Rise and Shine for Wildflour Pastry

West Ashley recently acquired a full-service pastry shop, the kind you can and will find downtown. Wildflour Pastry opened a few months ago near the corner of Savannah Highway and Wappoo Road. This is the store’s second location; the first opened several years ago on Spring Street downtown.
Owner Lauren Mitterer has a degree in Baking & Pastry from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and interned with both the Tavern on the Green in New York as well as Larkspur, a restaurant in Vail, Colo. After graduation, she headed south to the Red Drum Gastropub in Mt. Pleasant, where she served as the Executive Pastry Chef for several years.
In 2009, she opened Wildflour Pastry downtown and began making sweet treats and cakes for the masses. The popularity of the downtown shop, coupled with the need for more working space led Mitterer to West Ashley, occupying the former Rococo space.
West Of recently did a quick Q&A with the woman behind Wildflour…
West Of: What’s your favorite ingredient to work with?
Lauren Mitterer (LM): I think chocolate is my favorite ingredient to work with. There are so many different things you can do with it and the fine flavor profiles of each type and brand can help develop a unique pastry.
WO: When/how did you decide to become a pastry chef/baker?
LM: After college, I decided to put my studio art degree to use and went to culinary school at the Culinary Institute of America for baking and pastry.
WO: Why are y’all’s sticky buns so good?
LM: Love and butter!
WO: What was the impetus for opening a West Ashley shop?
LM: We were in need of a larger production space, and after finding the space we’re in now- the retail space developed. Plus I love West Ashley and all of its hidden gems.
WO: How have you been received in West Ashley?
LM: We’ve felt so much love in West Ashley! Both brand new customers and long-time WildFlour lovers have welcomed us with open arms, and seem to like the larger space.
WO: You’re on a desert island, what are the three food ingredients you would bring with you?
LM: Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Coffee. (I guess water should be on there, but that’s not as much fun.)
The menu at Wildflour Pastry reads like a stroll through a land of sweet, flaky dreams. They’ve got multiple kinds of cookies daily (chocolate chip, oatmeal, walnut and cranberry, peanut butter, sugar, snickerdoodle, and double chocolate); sweet (strawberry jam, blueberry and lemon, citrus cranberry) and savory (pesto, mozzarella, and sun dried tomato or ham and cheddar) scones; as well as muffins, baked granola, turnovers, bars, blondies, and quiches.
One of Mitterer’s specialties is cake. You can order one of the house specials, or build your own cake. Cake options include vanilla, lemon, or almond pound cake, chocolate cake, red velvet, hummingbird, carrot, marble spice, or banana cakes in six to 14-inch sizes. Frosting options include lemon, dulce de leche, caramel, raspberry, strawberry, key lime, peppermint, hazelnut, coconut, chocolate, cream cheese, vanilla, fudge, or peanut butter. Wildflour also has mini and regular-sized cupcakes.
One of the more famous items on the menu is the previously mentioned sticky buns, available only on Sunday. Locals line up early for these things. Sticky Bun Sunday is held each week from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wildflour Pastry is located at 1750 Savannah Hwy Check out their website at wildflourpastrycharleston.com.