Artisan bread makers rising to the challenge

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001 | 8:31 a.m.

One of the most appealing food trends in the country is that of artisan breads handcrafted, often crusty natural breads that are allowed to rise naturally. Artisan breads are ideally produced without preservatives. Gone are the days when the typical consumer is absolutely content with run-of-the-mill breads produced with processed flour and industrial additives.

Just where the trend started is unclear, but we can assume that increasing sophistication of wine and cheese (another national trend), has added to the artisan bread mystique and increased the demand for these breads. Nancy Silverton's Los Angeles La Brea Bakery, which just sold for a whopping $55 million, started making these breads in 1989 and has been an industry leader of the movement ever since.

During the same period, Daniel Leader, author of the terrific bread-making book "Bread Alone," has been turning out great bread at his Bread Alone bakery in New York's Catskill Mountains. Leader is another pioneer in what has become a growing phenomenon.

Las Vegas doesn't abound with places at which to buy artisan breads, but the city does have a growing number of such businesses that feature a variety of excellent choices. If you don't buy these breads, or make them yourselves at home, you can also enjoy them in a large number of local restaurants. All the Wolfgang Puck-owned restaurants use artisan breads, and such hotels as Bellagio, Paris and Venetian serve these breads.

Meanwhile here are a few places where you can buy them to take home:

Granello Bakery and Cafe

10604 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson

"Passion" is the key ingredient, according to owner and baker Laurie Steed, who moved here five years ago from Northern California. You may have already eaten her pastries -- her company produces all the pastries sold in the Las Vegas-area Starbucks franchises.

Steed started her business five years ago, as she foresaw a need for artisan breads in Las Vegas, and time has proved her right. In her winsome little cafe she also sells homemade soups, sandwiches, a variety of splendid looking Europeans-style tarts, cakes and pastries. Steed has an impressive variety of artisan breads, brought into the location at approximately 7 and 11 a.m. from a separate baking facility.

These are delicious breads, with crunchy outer crusts and soft, yielding centers. All the breads are made from scratch, and Steed uses no artificial ingredients. Just a few of the varieties she sells include ciabatta (Italian slipper-shaped bread, $2.99), ciabatta crusted with asiago cheese and herbs ($3.95), Kalamata olive ($3.25), walnut raisin ($3.75) and a slew of others. Breads weigh around 1 1/2 pounds, and ciabatta, her most popular variety, sells out almost every day.

Il Fornaio Bakery

New York-New York

Similar to Granello Bakery, this bakery has also been around for five years, and is adjacent to the Il Fornaio restaurant, which serves the excellent breads, cakes and cookies prepared by this bakery.

Breads are all made from scratch daily by baker Liliana Quintero. These are large breads that average almost 2 pounds per loaf, and the varieties are typical of breads you would eat if you traveled to Italy. One of the most popular breads here is also the ciabatta, or country white loaf. It sells for $2.95.

But there are many other choices. One is uva, an Italian-raisin bread, which is $3.95, and another is noci, a whole-wheat walnut bread. Filone is the name for the company's crusty white-flour loaf, and the olive bread, made with green rather than black olives, is also $3.95.

This is Il Fornaio's only retail outlet in Las Vegas, although the bakery also services its sister restaurant, Canaletto, at Venetian. There is a pleasant espresso bar should you wish to taste any of the homemade rolls or cookies, and if you wish to reproduce any of these breads at home the bakery sells the "Il Fornaio Baking Book" by Franco Gallo, for $22.95.

Supermarkets

Smith's has an ambitious bakery program. In addition to producing a line of its own artisan breads, the chain is selling the new line of La Brea Bakery breads that are brought in frozen, then proofed and baked inside the individual stores. The La Brea breads are 1-pounders, and they come in varieties such as pain rustique (crusty white), rosemary olive and organic wheat. They are all delicious, and sell for $2.95 each.

Smith's artisan breads, however, are most impressive, and come in 14 different varieties. Most of them -- except for the various sourdough breads and baguettes -- are labeled Euro Classics, and vary in weight from 1 pound to about 24 ounces. The price range is $1.99-$3.59. Some of the breads it sells are a sour rye ($2.99), the German black bread schwarzbrot ($3.59), Sardinian sesame, a dense sourdough sliced loaf bread, and a foccaccia topped with sliced tomato and onion ($1.99).

Vons, also located throughout the valley, produces an entire line of in-store baked artisan breads, all made from scratch in the supermarket bakeries and sold fresh, often piping hot from the oven. Call the bakery in the individual supermarket closest to you for times when the breads are due to be bagged and put on shelves.

The dough is first mixed and then cooled overnight at 42 degrees, so the sourdough can ferment properly. A 24-inch artisan sourdough loaf is already a good deal at $1.39, but with a Vons Club card you can often get it, or a selected artisan breads on sale that week, for the bargain price of 99 cents. Among the other breads sold here are French country loaf, multigrain, Kalamata olive and asiago cheese, the last three priced at $2.49.

Man may not be able to live on bread alone, but the idea is getting more promising all the time.