First Look: Knead Bakehouse & Provisions on South Hampton

Knead Bakehouse & Provisions is officially open for business at 3467 Hampton Ave. Owners AJ and Kirsten Brown opened doors at their bread bakery and cafe on Nov. 18.

As The Scoop reported in September, Knead bread got its start selling bread at farmers markets in St. Charles County before the Browns signed a lease on the former Salume Beddu space.

Knead currently offers two types of bread in whole loaves: a flagship rustic sourdough loaf and a brioche. The grain is sourced from the Missouri Grain Project, Great Harvest of Montana and Heartland Mills from neighboring Kansas.

The naturally leavened loaves use only water, flour, sea salt and a sourdough starter to begin. “When you have only four ingredients, you can’t really hide behind poor quality of those ingredients, so we have to get the best ingredients for that bread,” AJ Brown said.

While bread is the focus of Knead, the 25-seat cafe also serves breakfast and lunch. Doughnuts, morning buns and pastries are available alongside tea and Blueprint coffee in the morning. Sandwiches, salads and soups take over the menu midday. House-made botanical sodas with fresh herbs are offered as well.

Although Brown said in the future, customers can expect Knead bread mixes, house-made jams and butters for sale. Kolache will also eventually appear on the counter, as the Brown family has Czechoslovakian roots.

Brown said the goal of Knead is to revive American bread culture, and the bakery will offer goods that Americans are familiar with. “[You] don’t have to be a bread connoisseur,” Brown said.

Regular business hours for Knead Bakehouse & Provisions are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Here’s a first look at what to expect from St. Louis’ newest bread bakery.

Caitlin Lally is a contributing writer to Sauce Magazine.