Photo by Alex Alfaro.

A Slow Rise candle burns near the door, though its custom scent quickly gives way to yeasty sourdough and buttery croissants. One question had become a Sunday ritual at the Lakewood Ranch Farmers Market: “When are you opening up here?,’” co-owner Jules Thuet relates. Bread Bandits has finally answered with a Main Street outpost.

The Sarasota bakery, whose loaves supply restaurants including Pura Vida and the St. Regis, has earned a following as one of the area’s few handcrafted sourdough bakeries. “We wanted to expand our reach,” Thuet says. “Somewhere that was convenient…This was as ideal as it gets.”

The menu matches the original shop, for now. The multigrain sourdough, Thuet’s favorite, gets its signature nutty flavor from grains toasted for twelve hours. Daily specials rotate through breads such as cranberry-walnut, cheddar-green onion and fougasse, blistered and fragrant with black olives and rosemary.

The growth doesn’t stop at the storefront. While all of the bread will still be baked down south, the new shop doubles as a pastry test kitchen. “We're able to expand our offerings, and not jeopardize the quality at all,” Thuet says. Beyond croissants, danishes, bagels and muffins, expect seasonal savory items, organic pizzas and sandwiches. Co-owner Brad Rutledge wants to introduce ancient grain loaves.

The neighborhood pantry is worth exploring before you head to a friend's house. Dark blue shelves hold Sarasota honey, blueberry-lavender jam and spicy mustards. Fermented sourdough pasta. A roasted garlic algae oil that Store Manager Grace Valtz swears by. Bags of organic Bagatelle flour imported from France, the same used in their loaves. Ceramic mugs, cookbooks and candles cover a rustic wooden table; patterned teatowels adorn a ladder. “A lot of the brands are local to Sarasota or local to Florida,” says Valtz, who curated the collection.

Everything is baked fresh daily, and the most sought-after items disappear quickly. Online preorders let regulars skip the line, though browsing makes for fun.

Bread Bandits, Mon-Sun 8 a.m.- 6 p.m., 8130 Lakewood Main Street, Ste 103, Bradenton, 941-326-6213, breadbandits.com

Photo by Alex Alfaro.