A taste of true decadence

It was the Sunday Times LifeStyle editor Andrea Nagel who alerted me about a new bakery in town. She spoke of the delectable confectionery she’d enjoyed from the Test Bakery on the edge of Braamfontein, tucked into one of the buildings behind Jozi’s original urban oasis, 44 Stanley.

Only open on Saturdays and Sundays, it was Andrea’s description of the decadent croissants she had tasted from the Test Bakery that prickled my interest, mobilising my taste buds to go in search of the fine fare. She spoke of freshly-baked warm croissants, the French original, crescent in shape and made of buttery-sweet flaky yeast pastry. One was filled with a pistachio paste, the top littered with more-ish crunchy bits of golden-brown sweetened kataifi pastry (made from finely shredded phyllo pastry). The other Andrea described as “enrobed in a thick coating of milk chocolate and studded with hazelnuts”. I couldn't wait to try them out.

The Test Bakery is the passion project of husband and wife team Mohammed and Sadika Lavangee which opened late last year. Mohammed is no stranger to bakeries as he was born into a family of bakers. At 18 he was helping out in the family's first commercial venture, The Upper Crust in Mayfair in 1996. “At that time it was a bold undertaking,” he says. “My father had just lost his job and my mom had a passion for baking, so my parents found a flour mill to back them, then took out a second bond on their home and started their business.

“Yes!” he remembers, “it was very good for us.” 

Mohammed says his wife Sadika is “the creative one”. His passion lies in the sourdough bread baking side of the business. Sadika tells me how she has always loved baking, citing Pinterest and social media as her inspiration. She squeezes in the baking between caring for their two young children. In 2016 she launched her blog on Instagram (today she has 21,000 followers) and soon started taking orders for cakes, which are now in high demand. As her business grew, so did the need for a space bigger than her domestic kitchen.

And that’s how they came to find their space for the Test Bakery — they credit the Covid-19 lockdown for their luck in procuring the space. “The place was really rundown,” says Mohammed. “It did not look like this,” he gestures as we sit around a long table, the walls and floor a light beige in colour with built-in seating around the edges of the large room. A division between this space and the bakery allows one to see into the area that pulsates over the weekends, when the shelves and fridges groan with their freshly-baked specialities.

The left-hand side of the bakery area is dedicated to a coffee machine and to Mohammed’s sourdough breads. His signature sourdough is the most popular, but he also makes a range including olive, sesame encrusted, Nutella and multi-seed loaves. The highlight, if you are early enough to find it on the shelf, is the triple-chocolate sourdough. Think three kinds of Belgium chocolate — white, milk and dark mixed with hazelnuts — all in one loaf. Yum. And for those who like something savoury, try the cheese and jalapeño sourdough: it makes for a great dipper, pulls apart easily and is delicious eaten on its own.

Next to the breads is a glass display cabinet loaded with different kinds of croissants, including the ones I discussed earlier — go early, as they sell out quickly. The other side of the bakery is for the sweet tooths, with loads of choices. Think different cakes, in individual slices and whole, including Sadika’s famous banana loaf made with burnt butter ... delicious. If you're lucky, it’s her weekend to bake the Russian Honey Cake, her absolute fave bake at the moment. It's made with burnt honey, which she says gives the cake a “decadent honeycomb centre”. I can't wait to try it out.

 “This, the bakery, came at the right time,” says Mohammed, with Sadika nodding in agreement. They are quick to remind me that they are still finding their feet, hence the name of the bakery, and they're not afraid to admit they want to get everything right before they formalise the business. This means there's different bakes and breads to buy over the weekends — which only adds excitement, because there's always something new to try out.

“Our passion is invested in our business” they agree. “We always strive to better ourselves.” And they are loving it.

PS: Though there are lots of chocolate and nuts in their baking they do carry a couple of savoury items each week. Don’t miss out on Sadika’s delicious pies made with butter pastry, and for those seeking sourdough pizza, they make a trio of different ones, only available in store, from 11am onwards.

The Test Bakery

5 Quince Street

Braamfontein Werf

Johannesburg

Open Saturday and Sunday 9am — 4.30pm