After visiting hundreds of bakeries around the world, I’ve found pastry shops generally fall into two categories: those that merely ‘bake’ bread and those that truly ‘make’ bread. When I first ventured into Wolfmoon in Bonita Springs, I could see which camp the industrial-modern, jewel box-sized bistro fell into. The space—which Clara Fasciglione and Giovanni ‘Gio’ Baldini debuted in June after two years of planning—is a serious space for a serious craft. Stepping across the threshold, the familiar aroma of yeast and proofing dough washed over me, followed closely by the scent of masterfully roasted Take Two Coffee (the latest project from local caffeine powerhouse Caleb MacPherson). Through the bakery’s floor-to-ceiling kitchen window, I spotted a countertop dough sheeter—a piece of equipment that a ‘proof & bake’ establishment (locales that use frozen bread) would never invest in.
I have always told chefs, “If you are not making it from scratch, you are aiming for mediocrity.” In my kitchens, we’ve converted a walk-in freezer to a dedicated space for dry-aging meats and spent hours milling our own flour for pasta, using machines I specially shipped in from a top maker in Pennsylvania. With my catered dinners, I forage from the venues’ surrounding lands to showcase the local bounty and push myself to experiment with unlikely ingredients. Suffice it to say, in my professional and personal life, I gravitate toward people that appreciate the value of food and are willing to do the work to exalt it to its highest form. And, that’s Wolfmoon.
Approaching the counter of the bakery, located in the Entrada plaza on the corner of Old 41 and Bonita Beach Road, I am drawn to the croque monsieur made with house-crafted sourdough and layered with ham, Gruyère, and béchamel; a variety of golden-brown, flaky croissants; and the rows of crème brûlée with precise layers of torched sugar. However, croissants are Wolfmoon’s bread and butter, so I know I need to throw down the gauntlet with a simple order that would speak volumes: a classic butter croissant and a macchiato.
Crafting a croissant from scratch in Southwest Florida requires next-level expertise. When baking from scratch, you work with living and breathing recipes that need to be fed and watered. Varying levels of humidity, temperature and barometric pressure affect every step of your creation. I’ve seen whole proofing cabinets (where in-process dough rises before baking) go from being filled with voluptuous pastries to a box of flattened roadkill in minutes because a thunderstorm rolled through town. Clara rolls the dice daily on success with her baked goods. Being a chef with that kind of integrity deserves respect. “Temperature, pressure and yourself—even you as the person that makes them—changes every day,” the Wolfmoon chef-owner Clara says. “That’s why it comes to me as an art form. You need to adjust to what you have every day.”
Clara, who runs the kitchen while Gio manages the front of house, mitigates the challenges and inserts consistency where she can. Quality ingredients are paramount for a food requiring a few humble materials (flour, water, butter, yeast). The chef favors Utah-made Central Milling organic flour for its high protein-to-wheat and barley ratio. Higher gluten content gives the dough elasticity and creates the honeycomb-like air pockets in the best of croissants. Every micro-decision is considered. Flavorful, high-fat butter comes from Normandy cows that forage from nutrient-rich marshlands. The butter’s higher fat content maximizes flavor and minimizes moisture, so the dough doesn’t turn gluey and render the pastry flat.
Clara is meticulous in every step. She starts by making her dough in advance, pr oofing it once and shock-freezing it to send the yeast into slumber, so it can develop those perfectly fluffy air pockets. The day before baking, Clara thaws the dough to 80 degrees to reactivate the yeast, proofs it again, then lays it on her countertop. She uses ice water to keep the dough cool. Once the dough is rolled out, she spreads a 2-pound block of high-fat butter over half of the dough and folds it in half then in thirds. Next comes the lamination, the process of folding and rolling dough and butter over and over to create whisper-thin puff pastry layers. Clara uses a classic French method of covering half the dough in butter, folding it into thirds, and then feeding it through the dough sheeter to ensure uniformity and minimize the chance for warm hands and surfaces to melt the butter. She repeats the process of layering butter and dough over and over. By the time she’s finished, there are dozens of layers of dough and butter, ready to bake. The egg-washed golden beauts are best served fresh from the oven when Wolfmoon opens at 7 a.m. “Coming early pays off,” Clara says.
Cutting into one of Clara’s croissants reveals a heavenly lattice of honeycombed pastry with a feathery, flaky crust. With store-bought croissants, I can taste the box it was stored in, the plastic it was wrapped in, the conditioners used to stabilize the dough. When I taste Clara’s croissant, the pure aroma of good quality flour and butter effervesces up from my mouth into my nose. Each small pocket of air inside explodes with taste and flavor. The pastry makes an apt pairing for Wolfmoon’s macchiato—one of Southwest Florida’s best, with a simple shot of espresso topped with a frothy crown.
When I sat down with the visionaries behind the bakery, I wondered: How had the Gulf Coast been graced with such a culinary jewel? Clara’s journey began at 13, working at her mother’s restaurant in Villa Traful, Argentina. After graduating from The Instituto Argentino de Gastronomía in Buenos Aires, Clara moved to Southwest Florida and started working at Del Mar Naples, where she met Gio, a native Floridian who matched Clara’s fervor for fine food.
We talked about the future of Wolfmoon, and I note they should consider opening a bakery in Naples—specifically, a location closer to me. Clara and Gio assured me they would be expanding soon. That’s good news for pastry aficionados, because if you’re looking for a place to gather with friends, this is the spot. If you’re getting baked goods as a peace offering for an annoyed friend, this is your source. And, if you’re someone who truly loves food and appreciates the layers of skill, artistry and sheer culinary dedication that go into each creation, then make no mistake: Wolfmoon is not just a destination—it’s an experience you don’t want to miss.