime fare. Using their fresh baked bread and pizza dough, they happily create sandwiches, paninis, and thin-crust pizzas for you to savor while chilling at their cozy tables.
Do yourself a favor and try their:
Smoked Salmon Tartine
An open-faced sandwich to remember, the Smoked Salmon Tartine will leave you singing its praises wherever you go. To create this masterpiece, they take their country sourdough bread and pile on the smoked wild Alaskan salmon, soft white chive cheese, and Kauai tomato. Then, they add fresh dill and capers before drizzling on the organic extra virgin olive oil. Sea salt and black pepper go over the top to bring it all together.
Pesto Grilled Cheese
If you’d like to see what happens when you take a simple grilled cheese to the next level, try the Pesto Grilled Cheese. They start by taking their French sourdough bread and covering it in a thick layer of macadamia nut pesto. To that, they add plenty of mozzarella plus salt and pepper before grilling it up to a light golden brown.
Local Mushroom Pizza
Available in small and large plus by the slice, the Local Mushroom Pizza never fails to delight from the first to the last bite. To build your pizza, they toss the dough thin and then add their housemade San Marzano tomato sauce. Over that, they put on the Hamakua Alii mushrooms, button mushrooms, asparagus, onions, and tons of mozzarella cheese. After it’s assembled, it all bakes up in their rustic oven until golden brown.
Although they fill up their bakery cases each morning, it all sells out rather fast. To avoid missing out on your top selections, simply make your order online the day before you want your bread and pastries of choice. When doing so, be sure to get your bread before Thursday because it won’t be available then. Other than that, the sky is the limit in what you can order. They are even happy to take special requests on occasion, although you’ll likely find their typical offerings more than enough to satisfy your cravings.
Insider Tips:
-A $35 minimum applies when ordering for pickup on Saturday at the Anaina Hou Community Park.
-While exploring local farmer’s markets, keep your eyes peeled for their bread and pastry products.
-If you don’t make your order ahead of time, arrive early to have a chance at finding your favorites still available in their bakery cases.