St. Benedict (born circa 480 AD) is thought of as the “father of Western monasticism,” and St. Benedict’s Bakery is the answer to question several readers have asked:
“What ever happened to Isaac Fox since the demise of The Champagnery and La Chasse earlier this year?”
The text of the embedded post is below, and speaking as one who spent YEARS of his life trying to find sources around Louisville for European-style bread (I lived on loaves like these while working in Slovakia, and once you’re hooked, there’s no going back to Bunny), you may wish to examine the St. Benedict’s Bakery page at Facebook to learn how it works, because this isn’t bricks ‘n’ mortar.
Sourdough Catechesis 101: This is how REAL bread should look. Mass produced, supermarket bread, with no crust to speak of, a doughy texture, and pale, insipid color, is a result of methods and additives that are so contrary to authentic breadmaking that I do not think that it is an exaggeration to say that it can scarcely be accurately called “bread”. The prevalence of this style, however, has led many Americans to see traditional European bread as looking “burnt”, or to imagine that it is hard and tough. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bread is done when the crust is a dark color. The correct handling of steam and dry heat in the oven should lead to a crust that is thin and crispy, not thick and leathery. The crumb should be delicate and digestible. Doughy supermarket bread does not digest well. The long, slow fermentation of sourdough breaks down the grain in a way that makes it far easier to digest, and the presence of wild bacteria includes probiotics, which also assist in this process. The crust, which requires chewing, activates natural digestive processes in the body. In contrast, a crustless, doughy, rushed, preservative-loaded supermarket loaf is probably best used for fishing. #stbenedictsbakery #sourdough #frenchbread #artisanbread
The post St. Benedict’s Bakery, a.k.a. Isaac Fox appeared first on Food & Dining Magazine.
