When it comes to travel, I always choose nature. I grew up in the countryside, so changing landscapes, sounds of nature, openness and my heart at peace are what inspire me the most. Looking back, I never had an eye for architecture, concrete jungles and loud noise. All the cities were the same and I never really understood the atmosphere of the city – until I visited New York City in June of this year for the first time. It felt like home and I would again feel the space I seek in nature. My heart was calm.
I was attracted by the dynamism of the city and as I wandered around the city I tried to absorb all the vibes that powered the city. One of my main desires was to try the city's sourdough bread. I had read so much about New York bakers before going there, so this was like a dream come true.
What I'm sharing today is a list of bakeries that inspired me and my sourdough baking during my two stints in New York City this year.
If you've visited New York City or live there, I'd love to hear about your favorite bakeries, just leave me a comment below!
The ovens mentioned below are listed alphabetically.
NOTE: click on each name to visit the bakery's website.
Amy's Bread
Amy Scherber is the owner and founder of Amy's Bread, a nationally known bakery/café that specializes in traditional handmade breads as well as old-fashioned sandwiches, cakes and layer cakes. Their hearth-baked bread is made using traditional European methods. They use small proportions, sourdough and spongy starters with a minimal amount of yeast, slow fermentation and hand shaping to achieve delicious, crusty bread with a moist and chewy crumb.
If you visit Amy's bakery, be sure to try (among other sourdough breads) chocolate sourdough, you won't regret it.
Amy's Bread, Chelsea Market, Manhattan
Furna BalthazarManhattan
Suggested by one of My Daily Sourdough Bread readers (thanks, Grant!) who lives in the area, this bakery is definitely on my list for my next visit.
As written on their website, their favorite loaves are large, dark-crust loaves reminiscent of the days when the village's communal ovens were fired up only once a week. In those days, families formed their dough into massive rounds because the larger loaves would stay fresh longer than the smaller ones and their bread would remain moist until the oven was fired up again. Here you can check their bread menu.
Good luck
Bien Cuit, a French word for well done or well baked, is the name of the bakery run by Chef Zachary Golper. Inspired by his first croissant at the age of ten in Paris, his bakery breads are largely influenced by the French bread-making tradition. You will find a variety of sourdough bread with good color, and made from local ingredients of high quality.
And when you're there, don't forget to order one of the delicious pastries and desserts.
Bien Cuit, 120 Smith Street, Brooklyn
Bakery
Located just steps away from Union Square, Buka e Bukë is a place where its head chef Uri Scheft blends his two backgrounds into everything he bakes, from dark Scandinavian rye and marzipan bread to his almond croissants to Jewish staples like. grandmother with chocolate and challah. The bakery is full of good vibes and feels very comfortable. The sourdough bread I tried has a distinct flavor compared to other New York sourdough breads, it's more like the European sourdough bread I'm used to eating. Oh, and the chocolate rugelach – to die for!
On my last visit to New York City in September, one of the staff brought out a tray of their famous Georgian-smelling freshly baked chocolate babka. Babka also offered it to my boyfriend, but he kindly declined to take a piece saying: No, thank you, I'm gluten intolerant. And the same second guy with the babka would reply: That's illegal here! 🙂
Bread's Bakery, 18 East 16th St. NYC (Union Square), Manhattan
Kaiser House
“The first bite reveals all about the ingredients and the expertise of the baker.”
Maison Kayser is the bakery founded by world-renowned French baker Éric Kayser. Born into a family of French bakers, he decided to pursue his career in baking at an early age. He opened his first bakery in 1996 in Paris. Today, Maison Kayser has over 100 stores in over 20 different countries, each of them organized in the pure tradition of the French bakery (boulangerie). In 2012, Maison Kayser opened for the first time in the United States, on the Upper East Side in New York. Since then he opened several bakeries in Manhattan, to meet the demands of its customers in different neighborhoods.
Maison Kayser, Manhattan
Sullivan Street Bakery
Sullivan Street Bakery founder Jim Lahey, the renowned New York baker best known for his no-dough bread, opened the bakery in 1994. A variety of Italian country-inspired breads (such as filone, pane di comune, stirato, pugliese, strecci, ciabatta, pizza bianca etc.) Italian pastries and cookies are available in the oven, making it difficult to decide which one to buy as you can easily be tempted to buy a piece of each.
He describes his style as that of Jim Lahey. “I always like to take something as a starting point or inspiration and then refresh it. ” and as he describes it in his book my bread: Good bread should be a masterpiece of contrast, crunching as you bite through the toasty, malt-scented crust, then deeply satisfying as you reach for the chewy crumb of meat with its wheaty flavor and hint of acidity.”
His initial interest in bread was incidental to the other aspect of his life, namely art. Jim Lahey studied sculpture before learning the art of baking bread in Italy. In 2009, he opened his doors to her Co., his first pizza restaurant, located in Chelsea. The name is short for Company, a word whose Latin roots refer to the expression “with bread”. I tried the Popeye Pie and I'm telling you, it was the lightest pizza I've ever had in my life.
Sullivan Street Bakery, Chelsea (left) and Hell's Kitchen (right), 533 W 47th Street, Manhattan
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market, Brooklyn
Union Square Greenmarket, Manhattan
Open every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, Greenmarket is located in one of New York's great public spaces, Union Square. Here you'll find everything from freshly picked seasonal fruits and vegetables, to award-winning heritage meats and cheeses, jams, pickles, cut flowers and herbs, wine, cider, maple syrup, artisan breads and much more.
One of my favorite bakeries is She Wolf Bakery, located in Queens and run by baker Austin Hall. Check out their work and places to buy their bread here.
PS: I wonder where you can find good bread in New York City? Dough bread, chocolate bread, white bread, flat bread, pretzels, you name it, Andrew Coe from Serious Eats has it all covered, check out his articles here.
If you live in NYC or have visited, what is your favorite sourdough place? I'm all ears 🙂
