One of the items I bought at Fairway Market in Paramus on Tuesday was a baguette for 99 cents, but I'm not sure whether that's the sale or regular price. This is a good loaf of bread, though you shouldn't expect anything like the signature baguette from Balthazar Bakery in Englewood.
When I looked at the ingredient list of the Fairway loaf, I did a double-take. Here it is, as it appears on the label: "Flour, white sour (wheat flour, acetic acid, lactic acid, canola oil), malt, USA 500 (datem, sodium stearol, lactylate, soybean oil, L-cystine, asorbic acid, potassium bromate, ada enzyme), salt, yeast, corn meal."
I called Balthazar for the ingredients of its baguette. Here they are: flour, white rye flour, water, salt, barley, malt, yeast." The loaf is 8 ounces, compared with Fairway's 12 ounces, and the price has been $2 since Balthazar opened in November 2002.
Another thing I noticed on the Fairway label is the words "artisanal bakery." Artisan bread is hand-formed, and if you go to Balthazar's cozy retail store on South Dean Street around mid-day, you'll see the bakers shaping the dough. Does Fairway really hand-form its bread?
It's no contest. The Balthazar loaf is the one to buy. It also comes as a double baguette for $4. Either Balthazar loaf is great for sandwiches, great for sopping up pasta sauce, great for just tearing off a hunk and dipping it into extra-virgin olive oil.
It often shocks me to read the label on a loaf of bread. Although I can bake bread (with a tiny list of ingredients - bread flour, water, yeast, honey, olive oil, pinch of salt) I hate to say I haven't the time to indulge in this too often (and my lovely breadmaker is one with UK voltage - useless here in NJ!). I'm going to have to check out Balthazar now, thanks for mentioning them and reminding me of the strange stuff that goes into regular bread.
ReplyDeleteI really had no idea of what can go into bread. If you go to Balthazar, Jerry's Gourmet and More is only a few blocks away, so don't miss it. Wonderful Italian food and ingredients. I had an electric tea kettle made in the UK with a weird plug, but was able to use it by changing the plug itself.
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