On Thanksgiving Day, or any other time when families come together to share a meal, the table is never complete without a basket of bread. Whether it is filled with wedges of rustic ciabatta, a thinly sliced French baguette, or mounds of soft dinner rolls, it invariably means someone made a trip to the bakery. For the most part, the days of home-baked bread are gone. Today’s best bread is found in artisanal bakeries, and luckily for Fairfielders, two of the finest are within minutes from home: Billy’s Bakery, on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield, and SoNo Baking Company & Café in South Norwalk’s historic district. Both turn out fresh bread, pastries, pies, cakes, and other delights that have captured the hearts, and taste buds, of Fairfield County.

Bill Hollis, better known as “Billy,” has become famous in Fairfield for his hand-crafted breads. A Weston native, Billy worked in a variety of food-related jobs after college. Friends commented that he’d found a perfectly fitting career, as they’d always pictured him working in the food business, perhaps owning a restaurant. What they didn’t know was that Billy would soon meet someone that would further connect him to the food world.

It was a blind date set up by mutual friends that would introduce Billy to Beth Leonard, the daughter of Stew Leonard, owner of the legendary Norwalk grocery store. At the time, Beth was running the bakery there. They soon wed, and Billy’s new father-in-law was eager for him to join the team at the store. It was at that point that Billy went to Danbury and opened what was to be the second Stew Leonard’s.

Photo By: Adrien Bisson/Dreamstime.com

When Beth gave birth to the Hollis’ first child, Billy was asked to take the reins of the thriving bakery in the Norwalk store. When babies #2 and #3 soon followed, Billy knew he was in the bakery business for keeps. Although it was his first experience with baking, he was eager to learn the ropes and take Stew’s already successful bakery to a whole new level. He introduced Stew’s to the yeast fermenting process, which gives good bread its unrivaled taste, and bought the store’s first deck oven, which could handle much larger batches. Soon the bread sales tripled, and Billy knew he’d hit on something big. When Beth decided she was ready to come back to the store full-time, Billy was ready to strike out on his own.

Billy’s Bakery was born on the corner of Black Rock Turnpike and Brookside Drive, next to Swanson’s Fish Store. The first location was a perfect starter home for Billy’s, but as the bakery expanded to include more than just bread, space became an issue. In May 2006, the bakery moved its entire operation down the road to the corner of Black Rock Turnpike and Katona Drive. With more space, more equipment, and quadruple the staff, Billy’s now offers approximately 20 types of bread, each baked daily on the premises, completely from scratch. Billy describes it as an “old-fashioned bakery” that takes its time to turn out quality baked goods. “Doing it right” has been Billy’s motto from the get-go. He states, “If I’m going to do anything, I’m going to do it the right way.” He says the key to truly good bread is “simple ingredients, a lot of time, and a little bit of love thrown in!” He also makes an effort to keep prices reasonable. “I want Billy’s to be a neighborhood bakery where people can actually afford to shop.”

Another Fairfielder, John Barricelli (pronounced Bara-CHELLY), entered into the art of baking in a very different way, but family influence was equally prevalent. As the owner of SoNo Baking Company & Café on the corner of South Water Street and Hanford Place in South Norwalk, John’s story begins in Brooklyn, New York. As the grandson and great-grandson of bakers, John began baking as a child. At his grandfather’s side, he first learned to make traditional Italian holiday breads, such as Neapolitan Easter Grain Pie (Pastiera Napoletana di Grano). He then expanded his repertoire to include other types of baked goods.