(editing on the phone doesn't work so well)
Desperate for reading matter, I joined the streaming hordes on highway 191. Speed limit is 65 with most doing 70. Phoebe's comfortable top speed is 62, but with everyone equally desperate, one takes one's life in hand when people are forced to pass. So we streamed along.
The Friends of the Library occupies the lobby area; the collection is superbly curated, organized and hardbacks are $1.00. Special books are $3.00 - $5.00 and it's self-pay so even the indigent, if they were willing to compromise their integrity, could partake.
Afterward, I visited Moonflower co-op where a small roll of paté, several cheeses and some breads cost a little over $77.00. It wasn't until I was settled in for the night I noticed the sourdough was $12.85.
Having recently read Michael Pollan's, Cooked, in which he waxes eloquent about the alchemy of bread-baking and the good-for-what-ails-yuh elements in sourdough, I just tossed it in the basket.
While reading his book I looked up a couple of the bread companies who cater to those in need. Prices were fairly consistent at around $35.00 for two loaves, not including postage...which, for Albuquerque brought the total to over 75.00.
I never expected to find such quality on "the street." But after tasting it, I stand corrected, Moonflower is NOT "the street."
I'm a big fan of sourdough but not of sourdough bread company prices. The basic ingredients for a loaf of sourdough cost about $1.
ReplyDeleteWell, as we all know, labor prices in this country range from a low of around $60.00 an hour for "the trades" to the-sky's-the-limit for CEOs.
DeleteAh, sourdough. That's typically the only option in our kitchen. If you had one of those little folding ovens (solar or open flame) you could bake your own, keeping the sourdough starter in Phoebe's warm spot.
ReplyDeleteNow THERE's an idea!
DeleteI know you're not able to, but I have been baking my own sourdough and my own rye bread. It's insanely expensive but so are the ingredients to bake a nice loaf. You have to weigh out the pros and cons and figure out if it's worth the hassle. Because I do organic, it's worth the hassle compared to what I would pay for it. I always thought I wouldn't ever pay $12 for a loaf of bread. But what I was getting at Whole Foods (organic rye) was about $6 for (sold as) half a loaf.
ReplyDeleteHello Anon,
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you again!
It's funny you should post this comment; a few days ago I decided I really need to eat better.
I love bread and have, all my life, tried to recreate my grandmother's biscuits. I've baked a number of birthday cakes but have only tried bread a few times. The results were disappointing, no better than store-bought, so I didn't pursue it. I attributed the results to poor ingredients, but the bakers in Pollan's book make it sound as if there's a bit more to it.
The idea is intriguing. I'm not sure where I'd put the dutch oven, the accordion took up the last bit of space, but I could try one of those folding ovens suggested in a previous comment.
Where are you getting your ingredients? Would you share your recipe?