The Best Sourdough Bread: Boudin Bakery
I first discovered the Boudin Bakery while I was working in San Francisco. It was a great place to get a turkey avocado sandwich on the best sourdough bread I’d ever had: soft yet chewy with a crust that’s crackly but not hard. I don’t get up to SF very often anymore, but I stock up on their sliced 2-lb loaves every time I fly through United’s Terminal 7 at LAX. Although their mail order prices are a little high (and they don’t offer the 2-lb loaf), if you find yourself near one of their California locations, pick up as much as your freezer can accommodate.
I enjoy the indivdual bowl size loaves which you can slice the top off, scoop out some of the inside and fill with salad or soup.
When I was just out of college, living alone in Chicago and had no money, I got a part time job as a mystery shopper. One of my recurring assignments was Boudin Bakery at 900 North Michigan. I remember first trying their sourdough bread and thinking “Ah ha! So this is what I’ve been missing all my life”. Having grown up in Texas, I’d never had true sourdough bread. Now, it’s fairly easy to find, but Boudin’s is still the best.