SG's first sourdough pizza restaurant serves up pillowy soft and lightly crispy pizza crusts with a fancy range of toppings
Hanging off the corner of a quiet residential area in Swan Lake Avenue, East Coast, is Plank Sourdough Pizza, a homey, rustic-looking pizza restaurant. Founded by Dean Brettschneider, the same guy behind one of our favourite artisanal bakeries, Baker & Cook, this new-age pizzeria is warm, inviting and neighbourhood-easy.
Everything from the restaurant’s décor — hanging exposed light bulbs and use of multi-coloured wood on its walls and furniture — to the simple menu is designed to blend into the neighbourhood; in other words, it’s done to look like you’ve stepped into someone’s trendy and airy dining room where there is no such thing as table manners.
In the wise words of Meghan Trainor, the menu is all about that (sourdough) base. Unlike the dense crust of mass pizza chains or the thin, brittle ones from Italian pizzerias, Plank’s sourdough base, made from a combination of flours and fermented for 48 hours with natural, wild yeast, is pillowy soft in the middle, perfectly crisp on the outside and exudes a subtle, tangy flavour.
The crowd favourite – simply numbered 4 ($22) on the menu – is a riot of Thanksgiving flavours. The aromatic pulled chicken juxtaposes the sweetness of the cranberry compote, and complements the sour, creamy camembert and peppery rocket leaves. Fans of seafood would love pizza number 3 ($22) – dressed with the heapings of smoked salmon and sour cream make for a decadent meal. Topped off with fresh prawns and wild mushrooms, it’s extremely satisfying and made more so by the lingering taste of the smattering of capers.
If you’re vegetarian, pizza number 5 ($21) is absolutely slobber-worthy (and this coming from a big-time meat lover). It’s decorated with zucchini, babe tomatoes and mushrooms and generously festooned with an extremely moreish caramelized garlic cream fraiche (we’d love that slathered on Baker & Cook’s toasted bread anytime).
For sweet treats, the desserts are nirvana-like spoonfuls of sugar and spice. We highly recommend the cinnamon sugared pizza based topped with longan vanilla crème, ground almonds and seasoned fruit (peach in this case) served with vanilla ice cream. Or if you’re feeling particularly peckish, simply order any of Baker & Cook’s scrummy pastries.