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4. Walnut wheat from
Matt and Mary Kreutz bake in a wood-fired oven in a warehouse in Oakland, not a bad metaphor for the rustic, urbane breads they produce. Firebrand's walnut-wheat is so earthy it's almost elemental. You have to fight with the loaf to grab off a chunk, worrying that the jagged crust will puncture skin, but the flavor is worth the fight, deep and tinged with smoke, its potent tang broken up by pebbles of creamy walnut meat. It's the kind of bread you imagine was made by a 14th century master baker.
