Originally Posted by
ILuvParis
Nothing better than a still warm loaf of La Brea multi-grain with a slice of sharp cheddar or slathered with butter. That woman who started the bakery must me rolling in dough (OMG, where do I come up with these?
)! BTW, she was a judge on Top Chef Just Desserts this past week.
Panera makes a tasty baguette.
Panera's "bread" is awfully mediocre.
Nancy Silverton started La Brea, but the commercial operation sold out to Swiss conglomerate Aryzta a few years ago. I'm not sure if she still controls the original location on La Brea, but she has an interest in several restaurants (Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza being the best known).
Originally Posted by
jakuda
There's a LOT of mediocre baguettes in Paris. I don't buy the "all bread is better in Paris" thinking anymore. The style of breadmaking is changing...some good...some very bad. Some bakers are doing super long/cold ferments, and some bakers are baking their loaves not long enough (for my tastes).
Anyways, in the states, Acme (I'm only grading their sweet baguette) is kind of..."good for the US". It's approaching mass-made status in the Bay Area and the quality is dipping a bit. The crust is okay (not as thin and crunchy), the crumb is okay (not consistently airy), and the flavor is okay (some batches seem to be better than others). Compared to 99% of "french bread" available at supermarkets Acme is very good though.
I've actually come to like Bouchon's (Yountville location) baguettes. The crust, crumb, and flavor are all very good.
Acme is terribly mediocre. I think you can find local bakeries all over the US that wipe the floor with what they have become. The sad thing is that Acme basically has the Bay Area food scene wrapped up, so great restaurants like Zuni and Chez Panisse use their boring bread.
I don't necessarily think "all the bread is better in Paris" but I generally think that the average baguette in Paris is 10 times better than what you find here.
Originally Posted by
SkeptiCallie
I bought a rye bread at Whole Foods bakery department yesterday and wish to pay tribute to it, so I am reviving this thread.
Black Forest Rye. At first I didn't like it as well as WF's Prussian rye, which has more of a sourdough taste and firmer crust. Black Forest rye has a softer texture, which at first I found disappointing. Also, it didn't have the tang that I usually prefer. But it is full-bodied, has seeds and things like you wouldn't believe--shredded wheat, shredded rye (whatever do they mean by "shredded"?), sourdough starter (even though I couldn't taste it), varied textures, just excellent.
If you want great rye bread, go to Bea's Bakery on Reseda and Ventura Boulevards in Los Angeles. They are the ones who bake the famous rye for Langer's downtown. Its ridiculously good.
Originally Posted by
greg0ire
Though I have always loved the sourdough in San Francisco, La Brea Bakery makes out of this world breads. They have become very commercialized and you can find them at many grocery stores and Costcos now. Even better, eat at Campanile Restaurant next door where they serve the bread fresh as well.
There are really two versions of La Brea Bakery. There is the parbaked crap that is sold in various supermarkets around the country. Then there is the awesome stuff that they bake in Los Angeles for sale in the local market.
Originally Posted by
iahphx
I'm always amazed at how bad bread is in the USA. The bread you will get from an average bakery in France is better than 99.9% of the bread in the United States. It's surprising, given that food in the United States is generally quite good (the only other major food group we don't take much of an interest in is cheese).
Perhaps influenced by this bias, the best bread I've found in America is at Le Panier outside the Pike Market in Seattle. I stop there every time I'm in Seattle. It's like a Paris boulangerie to me.
1) I really don't see how you can say "we don't take much of an interest in cheese." There is a TON of great cheese in this country, and a lot of interest taken in it. It mostly comes from artesinal cheese makers California and Wisconsin, but it most certainly does exist and is often more on the cutting edge than traditional French cheeses.
2) Bread in the US is bad when it is mass marketed. Its fantastic when someone does something special with their individual bakery.