Slice of Heaven

Slice of Heaven

5th Street Bakehouse panettone

Local bread bakers rise to the occasion.

WRITTEN BY JESSICA SANTINA
PHOTOS BY ALICIA SANTISTEVAN

Cold winter nights are made for hot, hearty soups and a warm loaf of crusty bread. Fortunately, plenty of bread bakers nearby churn out fresh loaves daily with some of the best ingredients available. Here’s just a taste of what’s in your neighborhood.

DREAM COME TRUE

A graduate of Culinary Institute of America in Napa, Dan Carter’s aspiration was to open a bakery back home in Reno. His dream came true in April 2010 with 5th Street Bakehouse. It’s the spot for marvelous pastries and sandwiches, and breads made with 100 percent allnatural ingredients and unbleached flours, in several varieties steaming from the oven every afternoon. Varieties change daily, but regulars include oatmeal wheat, rye, potato buns, focaccia loaves and buns, Cuban bread, French bread, and buttermilk cheddar rolls. Several breads are vegan, and most begin with Carter’s own sourdough base.

ARTISAN LOAVES

Along with many baked goods, Matt and Katie Hogan, husband and wife owners of Sugar Pine Bakery, serve up about 20 varieties of artisan bread from their South Lake Tahoe shop. They bake them fresh six days a week, European style, using slow fermentation for maximum flavor. Varieties include ciabatta, focaccia, French baguette, sourdough, jalapeno cheddar sourdough, rye, and a returning favorite from last winter, whole-wheat sour stolen (made with a sourdough starter, filled with almond paste and dusted with powdered sugar).

IMPRESSIVE VARIETIES

Whole Foods’ breads come out of the oven every morning, following a three-day fermentation process. They feature traditional artisan techniques; no leaveners, preservatives, or sugars (except for the occasional drop of natural honey); and a 25-year-old sourdough starter that was born in the Boston store. The sheer number of varieties is impressive, too — 28 to 30 per week, with 14 flavors on Saturday alone.

Bakery Team Leader Tom Sharpe says he is particularly excited about Whole Foods’ new partnership with Reno’s Buckbean Brewery Company, which led to the creation of Spent Grain Bread. The recipe involves roasted, caramelized malts blended with honey for a slightly sweet flavor.

SOURDOUGH KING

While Keith Nikkel owned the Ponderosa Deli in Truckee, he was looking for a good, crusty baguette like those he’d had when he lived in the Bay Area. He didn’t find any to his liking, so in the Ponderosa’s tiny 10-foot-by-10-foot kitchen, he started making his own. His recipe — a particularly wet, sticky dough developed carefully to accommodate the altitude and dry climate — eventually became a hit with Ponderosa customers. And, in 1995, Truckee Sourdough Co. was born. Gradually, Nikkel began selling the loaves at farmers’ markets and grocery stores.

And today Truckee Sourdough Co. breads are sold wholesale (no retail location) to stores and restaurants (such as Raley’s, Safeway, Sam’s Club, 4th St. Bistro, and LuLou’s) around Reno, Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Nevada City, Grass Valley, and the Sacramento Valley.

Their success is due to a two-day process involving overnight fermentation of Nikkel’s own sourdough starter and baking in a deck oven, for the heavy crust beloved by fans. Truckee Sourdough bakes 24 hours a day and 364 days a year, delivering fresh breads every morning.

GLUTEN-FREE

Kathy Johnston, a celiac disease sufferer, also was a baker longing to return to her work.

“I wanted to bake like I always baked,” says Johnston, who struck upon the premise of a gluten-free bakery when she found one in Oregon willing to help a like-minded soul.

“Gluten-free isn’t something people put their heart and soul into, and they produce a product that barely passes,” she says. “We wanted something where people could feel normal.”

As the only dedicated gluten-free bakery in a 500-mile radius, Haven on Earth offers an array of your standard bakery goods, all gluten-free, including seven preservative-free bread varieties and even pizza crusts.

Jessica Santina is a local freelance writer, editor, and college writing instructor.