The Future of Hawaii Restaurants

[skchai]

Just wanted to let you know that I had a chance to sample the LittleBlueHouse's Natural Levain Bread the other day. . .

Natural levain has always been somewhat mysterious or even magical to me, and it was quite an experience to see how beautifully the loaf turned out. I mean that literally - my wife and I were both commenting on how aesthetically pleasing the appearance of the loaf itself was with its handsome markings, roundness, etc. The taste was wonderful too - just the right level of springiness without the stodginess one often gets in otherwise good "rustic" loaves. Amazing how much control they achieved using yeasts picked out of the air!

Emily and Chris are now looking around for retail distributers for their breads while continuing their private dining service. Best of luck to them. . .

[KarenS]

Tell them to bring me some -or call me! We could use good bread at Neiman Marcus (until we get more ovens baking more bread would be impossible - what with popovers, desserts, monkey bread, meat, bacon, salmon, etc... No, I don't have dedicated ovens!

[KarenS]

Oh, and about levain. This is how all bread used to be made. Commercial yeast was not available until the 20's. Yeast is naturally occuring- I have my grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great- grandmothers recipes for yeast/ bread. Starters were precious things carried acrss the country, and passed on to family and friends. Hawaii is not the best climate for bread baking. You need to be careful with your starter- other not such great things can grow in there if you are not careful about temp control!