Take Deux Bakery Home with You

Wendy Fleming Fills Her Daughter’s Scarlett Begonia with Tasty Baked Goods

Maurice and Wendy Fleming make Deux Bakery goods on Reddick Street and sell them downtown.

I once heard that the key to telling whether a restaurant is good or bad is all about the bread — if it’s high quality, everything else should follow. This adage proves especially true at Scarlett Begonia, where their brioche buns, fresh pretzels, Yukon Gold cinnamon rolls, and blueberry walnut sourdough consistently set the tone for a special dining experience. Now their secret weapon, Deux Bakery, runs its own counter within the restaurant so customers can take some of that carbohydrate magic home.

When Crista Fooks first opened Scarlett Begonia in 2011, her mother, Wendy Fleming, helped out with the baking. “The second I got the equipment back there, she just started baking,” said Fooks, who tried to give her mom a break by finding other bakers. But Fleming’s passion prevented her from packing. “I kept hiring people so she could leave,” laughed Fooks, “and then she wouldn’t leave.”

Eventually, Fleming did leave to open Deux Bakery with her husband, Maurice, on Reddick Street in Santa Barbara’s Eastside. Deux quickly became a successful wholesale and retail operation, but they kept delivering all of Scarlett Begonia’s baked goods.

Now Fleming’s fans can pick up a loaf, pastry, or cake to go at the counter inside Scarlett without making an additional trip to their Eastside bakery. “We’ve been selling out almost every day,” Fooks said.

Fleming takes great pride in the details of her work. This attention is exemplified in items such as the ethereal little morning bun, featuring croissant dough rolled in sugar with candied orange peel, or the savory Kalamata olive rosemary sourdough, which provides the perfect hit of saltiness to complement Scarlett’s avocado toast. “She does it better than anyone else,” Fooks said.

Using organic flour, GMO-free sugar, real butter, and hand-shaping techniques, Deux Bakery sings of small-batch care, tradition, and family. Highlights include their famous handmade biscuits, creative Danishes, and an irresistibly rich brownie, a favorite of Fooks’s daughter.

“We really are a family thing,” said Fooks. “That’s what’s special about Scarlett.”

Deux Bakery items can be purchased at both the bakery itself (824 Reddick St.) and at Scarlett Begonia (11 W. Victoria St., Ste. 10). See deuxbakery.com.