Friday Bread Basket 9/18/26

Hello from the Wordloaf Friday Bread Basket, a weekly roundup of links and items relating to bread, baking, and grain. The bread basket is back after a summer hiatus, with a major backlog of links to share.

Breaducation East Coast mini-tour: a request for help

I'll be sending out more intel very soon, but just a heads up that I will be doing a quick East Coast tour (Boston—NYC—Philly—D.C.—Portland) right after Breaducation comes out on 11/17.

I am still trying to find appropriate venues for the NYC and D.C. events, especially since MOFAD and Bold Fork Books have closed their doors (R.I.P. to them both). If you have ideas on bakeries/bookstores/event spaces that can hold 40–60 people comfortably and seem like good fits for a bread book event, please let me know!

Events beyond the East Coast will happen in 2027, so stay tuned for that intel too (eventually).

That's bait

With respect to Charlotte Druckman, whom I like and respect, this article about the new NYC bakery Rye and their $60 1.5-kilo rye loaf was tailor-made to get everyone's hackles up:

Starting tomorrow, Martin Auer—who runs a series of cafés and bakeries in his native Austria—is daring to present New Yorkers with a singular (and single) proposition: His new bakery, Rye, on the eastern edge of Soho, offers only one thing, done very well, but just that one thing. It is rye sourdough, and it costs $60 per loaf. And, Before you flip out, be advised, I have tried it and I can report that it is actually worth that price.

Auer’s naturally fermented rye contains four ingredients: rye flour, water, salt, and, because he insists it qualifies, time. There are no additives, no commercial yeast, no blend of grains. This is nothing like the seeded Danish rye of outfits like Ole & Steen, Smør, or Frø, or the caraway-flecked slices you get with your pastrami at New York’s Jewish delicatessens.

“The idea was to be humble as well as proud of the chance to deliver something we are so mad about,” Auer says. No stranger to this line of work, he inherited a successful bakery business from his father, who inherited it from his. Back in his hometown of Graz, Auer’s namesake company currently oversees a full-range bakery production site that includes a roastery for coffee and a flour mill for the bakeries and cafés he’s opened throughout Austria. There, he offers baguettes, coffee, and croissants, but “there are places around the world, especially in the big cities where — not that often — you can find some great baguettes and croissants and coffee,” he says. This is why he did not want to open a bakery with those things here. “Our origin, that’s sourdough rye bread — that’s our staple,” he explains.

Look, I know that rents are bonkers in NYC, especially on the "eastern edge of Soho," and labor costs (appropriately) high, but there is no way that loaf is worth $60. I'm sure there are a dozen other bakeries making similar whole-ryes that are at least as good for half the price, and I bet the owners of them feel guilty about charging even that much.

On Grub Street's Instagram post, I asked Austrians to report back what a loaf like this might cost there, and here are a few of the responses I got:

🤔

A New Bakery Makes One Bread and One Bread Only

Rye’s specialty is Austrian sourdough. Is it worth the $60-per-loaf price?

Grub StreetCharlotte Druckman

Authorities baffled by loaves of bread appearing on mountain road in Japan's Tottori Pref.

I mean I would be too:

Someone has illegally dumped large amounts of bread along the prefectural Daisen ring road near Daisenji Temple here in a string of incidents beginning Aug. 14.

The bread totaled 39 kilograms over four days, and chicken livers were also left there on another day. The food may have been scattered to feed animals, prompting officials to step up vigilance. "At a time when bear damage in rural foothills has become a problem, this is a careless and dangerous act," one person involved said.

The site is near the trailhead for Mount Daisen, the highest peak in the Chugoku region at 1,729 meters, and near the boundary between the Tottori Prefecture towns of Daisen and Houki. It lies within Daisen-Oki National Park and draws many tourists during the day. It is deep in the mountains at an elevation of about 800 meters, with no homes, and vehicle and foot traffic stops at night.

Authorities baffled by loaves of bread appearing on mountain road in Japan’s Tottori Pref. - The Mainichi

DAISEN, Tottori -- Someone has illegally dumped large amounts of bread along the prefectural Daisen ring road near Daisenji Temple here in a string of

The Mainichi

Pizza pizza

Or more accurately, bread pizza, at this Boston shop that is recycling bread scraps into their pizza dough. The pies look great, I need to get over there sometime soon:

Have a peaceful, restful weekend. See you next week.

—Andrew