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Posted

My kids and husband know that the crusts are mine. The price they have paid for being born or something.

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
Posted

I love crisp crusts, but even more than that I like chewy crusts. Crusts that make your jaws feel like they got a good workout.

Certain squishy breads are alright by me--I love a good soft eggy challah, for example. But generally my preference is for bread with which you have to go mano a mano.

I dunno why so many other people seem to be stuck on the Wonder-type bread. Every time I'm in the supermarket and see racks and racks of the stuff, I'm in disbelief--who in the world is buying and eating it all?

Posted (edited)

I think much of the problem is simply that compared with many other places, the US is not really a bread culture. Where in Turkey, the Balkans, and lots of Europe, bread is the staff of life and people can't imagine eating without bread in hand. In Greece I have friends who start by taking out the soft center of the bread, and eat their food with the crusts. In the US bread is like an appetiser, not often really eaten along with meals. Sandwiches may have started out as food on bread, but the bread has become more of a "material to keep the mayonnaise off your fingers." Hard crust is not convenient for sandwiches, and that's been the main use for bread in the US. It probably got more that way in the 50s-70s when I was growing up, along with the trend towards packaged and convenience foods. In Iowa when I was a kid, we had a friend of the family who would bring us bagels from New York, it was such a treat. In the 80s they appeared in Iowa, even if with incarnations such as blueberry and (horror of horrors) bacon and cheese. ;) But the upshot is that in recent times Americans have begun to appreciate bread more for what it can be in and of itself, and an appreciation for all of its qualities, including the crust. It's even swung the other way among foodies, with specialty breads with nuts, herbs, olives, etc. Even sandwich bread has come a long way from when I was a kid - then you had a choice of fluffy white, dry wheat or rye, and cinnamon bread. Now there are lots of multigrain and nut breads, and if they are a bit weak on substance they at least have good flavor. I still don't eat lots and lots of bread here, at least not in comparison with Turks, but when I go back to the States I miss the abundance of good bread and maybe react by wanting it more. Of course not all the bread here is crusty, there are lots of different types.

Edited by sazji (log)

"Los Angeles is the only city in the world where there are two separate lines at holy communion. One line is for the regular body of Christ. One line is for the fat-free body of Christ. Our Lady of Malibu Beach serves a great free-range body of Christ over angel-hair pasta."

-Lea de Laria

Posted

I love pizza crusts, and nice chewy bagel crusts, but when it comes to a loaf of bread, I don't like a hard crust because it tears up the roof of my mouth. I love the taste of that kind of crust, but not the soft tissue injuries involved with it.

Cheryl

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