Is this the best bread in Chicago?

I'm so impressed with the bread I've been eating over the last week that I thought it important to give a more enticing title to the thread started by Justjoan . I want to concur with Joan's assessment of the breads currently being made by newly formed bakery, CRUST. I savored their bread at the event last week, and then participated in a making and tasting demonstration with the bakers, this week. Their sourcing of the finest organic flours and grains, the depth of their bread-making knowledge both historical and scientific, and their artisanal attention to detail in the manufacture of every loaf is astonishing.

A friend from Paris said it was some of the best bread she's ever had, (not that being Parisian imparts any special bread-rating credential not held by your average lthforum-er). But it is some of the best bread I've ever had, from bakers who have seemingly turned over their lives to flour, water, yeast, and salt, and made all the more impressive by the breadth, style and variety of their loaves.

They sell direct to consumers at the Edgewater Farmers Market (around 6000 N. Bdwy) on Saturday, 8-12, and they supply True Nature Foods (next door to the market), The Cheese Stands Alone, and the Artisan Cellar (at the Merchandise Mart.) Bakers Charles Foulkes and Ken ? (last name I've managed to miss) will be pleased to talk to you for hours about bread.

Their website is a little thin, explainable by the fact that they are still baking most of their product in their own kitchen, or in kitchens-for-rent.

This may currently be the best bread in Chicago. Would calling them the Poilâne of Chicago be too strong?
Alfonso

I would hesitate to compare any bread to Poilane but I must go and sample their product. I am a pastry school graduate and, while I always appreciated good bread, now I really understand what makes bread excellent or crappy and it makes it more fun to try stuff from different bakers. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hi! This is Charles, the baker owner of Crust.
Fresh bread was delivered this afternoon to The Artisan Cellar (Merchandise Mart, riverside entrance), and True Nature Foods (6000 N. Broadway).

Thanks! I'm right by True Nature.

I dashed over and bought a sourdough baguette and a multigrain. The packaging is very rustic and lovely and it was so nice to see the bread wasn't wrapped in plastic.

I thought I'd wait until my husband got home but the baguette was calling me. The bread was obviously mixed well. The air holes were nice and uneven and the crumb was well developed--great texture quality! The crust was nicely developed. In all, a really lovely bread. As I don't own my own deck oven, I will definitely be getting all my bread from Crust. Thank you.

Charles,

Were you selling your bread at Bleeding Heart?

Yes, I did sell bread at Bleeding Heart Bakery up until April this year. Michelle Garcia was my baking mentor during my internship at Cooking Fools.

Charles -

Is there any chance that you will be selling your bread to the south of the city any time soon?

I am not sure about any up and coming South Side venues, however, we do ship. Furthermore, since we do not have a retail store yet, we do drop off as far south as the Field Museum.

Field Museum is still pretty central city to me. I then tried to get contact info from your website, but it wasn't cooperating. I think it needs some tweaking.

Good breadmakers seem like wizards to me. You take elemental ingredients and turn them into magic. I have long tried to make a decent multi-grain bread at home & they never turn out right. I respect your artistry.

i'm glad others have also discovered this terrific bread. tho, sadly, i doubt if i'll be near any of your locations to buy it regularly. charles, i wonder if you have thought about participating in the green city market. that would get you a wider market. (and i'd be able to buy it!) or are you baking as fast as you can as it is. justjoan

Hello JustJoan,
I would love to sell at the Green City Market. In May, we attended the Michael Pollan lecture to celebrate the opening of the market season. At the time we offered Michael and Abbey Mandel (president of the Green City Market) samples. Abbey said that she would love us in the Green City Market. Furtermore, Michael Altnberg (also on the Green City Board and who uses the red ribbon multi-grain at Bistro Campagne), would also like to see us participate. Unfortunately, we were too late for the 2006 season.
We would love to participate in a wider variety of markets next year. If things keep going well, we look forward to it.
Thanks
Charles
Crust

One more thing for JustJoan,
Since we do not have a store front, we ship and are happy to drop off in the city.
Charles

thanks charles, i wish your bakery great success and look forward to buying your loaves next summer at green city. justjoan

Charles, will you be at Edgewater Market tomorrow morning? Just want to make sure before I make the trip up there.

Also, is there a list of breads that you make? I checked the website but that area does not seem to be working. Thank you!

Yes I will be at the Edgewater Farmers Market tomorrow. I have a Sourdough Multigrain/ Laughing Crow 5 Seed / Apple Cider Rye/ Flax Seed and Sourdough Boule's and Bagettes.
I look forward to seeing you at the market! Charles

Well I took a drive up to the Edgewater Market this morning in search of CRUST. When I got home and tried it, I was compelled to take a photograph. If I wasn't in such a hurry to try the delicious looking assortment, I would have photographed them first with the wrappings which are themselves delightful. I loved every bread I tried, each for a different reason.



From left to right: Sourdough Multigrain, Apple Cider Rye, Sourdough Baguette, Flax Seed Wheat Germ Sourdough, and Laughing Crow Seed

nice. thanks MKHesq for the pictures. i can't wait to try the baguette. it's hard to find a satisfying baguette in this town.i've found skinny ones (like red hen) which are delicious but too crusty for sandwiches (IMO) and fatter ones that dont have a real authentic crust. i have high hopes for 'crust's' baguette. it looks fat enough to be useable for sandwiches, and the well placed holes look convincingly authentic. justjoan

Having bought a baguette at the Edgewater market this morning and eaten part at lunch, I can't see this bread for making a sandwich. It is too crusty. The apple cider rye, on the other hand....

Not to rain on Crust's parade, as it looks like terrific bread, but I've also recently taken to buying a recently introduced Ciderhouse Rye at Fox and Obel, and it's really a fine, fine bread. Not really heavy on the rye (though I haven't tried the one with caraway seeds), but a hint, and a bit of sourness too. I lilke it a lot.

Could imitation be the sincerest form of flattery?
FYI: Crust Apple Cider Rye is made with organic Michigan apple cider, QAI certified organic flours and rye flakes. The dried apples are still conventional, but I will source them organic this fall from my cider provider.
I do not add any caraway.
Charles
Crust

I was walking back from the Korea Fest on Saturday and stopped into the Cheese Stands Alone to pick up a loaf of Crust bread. It looked beautiful--sadly, when I went to the counter to pay, I only had $8 on me, surprisingly, not enough to cover the cost of the bread.

Trixie,

How much was the bread?

Regards,

At Cheese Stands Alone it was over $9.

crust wrote:Could imitation be the sincerest form of flattery?

Charles,

Do you mean that Fox & Obel should be flattered by you or vice versa??

trixie-pea wrote:At Cheese Stands Alone it was over $9.

For a single loaf of bread? Baguette or something exotic?

For the multigrain sourdough.

I'm all for paying up a little for true quality, but, generally speaking, that seems very high for bread, even for a perfect organic artisanal loaf. Maybe if I bought it somewhere else, it would cost less.

Crust breads are priced as follows:
1.5lb. loaves= $8
mini .75lb. loaves= $5
baguettes=$4
Our products are nearly all organic flours, grains, and cider. They are attractively packaged, designed for the gourmet market and customers who value organic locally produced goods. (Organic Heirloom tomatoes cost $4-$7/lb.) Our breads are to be savored with the fine cheeses at The Cheese Stands Alone and a nice glass of wine.

Charles
Crust

I agree that the bread is priced accordingly. In addition to the factors Charles of Crust mentioned, you should keep in mind that this bread is not being produced in large batches and the quality shows.

Of course there are less expensive options in the city. Fox and Obel makes a decent bread but it is not exemplary. From dissecting it, it is easy to tell it is made in fairly large batches. We finished our Crust baguette and needed a comparable bread to bring to a friend's house last night and opted for F&O. It has much more aeration, the crust is not developed as well and there is less all around flavor. Is it a bad bread? No. In my opinion it is not made well as that of Crust.

Although I am very, very new to Crust bread I can say I have not had bread of this quality anywhere else in Chicago and will happily pay for it. I would hesitate to deem it the Chicago Poilane as did the original poster. To me, it seems wrong to give equal status to a new yet promising bakery to one of such long history.