If I Kneaded You

Henri rises to the occasion to share bread’s origin and where to find the best locally

By Henri Bourride

“There is not a thing that is more positive than bread.”
– Fyodor Dostoevsky

Growing up, Henri assumed that a loaf of bread was always, well, a loaf—both his pere and mere were proud and masterful if non-professional bakers. I’ll never forget the time in third grade when Ricky Thompkins pulled a sandwich out of his Brady Bunch lunchbox. I was shocked. The bread slices were identical, white and airy, looking like they could float away on the breeze, along with their thin, pale-beige “crusts.”

“What?” he said. “You’ve never seen a sandwich?”

It’s not that,” I said. “It’s that it looks so…perfect.” (I almost said “boring.”)

I took a bite of my own brie and canard-breast sandwich, the chewy sourdough bread slices thick and hearty, the aioli adding just the right hint of a sting to my sinuses.

Ricky offered me a bite of his. Lunch meat. With his mom’s “special sauce.” Catsup and Miracle Whip. Some kind of shiny yellow cheese drooping off one side. (I would learn, many years later, that it wasn’t cheese at all, but something called Velveeta.)

“Merci mais non merci,” I said.

He shrugged and bit into the Hostess Cupcake in his other hand.

That was when I first learned that you could actually buy bread in most stores—and that it came pre-sliced.

Wonder(ful).

All Rise

Bread, in some form or another, has been part of the human diet for at least 30,000 years and, along with the discoveries of wine and beer (probably around 6000 BCE) played an important role in hunters becoming gatherers. “Go ahead and try to track down that woolly mammoth, Dear. I’m going to see if those grapes have fermented yet…”

Much more recently bread has seen a renaissance/redefinition, moving away from the mid-20^th century generic white breads to whole wheat, rye, focaccia (originally from Italy), pita (Greece), and many more. (Note that the sinfully delicious Indian fry bread sold on reservations and roadside rest stops in the Southwest was not part of the tribes’ original diets but was introduced to them by European settlers—the Pima, for example, did not have what we’d call weight issues pre-colonization. Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Columbus).

Today bread is integral to almost every culture throughout the world, though it takes many different forms: bammy from Jamaica, injera from Ethiopia, naan from India, challah from the Jewish culture, paska from Ukraine, and kalallit kaagiat from Greenland (perhaps the real reason Petit Mains wants to seize control of that “strategically located” island).

And why not? Making it couldn’t be simpler. And the four key ingredients (flour, water, yeast, and salt) are available pretty much throughout the world.

Of course it’s the yeast that makes it bread, the “leavening agent” that makes it rise by injecting air bubbles into the mixture, the yeast basically belching carbon dioxide into the dough as it consumes natural sugars.

Sourdough

Sourdough is one of the most ancient varieties of bread, dating at least to 5000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent. The Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology points out that, “Bread production relied on the use of sourdough as a leavening agent for most of human history; the use of baker’s yeast as a leavening agent dates back less than 150 years.”

Northern California, of course, is famous for its sourdough, linked closely to the Gold Rush of 1849, when miners shared sourdough starters. In San Francisco, the weather (fog) provided ideal fermenting conditions for the wild yeast. Boudin Bakery, founded in 1849, still uses its original starter (a pre-fermented mixture of flour, water, wild yeast, and lactobacilli). By 1854, there were 63 bakeries in the City, and several of the originals still exist. In 1969, researchers from the U.S. Department of Agricultural (watch out for DOGE, mes amis!) isolated the wild yeast that gave San Francisco sourdough its unique flavor and dubbed it lactobacillus sanfrancisco.

Local Craft Breads

The last twenty years or so have seen a remarkable shift toward “craft” breads (paralleling the revolution in craft beers). Additionally, the COVID years saw a huge spike in folks making bread at home—particularly sourdough—not only because of the simple ingredients and process, but as they found newly unscheduled time on their hands.

As any farmers market, S&S Produce, New Earth, or Co-Op shopper knows, locally made craft breads are ubiquitous here in Chico—except when racks are bare, which, due to the high demand, occurs frequently.

One of Henri’s favorite local breads is the whole wheat sourdough from all-organic Camina (530/892-2893; caminabakery.com). Though retailing for around $10 a loaf, it goes a long way and is absolutely heavenly sliced for French toast or grilled-cheese sandwiches (try it with Cambozola—half Camembert, half Gorgonzola), torn from the loaf and dipped in olive oil, or simply sliced and toasted and spread with lots of butter. Camina’s Country Sourdough, Olive Country, and baguettes are also delicious. Camina does not have a storefront retail outlet but has a kiosk at the Wednesday and Saturday Chico Certified Farmers Markets (plus the mid-town Sacramento farmers market on Saturdays). They deliver Wednesday and Friday to Chico Natural Foods Co-Op, S&S Produce, and New Earth Market in Chico, plus Marigold Marketplace in Durham, New Earth in Yuba City, and Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op. At least a dozen Chico restaurants serve their bread, including Sicilian Café, Wine Time, and Farm Star Pizza.

Tin Roof Bakery (530/892-2893; tinroofbakery.com) is another Chico (and Henri) favorite, especially their Chico Sourdough and Rosemary Focaccia (most come sliced or whole loaf—Henri prefers whole loaf, bien sur. Their Long Levains (baguettes) are also delicious. Tin Roof breads are sold Wednesday and Saturday at the Chico Certified Farmers Markets, and on Sundays, June–October, at the Meriam Park CCFM location. They also sell their bread at their café, 627 Broadway, though the focus is more on breakfast and lunch offerings than the breads. Excellent galettes, scones, muffins, croissants, quiches, sandwiches, etc.

Another local favorite is Miller’s Bake House (503/532-6384; millersbakehouse.com) based in Yankee Hill and available at the Chico Certified Farmers Market every Saturday. Henri rose early one recent Saturday morning planning to pick up a couple of loaves about which he’d heard such raves. Alas, my near-dawn arrival (9:30 a.m., mind you!) was too late. Sold out. Every variety, every loaf. I asked if it happened frequently. “Every weekend. We tell people to get here before 9.”

I could only stare at the lonely signs on the bare shelves.

Note: Miller’s website is a gem, fascinating and hilariously written, with information on the history of bread, the story of the bakery itself, and on the farms from which their ingredients are sourced, as well as on Dave Miller’s connections to Michael Pollan and John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

In addition to these local bakeries, there are several franchise bakeries in town that offer a wide range of excellent freshly baked craft breads, including Great Harvest Bread (three locations); Panera Bread (one location); and West Coast Sourdough (one location, second one opening soon). Additionally, Safeway, Raley’s and Costco bake bread daily on site, and their products are actually quite good. Trader Joe’s breads—also tasty—are baked at several north state locations and delivered fresh daily from Stockton.