It's interesting to note that Japan has also been successful at the Coupe du Monde in recent years. What must the French think of Japan and America besting them on their own turf? Bread is not a part of Japan's culinary history, but having become interested in finding new food products and looking to the French for inspiration, a new wave of Japanese bakers has developed some unusual ways of making it appealing to their public.
Our own openness to change and willingness to explore other cultures greatly contributes to Seattle's status as a "hotbed of artisan making." Where innovation and openness can thrive, everyone wins—bakers, chefs, and diners.
Rick Dahms
Essential Baking Company's William Leaman led this year's winning team at the World Baking Cup in France.
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Bread and the City
Tall Grass is one of only two bakeries in town that mill their grain themselves. The other is Great Harvest Bread.
(Rick Dahms) |
Tall Grass Bakery's James Bowles is a Midwestern native who began selling bread at farmers markets in Iowa. After opening his Ballard bakery in 1999, he theorized that he'd have better luck selling baguettes to Seattleites at 6 p.m. rather than 6 a.m. Along with Great Harvest Bread, Tall Grass is one of only two bakeries in town that mill their grains themselves, which might not seem like a big deal to you until you think about grain as produce, and until you consider the difference between coffee that you brew after grinding your own beans and coffee you brew after opening a can of factory-ground beans.
Bowles and his crew epitomize the special relationship that culinary artisans can have with their community. He introduces his neighbors to new flavors and quality craftsmanship, and they respond by expecting the same quality and innovation from other merchants. If you had a picture from bread's dark days of the stretch of 24th Avenue Northwest between Northwest Market Street and Northwest 65th Street or so—or even from 1999—it would look a lot different than it does today. Cafe Besalu, home of the best croissants in town, moved in next door soon after Tall Grass opened. On the same block, you can now find the Wine Shop on Twenty-Fourth, and down the street, there's Dandelion, a small, seasonally focused restaurant that opened about a year ago. Where before the street was characterized by dive bars and burger joints, there's now a discriminating, stylish but casual gourmandness to the neighborhood.
In the morning, folks congregate on the sidewalk outside Besalu and Tall Grass; if you're unfortunate enough to be on your employer's schedule and lingering is out of the question, it's almost enough to break your heart. After work, when buses let young couples off near their homes and condos, the street has as much foot traffic and life as Belltown. Bowles won't take any credit for this, but the Wine Shop's Aaron Merkatz says Tall Grass was definitely one of the reasons he chose that location.
Watching an almost European scene wherein a woman with a baby strapped to her back buys a loaf of bread from Tall Grass and then ducks into the wine store for a bottle of something to go with it, the fundamental power of bread over its community is evident. Maybe it is a matter not of how our community grew or changed in order to support a culture of quality bread making, but of how quality bread making supports and changes our community.
lcassidy@seattleweekly.com
