ALL genuine foodies have a passion for what they are doing but baker Brett Noy is almost evangelical in his desire to spread the word about good bread and pastries.

He is obviously succeeding as sourdough breads produced at Uncle Bob's Bakery at Belmont were runner-up in the best Queensland product category at this month's The Courier-Mail Queensland Lifestyle Awards.

Noy has been working hard on his croissants lately and is getting good results using Belgian butter to get a crisp, light product.

The Corman brand butter doesn't crack when put through a sheeter and this gives a nice separation between layers of pastry. This is crucial to attaining a flaky finish.

Working with butter can be a bit tricky and some hot-bread places buy in frozen unbaked croissants which can have a lower butter content.

Noy thinks this trend reduces diversity just like the mass-produced cakes and tarts found in coffee shops.

On a recent trip to Italy, the baker was struck by the fact that the locals were eating their croissants without butter or jam. His latest products have a thin apricot glaze and a light dusting of icing sugar which make them just sweet enough to eat by themselves.

They are also smaller than the cheap and chewy monsters in some bakeries but not as tiny as the classic French types.

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