This Loaf Changed American Bread, with Chad Robertson
episode
Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast
57 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 13 days ago
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What made Tartine’s country loaf so influential in the American sourdough scene?
This episode is sponsored by Broad and Taylor, makers of the new countertop dough sheeter built to elevate every bake ahead. When I hear country bread I think of ye old country From King Arthur Baking Company, this is Things Bakers Know. I'm David Tamarkin, King Arthur's editorial director. And
I'm Jessica Battalana, senior editor at King Arthur. And today we're talking about the bread that changed the way Americans think about bread. Specifically, this episode is all about San Francisco's tartarine bakery, Chad Robertson, and the country loaf that launched a thousand loaves.
That's not an exaggeration. It really is thousands and thousands of loaves. Um and I'm really glad we're talking about this because it's been sixteen years since Chad wrote his seminal book, Tartarine Bread. Uh and in that time, we've seen a huge shift in how American bread uh is made, is talked about, is even just thought of. Yeah. Um and we really can trace a lot of that back to Chad Robertson. And the bread he was making at Tartine, uh, I think ever since they opened in two thousand two. Two thousand two.
Yeah. I mean, and it this is the first time we've done an episode that's sort of like laser focused on one place and one person. Um, but it seemed like an obvious thing to do, especially when we saw that the anniversary of the book was coming up. It was sort of like, How can we not talk about this? 'Cause it really did change everything.
Yeah.
And I was looking back at a 2016 article in the San Francisco Chronicle that was written by my friend, the food writer Jonathan Kaufman. And it was called Tartene Bread Turns into an American Culinary Movement. I mean, and that was like 10 years ago that we were talking about that. And it was, I think he summed it up so well. He says in that um article, just as the 1970s gave rise to the doorstop whole wheat loaf in the 1980s to Shattering golden baguettes. The 2010s belong to the long-fermented country loaf, which is totally true. And you know, some listeners. careful listeners of the podcast who track my every movement will recall that I lived in San Francisco. They'll know your address. They'll know my address.
I will be doxxed immediately. Uh I lived in in San Francisco for almost seventeen years and that whole time I was within walking distance of Tartine Bakery. Oh my God. I know. I mean it was it's it was a good run. Um and And you know, I got to know Chad and his then wife, Liz Prude, who is also a phenomenal baker and has an amazing gluten-free substack, which you should check out. When that bakery opened on Guerrero and 18th Street in San Francisco, like the there was not a ton happening on that block. And then, you know, it was like then Delfino restaurant opened and there's Fire Market on the block. And that was like Like like a really like amazing stretch for eating. Um and at that time when Tartine first opened.
Chad had arranged the bread schedule to suit his life schedule. So they had a young child. He also loves to surf. And he was like, I don't like I I have to make this schedule work for me. And so, you know, a lot of bakers come in at three in the morning and they leave. You know, that's what the King Arthur bakers do. They come in at three in the morning, they leave at eleven. Yep. But Chad would come in at a more civilized hour, which meant that the bread would not come out of the oven until 5 p.m. And you know how you and I have talked a lot about how we feel about lines.
Yeah. Yeah.
But I would go and I would wait in that line and you would get the bread hot from the oven. And I just like, I have such memories of like pressing the sort of like oversized, like chestnut colored. like warm loaf of bread to my chest as I walked home and just feeling like very Smug.
It was like
carrying an infant, like a bread infant across the city. Yes. Um,
you and I are famously against lines, but that is a line I would wait in for
Yeah, it was it's a line to wait in. And it was unlike any bread that I had had before.
Yeah. You know. Which is funny because if we describe this bread, it's gonna sound like
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What made Tartine’s country loaf so influential in the American sourdough scene?
0:00–7:56
2
How did Chad Robertson’s early life and European mentors shape his baking philosophy?
7:56–15:42
3
Why did Tartine adopt a later baking schedule and how did it affect the loaf’s flavor?
15:42–23:50
4
What are the defining characteristics of the Tartine country loaf (crust, crumb, hydration)?
23:50–31:27
5
How does San Francisco’s climate contribute to consistent sourdough results?
31:27–37:24
6
What are the most common listener questions about sourdough starters and how should they be answered?
37:24–44:23
7
When should bakers use a preferment or levain versus a straight‑dough method?
44:23–51:42
8
How can bakers control sourness and flavor through fermentation and refrigeration techniques?
51:42–57:58
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast
Exclusive: Chad Robertson Talks About His New Brooklyn Bakery
The Bagel Boom, featuring Carlos Perez of Boil & Bake
We're in Our Croissant Era, with the Baking School's Elisabeth Berthasavage
Vanilla: Boring or the Best? with Claire Saffitz
Cracking the Cheesecake Code, featuring Carla Hall
Coming Soon - Season Three of Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast