Way ahead in bread
Great Harvest Bread Co. grinds out delicious sandwiches and sweet treats
By Dan O'Heron 08/26/2010
TThey say that men and women can’t live by bread alone, but after tasting a variety of hunks and slices from Great Harvest Bread Co., I think it might be worth a try.
Learning that owners Patricia Diaz and husband Chris do the milling and baking on the premises using premium wheat purchased from family owned farms in Montana made the thinking easy.
And the feeling grew naturally when I found out that the wheat is milled in an actual stone grinder — “the only one approved in LA County,” said Patricia — and possibly the only one in California. I became convinced that stone produces flour finer than what commercial mills turn out with steel hammers that crack grain like walnuts.
“And we grind the whole wheat daily, preserving nutrients by using fresh flour in less than 48 hours,” said Diaz. “Fresh-ground flour helps give our breads their incredible taste and texture without dough conditioners or other chemicals.” With that said, I was almost ready for a bread diet.
Then, one morning after I dropped in to dunk a buttery roll bursting with cinnamon in coffee, the idea of living off bread was really substantiated: Fresh bread was baking and the pulsation of fragrances quivered in my nostrils like invisible wings. The aroma grew so rich and balmy that I wanted to pick it up with both hands and down it. Nothing else would ever taste so good, although I toyed with the idea of ordering a sandwich.
“Although we make sandwiches, it’s mainly to show off our breads,” said Diaz. Yet while they have cookies, muffins and scones to show off, they don’t do cakes.
I’m sure if they weren’t so fussy about bread, they could make a wedding cake beautiful enough to be pictured in a family album. I’d settle for a shot to go into my wallet of Harvest’s beautiful “chocolate, chocolate bliss cookie.” It’s redolent of something almost sweeter then the bread — a child’s dream of an all-frosting chocolate creation. Moral strength is the capacity to take one of these cookies and offer half to a friend.
These days, bread patrons are given free hunks to sample. In time, they’ll know which flavor they like best and which loaf to take home. Choosing the right bread triumphs so completely that there’ll be no question as to the winner. But it won’t be easy. I may take freebies galore.
From a recent sampling of a half-dozen summer batches, I must confess that if I were awarding blue ribbons at the county fair, I’d need a bribe to pick out the one I liked best. Would it be a “honey whole wheat,” a “cheddar garlic,” a “mission crunch,” a “cinnamon chip” — which I projected would make incredible French toast — an “olive dill rye” or a dilly they call “Dakota.” This is a creation of millet and pebbles of roasted pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds.
I figured the determiner on best bread would be which would make the best breakfast toast. I chose “Dakota.” With this delicious bread, the thutter of my old toaster becomes a symphony and, with coffee, a good reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Friends tell me if I tried Great Harvest’s new bread — crushed and finely chopped pesto and rich, nutty Asiago cheese swirled in white bread — I’d change my mind.
I haven’t gotten into sandwiches yet, but I’m looking forward to the roast beef panini — roast beef, peppers and onions with melted, aged provolone, slathered with a red pepper garlic cheese spread on Italian-herbed focaccia ($8.50). And, word is out that the grilled cheese sandwich on old-fashioned white bread is more than enough to support a starving student. Combining sharp cheddar and nutty-flavored Swiss, the $4.75 melty is served with a garlic and herb spread.
With hardy, healthy breads, sandwiches made with great bread, bread aromas rivaling the perfumed gardens of Eros and morning sweets to serve the twinkling world of sugarplum fairies, Great Harvest’s total concept should enjoy a long very loving customer loyalty.
What’s next?
“Our business plan calls for bringing into rotation more European and gluten-free breads, but only when we can do them perfectly,” said Diaz. “And if everything works out, maybe many more Great Harvest units.”
From this point, I see a silo going up in South Pasadena.
Only two days left
In celebrating Sushi Roku’s 10-year anniversary in Pasadena, guests on Thursday and Friday can get 40 percent off all lunch and dinner purchases. Ten percent of total proceeds will be donated to Five Acres, the community service dedicated to helping abused children.
Sushi Roku is at 33 Miller Alley, One Colorado, Pasadena, (626) 683-3000.
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