History of bread in California

There have been independent retail bakeries in San Francisco continuously since the California Gold Rush of 1849, and many restaurants make their own bread. However, the wholesale market (which distributes bread to restaurants and grocery stores) was marked by a slow decline from the early heyday, and the subsequent emergence of a new generation of artisan bakers. Gold-rush era Sourdough bread traces its origins to ancient Egypt and is common in parts of Europe. It became a staple in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Gold miners valued it for their camps because of its durability, and the relative ease of obtaining yeast. Although many different kinds of pre-ferment (a dough-like mixture of fermented flour and water containing bacteria and wild yeast) are suitable for making sourdough, specific species of bacteria (Lactobacillus sanfrancisco) and wild yeast (Candida humilis) have been identified as the predominant cultures in local breads. Also in 1896, the Larraburu Brothers bakery, located at 365 3rd Avenue, was started by two Basque brothers who immigrated to the U.S. from France, bringing their starter with them. In 1899, Fritz Schweninger founded the Carmel Bakery, on Ocean Avenue in Carmel-By-The-Sea; it remains the oldest bakery in California still in its original building. Post-war era Starting after World War II, a generation of decline and consolidation saw Americans increasingly eating packaged, sliced loaves. Colombo also produced sourdough rolls in its bakery at 1329 Fee Drive, Sacramento, which closed in 2003. In 1969, two researchers at the Western Regional Research Center of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Albany, Calif., Dr. Leo Kline and Frank Sugihara, began a study of sourdough cultures from five bakeries in the San Francisco area: Parisian, Toscana, Colombo, Baroni and Larraburu. After years of trying to identify the bacteria responsible for the unique flavor of S.F. sourdough, they turned to the Microbiology Department at Oregon State University where a team led by Dr. William Sandine was finally successful in isolating the bacteria from the wild yeast (Candida humilis) and discovered the theretofore-unknown lactobacillus that produces the lactic acid that gives the bread its unique flavor. They named it (Lactobacillus sanfrancisco). Some bakeries from the gold rush era kept the sourdough tradition alive and continued to produce bread. The Larraburu Brothers bakery produced a popular brand of sourdough but was forced to close in May, 1976 after protracted litigation arising from an accident in which a small child was severely injured by a Larraburu delivery truck. The owners had also taken on a great deal of debt which contributed to the bakery's financial woes. In 1971, Toscana merged with Colombo Baking Co, both of which were located in Oakland. The Parisian Bakery was purchased in 1982. Steven Giraudo, a baker who immigrated from Italy in 1935, took his first job in America at Boudin, then bought the bakery out of near bankruptcy in 1941. He later sold it to a larger company, but after a series of ownership changes the bakery was bought back by two of Giraudo's sons through their investment bank. The sale marked the end of local ownership for three sourdough bakeries which had been in operation since the 1800s. In March, 1997, San Francisco French Bread Company was purchased from Specialty Foods Corp. by Interstate Bakeries Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri which went bankrupt and shut down the Parisian bakery in 2005, saying the bakery was no longer profitable. At the Colombo bakery in Oakland, recipes, ingredients and fermentation times were changed, impacting the quality of the bread. Before its demise on November 21, 2012, Interstate was making 217,460 loaves of Colombo sourdough per week at its Oakland factory, and 71,540 rolls per week at its bakery in Sacramento, as well as Wonder Bread, Twinkies, and Ho Hos snacks from a sister factory at 1525 Bryant street. The old bakeries that survived were large, mechanized operations. They were not small "artisan" bakeries in the modern sense. The top three bakeries employed 1,000 people and made sixty million units of bread per year (mostly loaves) that they sold in more than 4,000 Northern California outlets, as well as airports and supermarkets throughout the United States. Boudin operates 32 retail outlets, mostly as coffee shops, including outlets at Disneyland and Fisherman's Wharf. ==Bread in Southern California==

Louis Mesmer's first business in 1820s Los Angeles was a bakery; he was also apparently the only local producer of matzah, “which he sold to nearly all the Jewish families of Southern California.” Bread bakeries in Los Angeles include La Brea Bakery. A popular sour dough bread was widely available from Pioneer Baking in the Los Angeles area, but it disappeared from shelves around the year 2000. ==Artisan bread movement==

The artisan bread movement represents a return to low-volume production of handmade loaves. It is in some ways a return to older techniques, but in other ways it is a shift. Unlike the Gold Rush bakers, they were based on French and Italian techniques and very crusty. Among the hallmarks of the new artisan breads, loaves are exposed to steam while baking (a technique developed in Vienna, Austria), creating a shiny surface that may be crusty or chewy, while keeping the interior moist. "Rustic" breads use whole grain flours, including rye flour and whole wheat. Breads are scored with decorative cross-cuts, along which the bread cracks while rising and baking to allow the crust to expand. Scores are made in distinctive styles that identify each bakery. The Cheese Board Collective opened in 1967 in what would later be known as Berkeley's "Gourmet Ghetto", and became a worker-owned cooperative in 1971. In 1970 Narsai David, food and wine editor of KCBS and a nationally syndicated food writer, opened a highly successful catering business and restaurant, Narsai's, in Kensington, California. Narsai's became renowned for its bread making. David explained his philosophy: "Using nothing more than flour, water, salt and yeast, you could bake a loaf of bread in as little as three hours, or you could take 24 hours. The one that takes 24 hours has developed a much more sophisticated flavor. Take two to three hours and the bread tastes like flour and water." reported to have "launched an artisanal bread-making revolution in the 1980s" with their sourdough bread. In 1977 founder Steve Sullivan, a student at University of California, Berkeley who was earning money as a busboy at Chez Panisse, bought Elizabeth David's 1977 book on bread In 1984, Eric and Carol Sartenaer, ex-Cheese Board Collective members, opened shop in a 450-square-foot “hole in the wall” bakery in Kensington, California. In January 1987, Barbara Frainier (one of their first employees) took over the business with her husband Michael Rose. In 1988, Tom Frainier (Barbara's brother) joined the Semifreddi's team. Tom, who holds an MBA from Berkeley's Haas School of Business, left an upper management position at Clorox to join his sister and brother-in-law, both UC Berkeley alumni, in the bread and pastry-making business. When asked about his exit strategy, Frainier replies, “death.” After Frainier took the helm as President, CEO, and self-proclaimed, “Chief Boot Licker,” Semifreddi's rapidly expanded throughout the San Francisco Bay, while maintaining its emphasis on baking high-quality, European-style artisan bread and pastries. Other notable brands with wide local distribution include the French-Italian Bakery in San Francisco's North Beach (which distributes primarily to restaurants), The Bread Workshop, and Noe Valley Bakery. In 2013, the BBC described Mission-based bakery Tartine as making "some of the city’s best sourdough". including the original bakers (Boudin, Colombo, and Toscana), collectively making approximately 2.4 million loaves of bread per week. Ponsford went on to lead the industry association, the Bread Bakers Guild of America. One trend is the resurgence and expansion of good sourdough bread companies that follow the model of the pre-Interstate Brands Parisian, Colombo, and Toscana. They are of medium size, deliver to both artisan markets and large chains like Safeway or Nob Hill, and seek reasonable expansion. An example is Sumano's Bakery in Watsonville, California, near Monterey. They produce a classic sourdough loaf with wheat flour, water, starter, and sea salt. Another, which is smaller and delivers only to small artisan markets but which will ship, is the 80-year-old Arcangeli Grocery Company / Norm's Market in historic Pescadero, California, famous for their Artichoke Garlic Bread among 40 other unique artisan breads, San Luis Sourdough in San Luis Obispo was founded in 1983, and makes sourdough bread with only the basic ingredients. In 1987, it was named California's Small Business of the Year by the Small Business Administration. They were acquired by Sara Lee in 2001. ==See also==