For a quarter-century, bakers across America have labored long and hard to reintroduce their fellow citizens to the savor, the substance, the sheer sensuous pleasure of nutritious, crusty, chewy, fresh-baked bread. So successful have they been that they now face competition from descendants of the companies that ruined American bread in the first place.

As mass-produced baked goods go, the new Pann預rovincio line now on offer at Albertson’s stores throughout the Northwest (and the nation) probably taste as good or better than most. But the makers aren’t content to compete on their product’s merit: Unfortunately, their claim to be purveying “award-winning fresh baked artisan breads” is 100 percent sizzle, no steak.

The word “artisanal” as applied to foodstuffs, if it means anything, means “handmade by individuals.” Pann預rovincio bread is on sale in 2,500 Albertson’s stores and is produced for them seven days a week by Concept2 Bakers in a 145,000-square-foot bakery in Fridley, Minn., employing nearly 300 people. “Fresh baked” in Concept2 language means “baked by local store personnel from frozen loaves shipped nationwide from Fridley.” “Award-winning,” well . . .

“Award-winning” deserves its own paragraph. The award in question is a “Gold Medal Taste Award” from the American Tasting Institute in San Francisco. Readers are encouraged to visit the ATI’s Web site (www.awardsoftheamericas.com/judging.htm) to learn what it takes to win an ATI accolade. Particularly note that, though it doesn’t cost anything to win, winners must pay ATI for the privilege of publicizing their good fortune.

There’s more. Pann預rovincio breads “are made with certified organic flour,” which turns out to mean that the finished product can be so labeled in California under the state’s 1990 Organic Food Act. It also “contains no added preservatives,” whatever that means. Preservatives or no preservatives, I vouch that I left a loaf of Pann預rovincio in its open paper bag on a countertop for a week and it remained as appetizing as ever.

How appetizing was that? Not very. At $1.99 a pound, the four Pann預rovincio varieties—plain Pan Bigio (“gray loaf”), Sesame Semolina, Roasted Garlic, and, for the truly weird, Black Bean & Salsa—cost nearly as much as genuinely fresh-baked, genuinely artisanal breads, and can’t compare at all with them in savor or mouth feel.

Then why would anyone buy them? Concept2 and Albertson’s apparently believe that American consumers want fresh handmade bread, but are so indifferent to taste that they’ll be willing to pay top dollar for something that sort of looks like the real thing. It will be interesting to learn whether they are right.

Loafed lately? E-mail sidedish@seattleweekly.com.