http://www.rubschlagerbaking.com/

Met the owners in the RC at the Churchill in London late Aug.

Dudley's Bakery (Santa Ysabel, CA)

My favorite east coast bakeries for bread are Amy's Bread on 9th Avenue between 46th and 47th Street in NY. Just 2 blocks away on 47th and 11th is Sullivan Street Bakery. I give Amy's the edge. I spend lots of time in South Florida. A bread wasteland. There are no bakeries worthy of a person's hard earned money. Fortunately I bake using either the no knead bread method or recipes from the Cheese Board in Berkeley. Homemade Sourdough Cheese Rolls. Wow. I have not bought bread for myself in South Florida since 2004.

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.

Some of my favorites:

Breadhaus in Grapevine, Tejas http://breadhaus.com/

Hofers bakery in Helen, Georgia http://hofers.com/

Great European breads and Pretzels ^

SFflyer: Costco's bread, while acceptable, is actually brought to the Costco's as frozen dough. It is thawed and proofed at the Costco, then baked. Again, it is good (I picked up the two pack of the multi-grain loaves there on Thursday), but it ain't no artisan bread!

In the Bay Area, by my order of preference:

1) Grace Baking
2) Metropolis
3) Acme

Semifreddi's has gotten a lot better than they used to be. Have you ever tried a Judy's Breadstick? Non-traditional, but delicious! I prefer the sunflower seed over sesame.

Last - I don't know where you live in the Bay Area... But come to the Marin County Farmer's Market on Sunday morning. About 10 different small artisan bakeries sell their bread there, and they bring lots of excellent fresh loaves! If you have never been, I highly recommend it. (plus of course all the great farms that are there...)

And, you are right there at one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces...

http://www.agriculturalinstitute.org...5091943.active

'The Sunday Marin Farmers Market is AIM�s largest market and the third largest farmers market in California. At summer�s peak, nearly 200 local farmers, specialty food purveyors and artisans come together to celebrate a vibrant local food movement. This market has grown tremendously since it opened in 1987, and has long been considered one of the premier markets in the state. Still, the market maintains its community roots, welcoming local eaters who religiously come to the market to take home the freshest foods of the season and to thank their farmers.'

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.

279 Newark St,
Jersey City, NJ

This place is one of, perhaps the only, holdout of what was once a vibrant "Little Italy" in J.C. Their oven has been doing it's thing for 100 years. Don't let the name fool you. All they do is bread. No cakes or cookies. This is the place the old Italian grandmas's would go for bread. It's authentic and only accepts cash. I'm not even sure they have a cash register because the guy working there keeps the till in a canvas sleeve. A fine specimen of a dying breed! Prices are reasonable, too. ^

My favorite is 'When Pigs Fly Breads': http://www.sendbread.com/

Have never ordered their breads, but have been to the Somerville (Boston) location many times.

While I don't dispute your statement, even French bread isn't what it was.

The Fall and Rise of French Bread

My personal experience in France is that there is a lot of mediocre bread in France as well.

There is also the aspect of personal preference. When I look for bread, I want bread, not a loaf gussied up with nuts or fruit or cheese or olives that are often put there to hide the essential lack of character of the bread itself. Others love bread with these additions.

If you are in DC, try: The Bread Line at Pennsylvania Ave and 18th St NW.

There may be much mediocre bread in France, but I think their mediocre bread is still much better than the vast majority of American bread. And, for about a euro, you can get excellent bread in France. Try doing that in the USA!

And I agree with you: I want my bread "plain," not gussied up. I can gussy it up myself with spreads, if I like.

Speaking of Jersey....

iirc, that's where 2nd Ave Deli and many other delis get their rye bread.

and speaking of both rye bread & NJ, I'd love to know if anyone can tell me if any of the great bread bakeries that were in or around Trenton still exist?

Many decades ago, Trenton is where my family would trek to stock up on some damn fine corn rye.

after all, "What Trenton Makes, The World Takes"

I agree 100% and have asked numerous times who their supplier is but to date I have yet to get an answer. I love everything about that great restaurant.

MisterNice

Wirelessly posted (Nokia E71-2: Opera/9.80 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/5.1.21051/21.529; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

The Tadich website states that Parisian was their supplier for many decades. No word on who the current supplier is, though.

Those in the SF Bay Area.

Try Madera in Menlo Park at the Rosewood Hotel. Yeah, it's a posh trendy restaurant and the food is a bit overpriced because of the location next to all the venture capitalists of Silicon Valley. BUT. Their bread basket, specifically, the focaccia in the bread basket is the best bread I can remember having. This from someone who frequents Paris and other international venues.

Now, a good baguette in Paris... ahhh.... and some brie...