Baker & Spice: the Hillsdale country loaf on a Saturday

Plenty of people in Hillsdale plan their Saturday mornings around Baker & Spice on Capitol Highway, and what starts as a quick stop after Fred Meyer tends to turn into the whole morning. Baker Matt Kappler's hearth breads include the Hillsdale country loaf, flour-dusted baguettes, a Harvest boule, a Currant Harvest that makes great weekend toast, and grain-and-seed loaves, and there's a pastry case too. Come for the country loaf, because that's the one the neighborhood buys out.

The shop is at 6330 Southwest Capitol Highway, with an open kitchen. When the old Hillsdale pastry shop was rebuilt, Kappler used recycled wood from his own woodworking shop, so the whole room glows with warm timber. About eight small tables and a long community table sit under big windows, and local art rotates on the walls. The pastry case holds butter croissants, chocolate croissants, morning buns, Katie buns (think of a cinnamon roll made with pastry technique) and a coffee ricotta cheesecake, and behind the counter is the rack of scored, flour-dusted bread.

Time the drive around the country loaf. It's a westside hearth loaf with a blistered crust, and it keeps making good toast for days after the weekend, though it won't last on the rack until noon, so if the basket looks thin, ask what's coming out of the oven next. The baguette is worth getting too. On Fridays there's challah, out after about 11 a.m., made with fresh eggs, local blackberry honey, canola oil and a six-hour starter. The golden braids have a slight shine and come plain or covered in poppy or sesame seeds, and regulars call ahead because it sells out, which is what you should do if you need one for dinner.

Once you're in line, look over the savory side as well. The tuna salad on an everything croissant with house pickles has a devoted following in the neighborhood, and there are galettes and ham-and-Gruyère croissants while they last. Sit down if you have the time, and take the loaf to go if you don't.

It's a westside trip, and Baker & Spice isn't open seven days a week, so check the early-week closures before you drive over. The bread is baked the day it's sold, and if you want it warm, ask about the baking schedule instead of guessing from Instagram. This stretch of Capitol Highway has a real parking lot, which is rare for a bakery and makes it easy to pair with a grocery run, and weekend mornings get busy with neighbors.

Regulars keep coming back because it runs like a true neighborhood bakery, where the staff will tell you when the bread is gone and when the challah is about to come out. Get the country loaf, add a challah if it's Friday, and head out before the pastry case talks you into a second order.

The short version lives on the Baker & Spice page.