It looks like just another set of garage doors in a small industrial park.
But these are no ordinary doors. They are the threshold of the newly-opened bread bakery, 460 Bread, in Driggs, Idaho.
Speaking on behalf of all Carbohydrate Queens everywhere: Yup.
I’ve eaten bread from Paris to Pasadena, and trust me, Ty Mack and Jerod Pfeffer know their dough.
I don’t know if Jerod has ever actually used the words “mission statement” in a sentence or not. But in response to a random question about yeast, he replied, “We just want to make the best bread possible.”
Now there’s a mission statement for ya.
They have learned their craft well. For my money, they produce the best crust, color, crumb, and contentment-inducing crunches of fabulous flavor in Teton Valley.
They use fresh, clean, local ingredients…
… and mill their own specialty grains, like organic hard red winter wheat and kamut.
They’re natural, comfortable teachers, too.
Even though I like to think about myself as a maker of bread, I didn’t know the difference between a liquid levain and a stiff one…
… or how either one of them tasted against the soupy leaven known as “poolish.” But listening to the breadmeisters talk about the nuances of “nuttiness,” and “earthiness,” and “bright lemon” brought back memories of being educated by some of the finest vintners in California wine country.
I’m just glad they didn’t mention “notes of wet stone and old gym sock.”
It’s a gentle hands-in/on/under operation.
The dough is alive and must be cut and offered up in a way entirely optimistic and grateful.
There’s something about hand-formed ciabatta that makes me breathe all the way in.
Meet Bongard, the benign behemoth of a deck oven that partners with them in the kitchen. Bongard is a 12,000 lb., 460-degree steam-breathing dragon.
Ty keeps him focused on their Quest For The Golden Crust with his magic paddle.
Ty is a dragon tamer.
Ever wanted to actually watch the grass grow? To replicate the gig for free, just stand in front of Bongard and some newly-hatched ciabatta eggs.
Before your very eyes.
As in all other things, timing is everything…
… unless it’s also the strength, suppleness, and willingness to have a spine cut into you that separates the Baguettes from the Boys.
We ate the entire loaf in one day… before dinner.
If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends! Click the “Share It” button just below, select your social media community of choice… and… doink! You’re the instant sharer of enjoyable stuff. People like that.