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and the Fall Edition of La Brea
Bakery’s Bread Basket!
In keeping with our motto, “Great
bread is just the beginning,” this
newsletter is designed to expand
on the La Brea Bakery lifestyle,
with interesting offerings not only
on our breads, but also on living
the epicurean life. At the heart of originating at the flagship La Brea Avenue bakery and extending throughout the world, so we would love to hear from you. Please send us your ideas, stories and recipes! Visit the website at www.labreabakery.com to help us to continue the rich
La Brea Bakery tradition of eating and living well. |
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| Have you seen our new website? Now it is easier than ever to submit your own recipes, stories and traditions, browse the expanded recipe archive and visit the Chef’s Corner, which features a different chef and friend of La Brea Bakery each quarter. Re-launched in August, the site is sure to become a hub for your gourmand interests and needs! www.labreabakery.com |
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September will mark the nationwide launch of La Brea Bakery’s Nut & Honey Snack Granola. You may already be a fan of our Toasted Granola Spice Cereal variety, considered the most sought after gourmet granola in the nation and named by Oprah as a favorite. As opposed to the loose cereal variety, Nut & Honey Snack Granola is in clusters, a delicious, snack, with whole grains and easy to eat anytime.Look for it at your local grocer this Fall and Winter. |
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| Jennifer and John Nugent, owners of the popular Colorado Wine Company (www.cowineco.com) in Eagle Rock, CA, believe in wine for everyone. The concept behind their store and wine bar is to create a friendly place for people to learn about wine, with a nice selection at reasonable prices. While a common misconception is that affordable wine is only available via mass producers, the fact is there are plenty of particularly handcrafted varieties, authentic to their native regions and production processes, which can be had without breaking the bank. The following are three |
| Owners Colorado Wine Company Jennifer and John Nugent |
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Colorado Wine Company favorites to enjoy with your favorite artisanal La Brea Bakery breads:
Fiddlehead ‘Happy Canyon’ Sauvignon Blanc
“Our favorite wines in the store change frequently, but this is easily, without question, always one of them. Kathy Joseph is renowned for her hands-on winemaking during the entire harvest/crush/bottling/ release cycle. Her vineyards in the eastern Santa Ynez Valley produce some of the most terrior-driven wines from this area, meaning that they very accurately represent the micro-climate of the vineyards in which they’re grown. This wine strikes a perfect balance of bright acidity with a soft, creamy texture. We get lemon, pear and even a little sesame on the nose, followed by a burst of grapefruit and, as the winemaker points out, a hint of fennel to round out this unique Sauvignon Blanc.”
Melville Verna’s Vineyard Syrah
“Melville is a mostly family operated winery in Santa Ynez, CA. They use biodynamic farming techniques, including strategically placed plants that nourish the vineyards and attract the right birds to control pests so they can avoid insecticides. This wine has a gorgeous dark purple color and smells like white pepper and clove ground up over a flower patch. We get tastes of earth, spice and tobacco but with a medium body that isn’t too heavy or rich, allowing this tasty number to be very versatile with a variety of foods.”
Kalmuck Gruner Veltliner
“This label is a joint project between two young, ambitious and very popular Austrian winemakers who strive to remain true to the flavors and culture of Wachau region of Austria while producing excellent, affordable Austrian varietal wines. Named and labeled for the traditional working jacket worn in Wachau, this is a crisp white with all the stoniness of the Wachau region’s vineyards, and a slight scent of quince and lemon rind.”
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George Rose has been a welcoming fixture and dear friend to all who walk into The Original La Brea Bakery on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles for almost 16 years. Customers ask for him by name and flock to him for advice on everything from breads, cheeses and oils to entertaining ideas and recipes. Though he modestly refuses any titles or accolades, he has become the face of the storefront, drawing in everybody from novices to gourmands with his incredible knowledge and patient demeanor. General consensus is that George is family, and his presence continues to be a unique, essential part of The Original La Brea Bakery weekend experience. Luckily for us, he took a few moments out from his busy Saturday shift to answer some questions for this firstever interview.
What initially drew you to La Brea Bakery?
“The bread just turned me on—the shapes, the quality and the uniqueness of the bakery. It’s a serious place. A mecca. It starts out just with bread, but then it goes on to cheeses and olives and oil…people come in search of good stuff.” |
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What’s your approach to the work behind the counter?
“I’m in a much slower zone. I don’t move as fast as everybody else, and I think that puts people at ease. They might be intimidated in the beginning, but if you work with them, they’ll come back. We usually offer a taste of cheese to somebody to introduce them to something new. We’ve had a lot of shy people over the years, who now have more confidence about food.” What things do you sell out of first on a typical Saturday? “Black Olive Bread. And Fruit and Nut Loaf [available nationwide this Fall]. Hamburger Rolls, Chapeau Rolls. And the kids love the Spicy Cracker Bread.”
What trends have you observed lately?
“People are still panini crazy, and
it’s not dying down. In fact, it’s getting younger—I recently had a father come in and say, ‘The kids are buying a panini sandwich together, they’ve saved up their money— what kind of bread should they get?’ Now there’s a panini language, like with coffee. Everybody’s on about their paninis, ‘We’re having a panini party!’ At the Bakery, the most popular is the standard, Ham and Gruyere on a Rustic Roll, but people are buying the press and Nancy’s [Silverton] books to make them at home.” |
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When it comes to food, fall means different things to different people. Local offerings vary with the changing climate, affecting the seasonal treats we can look forward to, and thus the traditions we uphold. We asked our founder, Chef Nancy Silverton, for a few of the things that are on her mind this Fall
“Fall offers some of my favorite vegetables, such as beets, brussels sprouts and watercress, which I not only love to prepare at home, but keep these items on the menu at the Pizzeria and Osteria [Mozza]. There are many wonderful fruits also available at this time of year. Blood oranges, pomegranates and plums are so diverse in their usage. They’re delicious in desserts, as well as in salads or as an addition to a traditional-style meal.”
Rather than following specific fall trends, Nancy has observed a greater sort of movement in the way people are approaching food now:
“I think that as people are becoming more and more environmentally and health conscious, we’ll see less of the trendy types of food. We are seeing this ‘life progression’ towards sustainable agriculture. People want to know where the food they are eating is coming from. They want to buy fruits and vegetables and other food items that were locally grown and produced. We just realize that this is a better way to eat, and a better way to live.”
Chef Nancy Silverton, La Brea Bakery’s founder, is the author of seven cookbooks, including the most recently released “Twist of the Wrist.” Her latest restaurant, Osteria Mozza, opened in July, to join her adjoining Pizzeria Mozza as one of the most coveted reservations in Los Angeles.
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| Chef Nancy Silverton, La Brea Bakery Founder |
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1/2 cup canola oil (or other neutral-
flavored oil), plus extra for
coating the chicken breasts
4 6-ounce skinless,boneless
chicken breasts
12 large fresh sage leaves
4 large slices prosciutto, not too
thinly sliced (about 3 ounces)
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper
8 cups loosely packed mixed baby
greens
Sea salt
1/3 cup Rustichella d’Abruzzo
Sage Pesto
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Lemon-infused olive oil (or highquality
extra-virgin olive oil combined
with a pinch of fresh grated
lemon zest), for drizzling |
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Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Sage Pesto
Recipe by Nancy Silverton, Founder of La Brea Bakery |
This recipe is one of our favorites. Combined with your La Brea Bakery bread of
choice, it’s the perfect way to create a delicious, easy and well-rounded autumn
lunch or dinner. It appears in Nancy Silverton’s newest book, A Twist of the Wrist,
featuring “flavorful meals with ingredients from jars, cans, bags, and boxes,” in
stores now. |
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Rub canola oil on both sides of the chicken breasts and place each breast in a separate sandwich-size plastic bag. Use a mallet or heavy skillet to pound each chicken breast until it’s about 1/2 inch think and has roughly doubled in size. Press 3 sage leaves onto the skinned (smooth) side of each chicken breast. Wrap one slice of prosciutto around each chicken breast, leaving about 1 1/2 inches exposed on both ends of the breast. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. Repeat with the remaining prosciutto and chicken. Heat 1/4 cup of the canola oil in a large skillet over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the oil’s almost smoking (you will begin to smell the oil at that point). Place two of the chicken breasts in the skillet, sage side down, and sear them for 2 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer the chicken breast to a plate, wipeout the pan and repeat, heating the remaining 1/4 cup of canola oil
and cooking the other two chicken
breasts in the same way. Heap the greens onto four
plates, dividing them evenly, and
sprinkle them with sea salt. Lay the
chicken breast first-cooked side up
on top of the greens. Pour the juices
from the plate the chicken was
resting on into the pan. Add the
sage pesto to the pan and warm
it over medium-high heat, stirring
constantly, until it bubbles. Add
the vegetable broth and cook until
the sauce is reduced by a third and
thickens slightly. Pour the sauce
over the chicken breasts and drizzle
with the lemon-infused olive
oil.
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In 1989, The Original La Brea Bakery opened its doors on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, California.
What was then the vision of renowned pastry chef Nancy Silverton is now the leading U.S. producer of partially
baked artisan breads supplied to restaurants and food stores throughout the world. It is Nancy’s original
recipe, creativity, passion and dedication to quality that continues to set La Brea Bakery apart as the authority
on artisan bread. Our flagship storefront bakery still thrives on La Brea Avenue, and enthusiasts continue to
line up outside the bakery for our delectable creations. La Brea Bakery’s breads can also be found at the La
Brea Bakery Café in Anaheim, California, and in your favorite restaurants and grocery stores across the country.
La Brea Bakery is part of the IAWS Group. |
| © La Brea Bakery’s Bread Basket 2007 |
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