State Flour Bakery is Delicious Food Art- But Don't Tell Anyone
I hesitate to write this review because this place's supply is limited daily. But since it’s just you and me, and you promise not to tell anyone, here it is.
State Flour is a charming small bakery on South Dale Mabry that offers a selection of sourdough-centric fresh-baked treats. Open five days a week, its kitchen bakes to capacity daily, and once it runs out, it closes. If you want to get your hands on its delicious goodies, go early!
Friends and co-owners Alex Marsilio and Alex Flannery met when they worked together in the restaurant industry at local favorites like The Refinery, Bern’s Steak House, and the Epicurean. They brought that pedigree when they started this bakery venture at a pop-up kitchen and, in March 2023, opened their current location next door.
State Flour Bakery interior is simple. It’s best if you plan to take orders to-go
Rows of baked goodies, each looking like a piece of art.
The menu specializes in European-style pastries. Some have a strong French influence with ingredients like Ratatouille and the Crème Diplomate used in some croissants. Other items have Tampa undertones, including dishes like their Cuban pastry (available only on weekends) stuffed with roasted pork, salami, ham, and Swiss cheese, and the artfully created Guava Croissant, described below. Visually, State Flour is one of those shops where every item looks like a piece of art. Sourdough bread and unique sourdough croissants are central to the offerings here.
It's a small shop peppered with Star Wars memorabilia in the corner of a strip mall. When you visit, plan to take your goodies with you. There’s a two-seat café table out front, but the bakery is designed as a take-out place.
My eye is immediately drawn to the striped guava and pistachio croissants. The Pistachio Croissant is a large, golden brown, flaky pastry decorated with beautiful green stripes on the outside and filled with Crème Diplomate. The green pistachio-flavored diplomat cream is a custardy mix of pastry cream and whipped cream, and it oozes when you sink your teeth into this beauty. The flavor reminds me of almond cream, and it is luscious!
Pistachio Croissant- a large flaky pastry filled with pistachio-flavored diplomat cream and topped with crushed pistachios.
Look at that creamy pistachio center. It oozes out when you bite into it.
Their Guava Croissant is just as good and will take Tampeños on a taste journey back to those flaky, layered Pastelitos de Guayaba served up at Alessi Bakery decades ago. The mix of the buttery croissant filled with smooth whipped cream cheese and sweet, tangy, fresh guava jam is a trip into vintage deliciousness. Now serving number 28.
Guava Croissant fresh from the oven
Biting into this lovely is a trip back in Tampeño History reminiscent of Pastelitos de Guayaba. Cream cheese and guava , baby!
The Pan Au Chocolat croissants are alluring and stunning. They are another sourdough patisserie, this time wrapped in a beautiful chocolate lattice, with chunks of chocolate inside waiting for your first bite.
Today, three sourdough loaves are available: Rustic (plain), Olive and Roasted Garlic, and Jalapeno and White Cheddar Cheese. They all smell fantastic. I immediately wondered how good a grilled cheese sandwich would taste on that jalapeno bread, so I grabbed a loaf. It’s dense: mine weighed over two and a half pounds. More on that in a minute.
Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough bread- white cheddar, aromatic, and flavorful, is a two and a half pound loaf just waiting to be grilled with cheese.
Specks of jalapeño and chunks of white cheddar fill the crevices inside
Other offerings include gluten-free options like a fudge brownie and an apricot pistachio blondie with passion fruit buttercream on top (blondies are similar to a brownie but typically made with brown sugar instead of cocoa). The gluten-free flour mix is made in-house.
Bacon Cheddar Scones are on of the savory pastries available at State Flour
They also offer more typical baked goods like this blueberry muffin
Large chocolate chunk and oatmeal raisin cookies made with steel cut and rolled oats are big enough to be shared by two (but don’t). On the savory side, State offers bacon, cheddar and thyme scones, bacon egg and cheese Danishes, and the aforementioned Ratatouille Danish. Ratatouille is a seasonal special made with roasted vegetables in a harissa-spiced tomato sauce with a goat cheese kicker.
The Ratatouille Danish is stuffed with roasted vegetables in harissa-spiced tomato sauce with chunks of goat cheese.
Bacon Egg & Cheese Danish with Chili Crunch & Green Onion
Back to the grilled cheese. I was anxious to try that beautiful jalapeno and white cheddar sourdough loaf. Do yourself a favor and try this. Take two half-inch slices of this treasure, slather the outside with mayo (trust me), and stack some Swiss and Gouda cheese with thin apple slices in the middle. In a non-stick pan heated to medium (wait until it’s hot), drop a pad of butter until it sizzles, and place the sandwich mayo side down for two to three minutes until crunchy brown. Flip, repeat, eat. That combo of tangy, crunchy sourdough mixed with the mild heat from the jalapenos, gooey cheese, and the sweet pop of the apples is a match made culinary paradise. You’re welcome.
Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough bread with white cheddar, aromatic, and flavorful jalapeño pepper
Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough grilled cheese sandwich with Swiss, Gouda, and apple slices. Add a bowl of tomato soup or lobster bisque, and you’ll thank me later
Many more options are available, and the selection here changes daily. According to staff, they can serve several hundred croissants on a busy day. It’s okay, get several. If you get more than you can eat in one sitting, here's a hint: try reheating croissants in your air fryer. They’ll be as warm and crispy as the day you bought them.
State Flour Bakery is in the corner of a small strip center on South Dale Mabry
Keep an eye out for rotating seasonal specials throughout the year. If you are concerned they might be out of something you want to try, they take pre-orders; place them 48 hours in advance.
Unless inventory runs low, regular business hours are Thursday through Sunday, 7:15 AM to 3:45 PM.
State Flour Bakery, 5224 S Dale Mabry Hwy Unit A, Tampa, FL 33611. Phone: (813) 263-4371