Bake 425 Brings Organic, Bake-at-Home Pizza to Bryn Mawr

Peter Howey used to dine out at restaurants all the time with his wife. But after their son was born a couple of months ago, it became easier to eat at home.

“There are hundreds of delivery options, but there are also problems,” Howey said. “It’s not what you ordered, or it’s cold, or my wife isn’t home. You’re at the mercy of the delivery service.”

Before his son was born, Howey said he also didn’t pay much attention to what he ate, but now he’s more health-conscious.

Enter Bake 425.

Howey, who owns the organic, bake-at-home pizza shop along with owner Aaron Nocks and manager Liz Comiskey, said the ingredients that go into their pizza is locally sourced and that this is a different approach to typical take-out.

Howey said it’s cheaper for them to buy such ingredients than it would be for a customer to go out and find the local products themselves.

Bake 425, located at 1012 W. Lancaster Ave., offers fresh dough every day, and in addition to their organic pizzas, they also offer wheat dough and gluten-free pizzas, about which they’ve already received a ton of positive feedback, Howey said.

Some of the pizzas on the menu include the “Earth Lover,” with olive oil, portabella mushroom, shitake mushroom, fresh sage, fresh thyme, part skim mozzarella, goat cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil, and the “Maryland Crab,” with lump crab meat, gruyere cheese, roasted red onion, scallions and a dusting of Old Bay. They have salads and house-made dressings on the menu, too.

The pizzas come with a demonstration on how to bake it at home.

And aside from fresh herbs serving as window decorations, Bake 425 also uses fresh herbs in their pizzas.

“Fresh oregano tastes different and smells different,” Howey said. “It’s such a great aroma.”

Before Bake 425 opened officially on Monday, Howey and Nocks worked to distribute coupons at playgrounds, toy stores, gyms where they provide childcare and yoga studios, as well as the Bryn Mawr Running Company, Shipley School and at schools in Radnor. The reasoning for this is that they see their typical consumer as parents with young children.

They also have some desserts and are planning on doing wine pairings and fun in-store events for kids in the future.

Comiskey came to Bake 425 from working at the Phoenixville Farmers Market.

“I’ve always been passionate about organic, locally grown foods,” Comiskey said. “I love sustainable agriculture, and we have a compost container outside to throw our extra veggies and stems.”

They also put a great deal of effort into the aesthetics of the store’s interior, which features mock stoves, wall-mounted wine bottles, and a colorful chalkboard that details their local food sources.

“It’s great working with such enthusiastic pizzaristas,” Comiskey said.

Bake 425’s hours are 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.