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Small business in southwest Sask. produces memorable wood-fired pizzas

Reporter Jason Antonio writes about a recent road trip he took through southwest Saskatchewan. In this final article, the Village of Consul and the Town of Eastend's T.rex Discovery Centre.

The Village of Consul in southwest Saskatchewan might have under 100 residents within its borders, but it has a restaurant that produces some of the best homemade pizza.

My friend and I stopped in the small community of 84 people during Day 2 of our Great Canadian Road Trip, hoping to find something to eat. We were on our way to the T.rex Discovery Centre in Eastend and had decided to take Highway 13 — the Redcoat Trail — after leaving the Fort Walsh Historic National Site.

We pulled into the small village and turned onto the main drag, which featured several buildings either closed for the day or permanently closed. One restaurant, however, was practically jumping based on the number of vehicles parked outside.

Manley’s Bread and Bakery originally began in 2008 because its owners wanted to help their son create space for his honey processing business, while they also wanted to invest in the community and offer something unique.

The business aims to use locally sourced ingredients while it mills its own organic grain every day.

In 2015 the shop expanded to include a café with seating for about 30 patrons. A year later, the owners finished “The Top Suite,” an apartment above the bakery with a king-sized bed and two XL twin beds. 

The owners added a second apartment suite in 2018 with two queen-sized rooms and turned the upstairs into a bed and breakfast.

While Manley’s Bread and Bakery sells baking and honey, what most people were after this particular day was its pizza — handmade pizza cooked in an outdoor wood-fired stove made of brick. My friend and I saddled up to the counter and placed our orders for a spicy chicken pizza.

We sat down to wait for our meals. Several other people were also waiting for their pizzas, so it took time before we received ours. At one point, I wandered out back and found the co-owner tending to the pizzas.

He explained that when the coals are first created, it takes one to two minutes to cook the “the pie.” As the coals cool down, the cooking time increases to about six minutes.

The bakery’s wood-fired clay oven is built using quarried material from nearby clay banks. The owners’ goal is to finish renovations to the pizza deck area so they can better use their oven.

I went back inside, and after a few minutes more, our pizzas were brought in and placed before us. They looked and smelled delicious, while they tasted even better. 

After polishing off our pies, my friend and I jumped back into the car and headed to Eastend and its famous dinosaur centre. We spent an hour there before we were back on the road and heading to Moose Jaw, the hot summer sun slowly creeping toward the horizon behind us as evening set in. 

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