Miscellaneous bread finds

Recently discovered 2 very good bread things hiding in plain site, as it were: TI's bagels, and the new (to me) black pepper-prosciutto "ficette" at Whole Foods.

As I said, purely mainstream mass produced (relatively) stuff. No hole-in-the-wall-scruffy-neighborhood-80-year-old-immigrant-sensei-baker romance to it.

But, I've always found it hard to find a decent bagel in Chicago. Either you can get to somewhere that carries NY Bagles and Bialys, or you can't. Whole Food's "bagels" are maybe one of the worst bread products ever. But a while ago, in desperation, I took home some from TI based on feel alone, and lo and behold, not bad at all. Proper size. Very good density. Toasting to a pretty authentic gum lacerating outer crust and very chewy interior. And cheaper than most at the same time. Sixty cents vs. the eighty-five cent norm.

The Whole Foods black pepper-prosciutto item may be old news to those who frequent the place. I don't. It's not near me, and it annoys me despite the many very good products scattered among the pure hype, glitzy merchandising, and flat-out price gouging.

So, there I was recently, making a pass through and alternately chuckling, disdaining, yearning and seething, when hunger got the better of me as I hit the bread counter.

The black-peper prosciutto item is a very attractively and rustically gnarled whole grain shilellagh, with a crackly, crusty, knobby exterior bristling with small salty, porky, chewy cubes of prosciutto. Bite into it, and you get just the right amount (for me) of black pepper heat. A great bar snack. Would be great with a summer picnic, cocktails. The right cheese would cool it off and mellow it out a bit. Or just chomp away and knock it back with good beer. I found it really a invigorating and satisfying bit of baking.

What is TI?

Sorry.
Treasure Island. (Broadway a block s.of Addision, Clark just south of Division and 55th street in Hyde Park. Maybe another one or two left elsewhere as well. Can't recall.)

This just reminded me that it's been too long since I've run up to Convito for their parmesan loaves. I'd always have to get an extra to tear into on th eway home.

mrbarolo wrote:The black-peper prosciutto item is a very attractively and rustically gnarled whole grain shilellagh, with a crackly, crusty, knobby exterior bristling with small salty, porky, chewy cubes of prosciutto. Bite into it, and you get just the right amount (for me) of black pepper heat. A great bar snack. Would be great with a summer picnic, cocktails. The right cheese would cool it off and mellow it out a bit. Or just chomp away and knock it back with good beer. I found it really a invigorating and satisfying bit of baking.

What a fantastic description. I've been to Whole Foods quite a bit (we've gone there in lieu of a proper grocery trip out of laziness more than I'd care to admit), but I didn't know this thing existed. It sounds excellent (especially since you mentioned how well it would go with beer).

Did you happen to find out if it's a specialty/"bread of the week"-type item, or if it's regularly available?

That's a good question and I can't say for certain.
They weren't tasting it out or hyping it in any way that made its availability seem limited. It was just lying there in the case. (They were tasting out some rosemary bread cut into little bites from the top of the counter just above it---a very soft, moist bread---and I have to say that was quite good too.)
This was at the WF out on Roosevelt near Canal.

Village Marketplace, on Oakton in Skokie, offers a terrific variety of good breads, many of them in the European tradition of heavy breads with lots of flavor.

Some comments can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=24454

Village Market Place
4034 Dempster St
Skokie, IL 60076-2128
(847) 933-0900
www.villagemarketplace.net
Monday thru Sunday – 7:30am - 10:00pm

But, I've always found it hard to find a decent bagel in Chicago. Either you can get to somewhere that carries NY Bagles and Bialys, or you can't. Whole Food's "bagels" are maybe one of the worst bread products ever. But a while ago, in desperation, I took home some from TI based on feel alone, and lo and behold, not bad at all. Proper size. Very good density. Toasting to a pretty authentic gum lacerating outer crust and very chewy interior. And cheaper than most at the same time. Sixty cents vs. the eighty-five cent norm.

Mr. B -- I'm pretty sure that when I shopped regularly at the TI on Broadway -- that those bagels were NY Bagel & Bialy. Now..it's been a few years since I did that -- but if they're the same bagels, then I think it's possible that they are NY B&B.

I wish so very badly that we had more decent bagels in this town.

I'm glad this topic came up. I was just wishing for a loaf of the honey white bread -a good thing in the style of a Toasting White or English Muffin Bread that I used to get from Heavenly Hearth Bread in Wilmette. Their pecan-cranberry loaf is also outstanding, and I have yet to be disappointed by anything I have ever bought there. (I'm not sure about recommending baked goods from Blind Faith anymore - they closed their retail bakery and things just haven't been the same since then. But someone closer to the current Evanston scene would know better than I about this.)

Duh. It never occurred to me that the TI bagels were good because the are actually NY Bagel and Bialy products. Most of the places I find those make a big deal of promoting the fact, so given that these are just on the shelf with all the other stuff, I didn't think of it. That would certainly explain the quality. Either way, very happy to have them. (It's funny that they wouldn't get their own star billing the way the D'amatos breads there do, and the French import bread, etc.)

Has La Farine Bakery opened yet? First heard about it in this article:

http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/res ... ine-bakery

kanin wrote:Has La Farine Bakery opened yet? First heard about it in this article:

http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/res ... ine-bakery

Just opened today. I'm about to post about my brief visit and pastry tasting now.

I am planning on making GWiv's Pork Shoulder Sandwich with Broccoli Rabe this weekend. I would like to find some sort of whole wheat/multigrain crusty bread, in the French bread shape like in the photo, but I'm not sure where to look. Ideas?

Thanks!

Pie Lady wrote:I am planning on making GWiv's Pork Shoulder Sandwich with Broccoli Rabe this weekend. I would like to find some sort of whole wheat/multigrain crusty bread, in the French bread shape like in the photo, but I'm not sure where to look. Ideas?

Thanks!

They had a loaf fitting this very description at GNR Italian Superior Bakery when I was there last Friday.

=R=

Italian Superior Bakery
933 S Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60612-4135
(312) 733-5092

Are you referring to the filone?
http://www.italiansuperiorbakery.com/Breads.html

Pie Lady wrote:Are you referring to the filone?
http://www.italiansuperiorbakery.com/Breads.html

Possibly. When I was there, Angelo described it to me but I can't remember if he told me the name. It does look about right, though.

Best to call them, I guess.

=R=

I am again looking for a nice whole wheat crusty bread for soup and bruschetta...someplace closer than ISB, preferably. It doesn't look like Breadsmith has this sort of thing but I could be misreading their "menu".

Pie Lady- Does Fresh Farms have something like that? I know you go there anyway.

I don't think they have whole wheat. But I'll check when I go today. If they have a baguette I'll be so happy! Apparently there is a recipe in my King Arthur book, so if I can't find one pre-made, I might have to find the time to make it myself, although the last time I tried it did not go well.

I stopped in UpperCrust Bakery recently and came out with a round loaf of the old world multi-grain and a chocolate chip cookie. The staff couldn't have been friendlier and the bread and cookie were quite good. They had baguettes as well. I recommend stopping by or giving them a call.

UpperCrust Bakery
1332 West Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60642
Phone: (312) 829-2000
http://uppercrust-bakery.com/

NFriday wrote:Pie Lady- Does Fresh Farms have something like that? I know you go there anyway.

They do! I can't remember the brand now, but it's in the stand between the bakery and the rest of the bread, holding upright baguettes in white paper bags. I bought a multigrain whole wheat. It wasn't bad. A little grainier than I'd like (I was looking for just plain wheat) but I'd eat it again. The remainder is in my freezer for my next batch of soup.

Chicago Specialty Bakers makes some of my favorite bread. They make an unsliced malted red rye sourdough bread called Monestary Rye that is coarse, dark and heavy with a malty, sour and bitter flavor that is absolutely delicious. It reminds me of something that would have come from my Grandmother's wood-burning oven. Their Borodinsky is also quite tasty. They make many other variations of Russian, Baltic and European rye breads. They even make rye baguettes.