Double first.

My sister’s first wedding. And the first wedding cake I’ve ever attempted. Not stellar (the cake). But it could have been much worse (also, the cake). No comment on my sister’s first.

Crumb Brothers Bakery

For the two years that I lived in the Bay Area I always tried to keep a good loaf of bread on hand. Not what you find in your typical grocery store with words like Wonder or Old Home or even Grandma Sycamore’s (a local Utah favorite) in the title. No. The bread I always tried to have in stock was often called artisan or european or crusty or rustic. Bread that was made simply and tasted good. A bread that took a little work to eat. There is nothing like a slighty crunchy, very chewy crust encasing a creamy crumb that is cool to the touch.

Most often made that morning, and sometimes, still even warm. And the ingredient list was always short and simple. Flour, water, salt, some kind of yeast – either a small amount of commercially produced or from a sourdough starter. Those are the basics. All you really need to make bread. My favorite of all the Bay Area breads is the Sweet (or Sour) Batard from Acme Bakery. They craft some of the best breads I have ever eaten.

Unfortunately, bread like that is difficult if not impossible to find where I now live. But, this week I was in Salt Lake City running some errands and stopped at the Wild Oats Market in Sugarhouse. While browsing through the bakery I found several loaves that looked conspicuoulsy out of place in the land of large-soft-airy breads made with lots of scary ingredients. They were all from a bakery called Crumb Brothers Bakery which is located in Logan, an hour or so north of Salt Lake. I selected a loaf of their Ciabatta for the test and immediately started for home so I could try it.

It measured up on all accounts. The ingredients list was short. Flour, water, yeast and salt. The crust was chewy and required some effort to tear apart and bite through and the flavor of the bread was pure. I was so happy while I was eating the first piece, that I found their phone number on the package and called to see if they distributed anywhere closer to my house down in Provo. Unfortunately the answer was no. But I have two actions to attack in the next week or two. One, visit the Wild Oats that is a little closer to see if they stock it; and two, make a pilgrimmage to the source in Logan and see what else they make. I can’t wait.