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02 March 2003
our daily bread
Terrence's experiment making a levain-like loaf was a success, as you can see for yourself. (Alas, smell-o-rama and taste-testing have not yet come to the Web.)
No one explained to us that when we left San Francisco (read: access to loaves from Acme Bread) we were leaving behind real bread. In our humble opinion, the local loaves don't rise to the level of Acme--in taste or in texture, and the two are closely related. When we shared our quandary with Chef Ford at Chadwyck, he nodded knowingly and observed that Los Angeles bread is Italian; Bay Area bread is French. So true, with no disrespect to our Italian friends.
Until we find a way to supply ourselves with Acme, we thought we'd try baking our own, and Terrence accepted the challenge. Although the first loaf is a bit denser than our ideal, the crust is right on target--beautifully dark and chewy but not tough.
Terrence has pledged to continue his baking experiments. Wallace is thrilled--he volunteered to guard the oven while the loaf baked--and I've agreed to soldier on, testing the bread while it's still warm for the oven.