As I made my way up to the orange door at the corner of 10th and Bay, I didn’t know what to expect. Friend after friend, family members, and my entire Instagram feed has been flooded with extraordinary reviews, mouthwatering pictures, and hearing countless “Claire, you need to try them out immediately!”
It was time to give Ocean City’s newest and popular bakery a try. As I opened that bright orange door, I was flooded with the most incredible aroma, instantly feeling my mouth water and my stomach growl.
Even though I didn’t know it at the time, I was about to have one of my most delicious and favorite quick breakfasts of all time here at the corner of 10th and Bay at Dead End Bakehouse.
With bakeries and pastry shops lining the streets of Ocean City, it’s as if Ocean City is quite literally the Jersey shore donut and bakeshop empire.
Dead End Bakehouse is different than anything else on the island and quite possibly different than anything you’ve had before. It’s Jersey shore meets center city. The quaint love of a local business is intertwined with “foodie” trends that are taking the internet by storm, creating beautiful masterpieces that are just waiting to be delectably devoured.
Meet Caroline, the Head Baker!
Ever since she was young girl, she had a love for all things baking. As she grew older, she went to culinary school at Johnson & Wales, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in baking and pastry. From there she moved to Ireland, gaining international experience and continuing her love for baking. After coming back to the States, she even worked in a chocolate factory!
This south jersey native made her way back to create the delicious goodness that you see and eat here at Dead End Bakehouse. Since coming on board of the Dead End Bakehouse staff, she has tweaked and modified some things using her past experiences to bake delectable goods for you to enjoy.
Starting her day at 5am, she begins baking the bagels and sourdough right away, then the other smaller baked good items along with the cream cheeses. All of the baked goods that you see in-shop are made daily from scratch. The most difficult item to make is the sourdough. Instead of traditional bread, sourdough does not utilize yeast to make it fluffy.
Instead, it takes growing a sourdough culture, time, patience, and some lovin’. Within the first week of the sourdough culture, it is not usable. Like fine wine, the sourdough ages with beauty as it awaits you. Her favorite items to make are the bagel bombs and as she puts it, “they’re yummy goodness!” Her favorite item to eat for breakfast is the everyday bagel and for lunch she loves taking the sourdough and creating an avocado “B.L.T.”.
One of the best sellers that she sees are the jalapeño cheddar bagels smeared with cheddar jalapeño cream cheese. Kids also love their rainbow bagels!
@deadendbakehouse
How Ocean City, NJ Found the Best Bakehouse
Robert Idell. You might know him from opening up some of your favorite Ocean City eateries like Dockside Kitchen, Drip N Scoop, and Sunrise Cafe. He now has a new hot spot for you to try: yes, it’s Deadend Bakehouse! Here’s an inside look into the birth and recent growth of one of Ocean City’s newest bakeries gaining the likes amongst many!
1. What made you want to open Dead End Bakehouse?
“I used to be obsessed with bread as a kid and actually would hide rolls in my crib from Del Buono’s Bakery in Stratford NJ, so I guess I have never had a carb free diet. I am assuming that is where my subconscious urge to open a bakery has come from.
As we grow our restaurant group, I really want to bring fun & unique brand experiences to the area. The building is super weird & in a residential area of the city, so it kind of just stuck out to me and made the building unique. Everyone also said no one ever makes it there which stood out as a challenge, in a good way.”
2. What makes it different than other places in Ocean City? Different than other bakeries and bagel shops in South Jersey?
“We primarily focus on hand rolled bagels, naturally leavened breads & small batch baked goods. There are bunch of different shops in the area, but our bagels are certainly a bit different, they are light & airy with a good crunch to them.”
3. Since opening, what have been the most popular items?
“Since opening some of our most popular items have been the Honey Habanero Cream Cheese, the Squid Ink Bagel & the classic Egg, Meat & Cheese (people have been going crazy for them).”
4. Are the ingredients local?
“We always try to use local ingredients whenever possible, we are always looking for new purveyors to work with, so if you are a purveyor reading this right now, reach out!”
5. What’s your favorite item on the menu?
“Personally, I love the sourdough bread. You can make some seriously delicious sandwiches & even better grilled cheeses with it 🤤”
6. Do you have any future plans for the bakery/bagel shop?
“Not at the moment, but you never know. OCNJ is such a seasonal community, we might look to expand to a year round community if the demand is there!”
What did I end up try for myself?
Through their Instagram account, I’ve had my eye on the bagel bombs for quite some time now. When I walked through the door and saw the Banana Nutella Bagel Bomb, I heard it calling my name. I would 10/10 recommend trying these out.
The dough of the bagel was crunchy on the outside with the perfect mix of fluffy and soft dough on the inside. The Nutella and banana flavor in the inside came together with the slightly sour taste of the bagel to bring the perfect creation of sweet and sour.
What are you waiting for?
Find yourself at a dead end this summer at Dead End Bakehouse. Located at 1050 Bay Avenue Ocean City, NJ. Save yourself the line and order online from Deadend Bakehouse here.
Hours: 7am-2pm.
Phone Number: (609) 814-2130
Order Online: deadendbakehouse.com
