Bread like Le Comptoir’s sourdough?

Went there for Chowspouse’s deferred birthday dinner last night, and got the takeaway bread (27 year old sourdough starter, etc.)

She opines, this AM, that it is the best bread she’s ever had anywhere, ever, including anything on the “chariot du pan” at Bouley. In New York.

So,what’s the closest I can get to it, in LA East of the 405,without eating the entire meal again, or baking my own?

1 Like

It’s quite rare for bakeries to use freshly milled whole-wheat flour. Definitely has a special flavor.

https://www.flourculturela.com/

You might call Grist & Toll and Roan Mills to ask if any bakeries buy their flour.

1 Like

Roan mills is at smfm on Wednesday

1 Like

@Silverlakebodhisattv What other (good) breads have you tried in LA so far? That will help narrow the recs.

1 Like

Friends and Family uses tons of whole grains from Grist and Toll in their bread and pastries and the baker has a cookbook on whole grains, Mother Grain.

2 Likes

Sourdough made with freshly-milled whole-wheat flour already narrows things down to single digits.

I didn’t see any of those requirements in OP’s post, though, so I’m not sure why we would impose those requirements on the recs.

Le Comptoir’s baguette is sourdough made from freshly-milled whole wheat.

Each loaf is made using our 26-year-old sourdough starter and freshly milled organic whole wheat flour. When booking your reservation, please indicate in the Notes section that you would like to purchase a loaf, and we will have it ready for you at the end of our dinner service. Our bread takes two days to prepare, so we will not be able to accommodate requests that have not been placed ahead of time.

https://www.lecomptoirla.com/reserve

Ok, but I still don’t read OP’s post as necessarily asking for bread that is sourdough and made from freshly-milled whole wheat. An equally likely interpretation is that OP is asking for bread that tastes as good as or better than Le Comptoir’s, notwithstanding how it is made. Maybe OP can let us know.

There are already lots of broader discussions of where to get great bread in LA. E.g.:

Not “as good or better” but “closest,” which implies the question, “what’s so special about Le Comptoir’s baguette?” rather than “what other good breads have you tried”?

Bread made with freshly-milled whole wheat flour has a unique flavor so that’s the logical place to start.

1 Like

See my first post above. The single digit I found east of the 405 is Seed Bakery. There’s also Flour Culture but I’m not sure where they are or where they deliver.

I deleted the post because it had your personal contact information. Feel free to put that in your profile.

I now realize that I was insufficiently specific.

Whole wheat, deeply sour sourdough, with a crust thick and solid enough “to play like a percussion instrument”. (Her words, and I’m not sure what instrument she’s thinking of. Temple blocks?)

My limited knowledge of breadmaking leads me to think that that’s doable only on a large boule.

1 Like

@Silverlakebodhisattv when you reply by email, your full business contact information is appearing here.

I see from Flour Culture’s new web site that they’re in Arcadia.

What is her opinion of the usual suspects? Bub & Grandma’s makes what I think is the best, most consistent loaf in the city. Some of them are 100% whole wheat, I think, though it isn’t easy to find a list online.

Clark Street also has a loaf that is specifically whole wheat, organic and California-grown for whatever that’s worth. I like their bread in general too.

Seed, which Robert linked above, is good and unique - much more dense, in my experience, and perhaps a little more sour. I don’t like them quite as much as those other two but it may be more to your spouse’s taste.

Friends and Family from @hppzz is another good option.

1 Like

I agree here. I have had the Le Comptoir loaf and think Bub & Grandma’s house loaf is better. I also think Bub & Grandma’s emmer loaf is even better than the house loaf.

Another you might consider is Out of Thin Air (https://www.instagram.com/outofthinair.la/).

Whatever you go with, you should make her do a blind taste test so you make sure her conclusion isn’t skewed by what I assume are very positive memories of the Le Comptoir meal. :grin:

“Make her do.…” You clearly don’t know the Chowspouse…

5 Likes

I think your full contact info is showing again…

Whoops. Apologies, and fixed.

My apologies.