Equal parts bakery and restaurant, Firebake in the East Coast serves up freshly baked sourdough loaves, European classics, and delightful desserts
Bread is arguably the cornerstone of modern cooking – perfected at the dawn of the agricultural age, and the staple of many civilisations. But today, we tend to take this humble food for granted, relegating it to sides, or merely using it as component in a sandwich. But at Firebake, the passion project of veteran food and beverage consultant, Konstantino Blokbergen, bread takes centrestage – quite literally, considering its rustic dining area is built around a 37-tonne brick oven.
It’s from these two traditional European ovens (one dome-shaped, and the other tunnel-shaped) that the bakery creates its four signature loaves – The Wave (sourdough), The Field (wholegrain), The Rock (rye) and The Valley (fruit). Firebake’s bread is crafted by hand, baked fresh each day and is available for takeaway. The sourdough Wave loaf is the bakery’s signature, and probably the first one I’d recommend.
While bread is certainly the restaurant’s raison d’être, Firebake offers diners a comprehensive menu of European classics that complement its breads.
My first taste of Firebake’s offerings was the 4-spice chicken liver pate – a rich, creamy pate made with chicken liver, (very good) butter, cocoa butter, shallot reduction, and a 4-spice topping made with pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Delightfully creamy, the pate is another way to truly enjoy Firebake’s quality breads.
Moving away from bread, my next dish was the smoked eggplant with spiced hummus, tomato, and manchego cheese. The star of this rustic dish is undoubtedly the sweet green and red heirloom tomatoes that come marinated in oil, mint, and oregano.
More substantial dishes arrived in the form of a prawn capellini aglio olio served with Sakura ebi. The capellini, served al dente of course, goes easy on the spice but offers lots of complexity thanks to the prawn oil, sakura ebi, and the fire-grilled Australian prawns.
Meat-lovers aren’t left out here – also on the menu is a 300-gram Rangers Valley striploin. Char-grilled perfectly to a pink medium rare, the well-marbled beef comes served with crunchy, nutty Jerusalem artichokes cooked with butter and thyme.
Dessert comes full circle with the Firebake bread and butter pudding, a sweet treat that serves to showcase the bakery’s fruit bread. The dish constructed with Valley fruit loaf is toasted with butter and layered with a decadent créme anglaise, before being cooked in a woodfire oven for 15 minutes. This rendition of the classic dessert is rich, creamy, and even made me feel a little nostalgic.
Again, it’s important to mention that Firebake is much more than just a bakery. Konstantino Blokbergen’s attention to detail is apparent beyond the bread, and extends to the quality of the heirloom tomatoes and prawns he uses in other dishes. Firebake is clearly a passion project and a restaurant I look forward to breaking bread at again.
Firebake, Level 1, 237 East Coast Road, Singapore 428930. p. 6440 1228.
Looking for more freshly baked bread? Read our guide to the best bakeries in Singapore and our guide on where to get the best croissants.