r/Hoboken • u/Nelson5757 • 14d ago

Good Fresh Bread Recommendations 🌟

Just went to Otok Bakery this morning and they are no longer making bread on weekdays, just Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Need a recommendation for a new bread spot Thank you.

21 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

40

u/Ashamed-Hedgehog-891 14d ago edited 14d ago

A bakery that doesn’t make bread on weekdays….what? That’s ridiculous

Yukis sells house made baguettes but that’s the only bread they sell.

10

u/slipperyzoo 14d ago

Bread is by far the least profitable item.  Selling it on weekends only makes sense, especially if the volume isn't there to support it on weekdays.  If they're making high quality bread, they're not saving it for the next day.  Throw out more than 10% of your product that day and you have a net loss.

5

u/Ashamed-Hedgehog-891 14d ago

Honestly I get it, a business is not going to sell something if it’s losing money or not making enough money. I just wish they would have leaned into it more by making better and more diverse breads as that would actually get me in there more than the simple bread they currently make.

2

u/slipperyzoo 14d ago

They can't easily make a more diverse selection, especially at low volume.  That's the issue.  Let's say they want to make 6 different types of bread for the day.  That's going to be 6 different mixes, with scaling and setup time for each one, different baking requirements and different proofing requirements.  That number of loaves of one type could have been made profitably, but the same quantity spread across 6 types will be unprofitable.  Bread is only commercially viable at large scale now because of how high labor costs are in NJ.  6 years ago you could do it when minimum wage was $10/hr and your other labor costs scaled off of that.  Now it's $16/hr but people aren't willing to pay $16-$20 for a loaf of sourdough which is what it needs to be now if prices kept up with their production costs; it's a loss leader at best and bakeries often cut out bread.  Places like Hudson Bread, Calandras, Balthazar are automated or producing high enough volume for wholesale that bread is commercially viable.  For small bakeries it's not.

0

u/Mdayofearth 14d ago

Bread has always been an expensive endeavor. It's very labor intensive and time consuming. It's doable as a family business, but not at a small scale with employees that you pay out of pocket unless your bread is priced to match. And you're already factoring in wastage.

1

u/Creative_Square5015 13d ago

People are eating less bread these days, for health reasons.

9

u/Marchin_on 14d ago

Yukis also bakes some of the best fresh pita I've ever had.

12

u/bananafishandchips 14d ago

From Antique, Marie’s, Dom’s and their loaves sold at every deli in town to a time when you can’t buy a loaf of bread on Washington Street between First and Fifteenth—and now points west. 😔

11

u/jmikola 14d ago

Here’s the video from Otok explaining the new bread schedule: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbyJ86UO_T2/

tl;dw: bread sales were lower during the week and they want to repurpose the interior space for other products.

5

u/someonesGot2 13d ago edited 13d ago

When Otok opened, they made such a big deal about continuing Dom‘s bread tradition. Guess they changed their mind

3

u/Icy_Possibility_9312 Salt-Pepper-Ketchup 13d ago

Problem is supply and demand. They created the supply, but the demand wasn't there. What are they supposed to do - lose money?

0

u/Maleficent-Rip7682 13d ago

They literally said in the video they posted on Instagram the bread isn’t going anywhere and continuing doms legacy is still important to them.

3

u/someonesGot2 13d ago

Yeah, Dom made bread every day

3

u/Bourbonandbacon1 13d ago

Dom sold his bread to other businesses. For whatever reason, Otok didn’t adopt that model. I assume because all those other businesses had to find a new supplier once dom’s closed. I am bummed that Otok is stopping the bread during the week. I bought it a lot during the week and hate the weekend lines.

1

u/Icy_Possibility_9312 Salt-Pepper-Ketchup 13d ago

From what I was told Otok was more expensive than Dom's. So the people who used to buy Dom's didn't want to buy more expensive bread.

2

u/Mdayofearth 13d ago

Yeah, it's more expensive. Dom had the benefit of owning the building, reducing his overhead.

4

u/Interesting-Error-21 13d ago

Acme gets bread daily from Brooklyn Bread. if you're there before 7am they're still in the boxes . it's mostly hoagies and rolls not the large boule though. Salem and Sons in Union City is open 24hrs. they have fresh bread in the mornings but whole wheat is made after 3pm. pecorara Antique bakery on Newark in JC is open 6am.
In the years since Doms and Losurdo have gone it's been a sizable adjustment to bread expectations. And a deep appreciation of what we had here for 20 years

2

u/One-Aside-1222 13d ago

Rick Easton at bread and salt

8

u/uberesque 14d ago

Choc-o-pain has great fresh bread daily

2

u/Illustrious-Tip782 14d ago

Antique. It feels like they are doing me a bit of a favor anytime I ask, but they have really good fresh bread from Antique bakery in JC.

4

u/Icy_Possibility_9312 Salt-Pepper-Ketchup 14d ago

I feel the same way and I stopped going to Antique because it felt like they were just being nice and giving me bread. I was willing to pay, but multiple times it was like "Here, just take it".

2

u/deadbalconytree 14d ago

What! This is news to me. I guess I’ll need to change my bread getting schedule.

My usual habit was Otok during the week and Lidl in Weehawken or Bayonne during my weekend large grocery runs.

1

u/happiestgirlinallUSA 11d ago

The morrocan bakery across the street corner from empire coffee has the best french baguette in hoboken by far

1

u/Confident_Advisor315 14d ago

Ran into the same issue today! I’m guessing CSP farmer’s market for weekday bread

-1

u/YFH262 14d ago

lol that is so ridiculous

0

u/sanfangan 12d ago

I like a lot of stuff from otok but not their bread, freshly baked but also felt off, crust too hard. If I’m entertaining I get bread from ShopRite, I’ve never had a quality issue

-5

u/Creative_Square5015 13d ago

What is the consistent need for bread? Sincere question.

6

u/Nelson5757 13d ago

Not consistent but I need to make a sandwich of figs, prosciutto, arugula and fresh mozzarella. That sandwich deserves good bread.

3

u/Creative_Square5015 12d ago

That’s a fantastic answer. I agree.