A year ago today I was counting the hours till my flight to SFO. It was the first stage of my move (back) to California.
Of all the delights on offer at local farmer's markets, my favorite grocery stores and bakeries, a crusty, chewy, sourdough bread ranks among the top favorites. Sadly, it wasn't until about 2013 that I found a semi-decent sourdough loaf at Marks and Spencer in Blackheath. The Kensington Whole Foods sold one and it was so remotely sourdough that I would only describe it as 'an attempt at being sourdough-ish'.
My partner who longed for Irish Soda Bread was also disappointed by the lightweight version of that offered at Whole Foods.
If ever I wanted a 'proper' French baguette in the UK, Le Pain Quotidien would satisfy the craving. Pret a Manger was the last-resort. I made the mistake in 2004 whilst living in Wales of trying a Gregg's bakery sandwich. NEVER AGAIN. With my disappointing bread eating experiences there, for 9+ years, bread was not the staple in my diet it once had been.
So in the year since I replanted myself in California, I've embraced an all-out bread binge. Nut loaves, Dutch Crunch, San Francisco sourdough sliced, wheat sourdough, sourdough loaf, French Roll, Kaiser Roll, and salted bagels. (Ok, I may have only had one bagel in the past year, but it was heavenly).
You'd think I'd be enormous but somehow that has been avoided. Maybe because I eat breads in moderation with careful savoring of every chewy munch. (If anything, it would be my cheese consumption that would add girth).
Perhaps my bread affair is leveling off. I never made a secret of it. The availability of so many delectable bread options at my fingertips is almost enough - just knowing they are within reach the next time I fancy the crunchy, the chewy, the tangy, the sour….
As for having been back a year, my feeling is best described by a young woman I met at the Red Hill dog park, "It's like you're on a stay-cation".
