Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The bread nazi comes a cropper

Readers of this blog will know that I live with a bread nazi (also known as the man who cooks). No distance is too great, no inconvenience too inconvenient to thwart the bread nazi in his constant quest for a new/interesting/dare I say it-the perfect bread.

So you can imagine the excitement, as we are heading for the start of our bushwalk on Sunday, when we pass the Beechworth Bakery as we leave Bendigo. This bakery, in its native Beechworth in northeast Victoria, is well known for its quality products. The wheels have been set in motion: THIS will be where we pick up our well earned lunch after our two hour bushwalk. No matter that this would be retracing our steps, taking us back into Bendigo and away from the direction of home. (Note that this grates against the very being of she who navigates = me).

So, bushwalk finished, pleasantly tired, appetite whetted. She who navigates at this point would settle for your average sandwich as long as it's accompanied by a nice cold drink. But no. That will not do. We need to wend our way back to the Beechworth Bakery. I opt for an interesting looking Chinese spiced salad wrapped in flat bread. The BN goes for egg and salad on white bread, a strange choice I think at the time.

We drive to the so-called Botanical Gardens at Kangaroo Flat (not true to its name, but pleasant enough) where we have our lunch. My Chinese spice wrap tastes as good as it looks. The BN is oddly quiet - normally I would be treated to a full analysis of texture, flavor, freshness, regardless of quality. Finally I ask how the bread was. In funereal tones he informs me that it was as bad as the worst bread he has ever eaten. Oh dear.

7 comments:

Alice said...

That'll teach him to eat white bread!...lol

WendyAs said...

I guess I am a bit of a bread snob too. I can't stand white uless it is a very sour, chewy loaf. The seedier the better. Make all the difference.

Val said...

Alice, that is exactly what I was thinking but didn't dare say! But I will gleefully pass on your comment to the BN.

Wendy, those are the preferred options in our household too, although white is good for toast and honey or my mother-in-law's wonderful homemade marmelade.

Kerri said...

I feel a little sorry for your poor BN. That must've been an awful disappointment. I'll bet he makes great sourdough bread. Do you remember Sourdough Jack from California? There used to be a restaurant by that name, and you could order his starter through the mail, which we did...and had beautiful sourdough bread for quite a while, 'til we got sick of making bread :) (or maybe we were getting fat from eating too much homemade bread). Mmmm, homemade marmelade...yum!
Whole grain bread is definitely the best!

Val said...

Kerri,
we can't have any sympathy here for the BN! This will only encourage him.

I remember having a sourdough starter from San Francisco, years ago. We must have brought it with us (quarantine: don't read this!) because we only started baking when we got to Melbourne.

Unknown said...

Glad to hear of a fellow bread enthusiast. One of my luxuries living here at Upper Gully is that I can get Phillipa's Bread and Flinders Bread at the Maxi Supermarket. I breakfasted at the Beechworth Bakery in Bendigo last year. Lovely concept. One day I will get to putting on Oz Tucker my favourite bread recipe, Focaccia alla Puglese - a flat bread dough with potatoes in it. THE focaccia!

nicole said...

Obviously you were from out of town and therefore did not mention THE worst thing about the Beechworth Bakery in Bendigo. I live just up the road from the Bendigo one - having spent 3 years living up the road from the Beechworth one, I was beside myself with excitement when I saw it going in. Thought I'd be able to grab bread and milk on way home without going to revolting supermarket...but alas, it doesn't even sell bread! How is that possible? We stock Sprout Bakery sourdough breads at our shop Bendigo Wholefoods and it is from Castlemaine using biodynamic and organic flours and is beautiful. Give it a try.