Rising stars
Once an unexciting staple, bread is now available in a bewildering variety of shapes, sizes and styles. We tested a selection on the discerning palates of our tasting panel. Amanda Marcus reports.
The bread basket is often a customer's first taste of a restaurant's offering, and disappointing bread can get even the best establishment off to a bad start. By contrast, the smell and taste of a freshly-baked loaf will lead the customer to anticipate the next course with relish. However, not all caterers have the time or the staff to bake their own bread, so many rely on outside suppliers to do it for them.
There is now more choice than ever on the bread market, as fast-food chains and the influence of ethnic foods have added to the wealth of options, from pitta and tortilla wraps to olive rolls, onion breads and herb ciabattas. Yet our tasting panel were all agreed that despite the huge range of breads now on offer, premium breads with a genuine home-made feel are hard to come by, although caterers are prepared to pay a top price for the right quality.
We put 10 new products to the test at the Depot Waterfront Brasserie in Mortlake, South-west London. The suppliers were asked to prebake their breads the morning of the tasting for sampling that afternoon. Head chef Rob Veint served them cold, with butter.
The tasters
Gina Keohane is catering manager at Abbott Laboratories in Kent, a Sodexho contract. The site is a large pharmaceutical company with a subsidised breakfast and lunch service for blue- and white-collar workers serving around 600 covers a day. Average spend is £2.50 for three courses, with 30-40p spent on bread, which is bought in.
Graham Stoner is deputy manager of the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn in central London. The contract is run by Eurest, part of Compass, and feeds 90-120 people a day, mainly lawyers, barristers and students. Average spend is £9.50 with bread included. The site buys in around 10 types of bread and rolls daily.
Anthony Boyd is head chef at the Glasshouse restaurant in Kew, South-west London. The 65-seat restaurant serves around 80-100 covers per day with an average spend of £25 for three courses. Customers spend about £1.50 on bread. Some are made on-site, mainly for crostinis and to accompany terrines, with the rest bought in.
Martyn Blake is head chef at the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, a Charlton House contract in Berkshire. The site serves around 200-250 people a day in a staff restaurant serving breakfast and lunch, plus a deli, coffee shop and two directors' dining rooms. Average spend is £2 to £3 with bread included. The kitchen makes its bread on-site for lunch and buys in breads for the deli.
Suppliers
- Bakehouse Ltd 01276 850500
- Brinker 01787 472048
- Delice de France 020 8917 9600
- The Bread Roll Company 01727 818000
Speciality breads taste test - the results
The products were rated according to our star system:
** Outstanding
* Recommended
*
Potato Loaf: Brinker
£1.75 per 500g loaf; eight per case, £14
Positive comments: Looks good and freshly baked; nice rustic feel and very good texture; sliced well.
Less favourable comments: No sign of a potato taste; pleasant enough but more like a regular bloomer.
*
Rosemary and Raisin Navette: Bakehouse
£1.16 per 330g loaf; 25 per case, £29
Positive comments: Would work very well with the right cheese or a spicy soup; a great choice if you know what to match it with; good as an afternoon tea bread; looks freshly baked.
Less favourable comments: Not so suitable for serving as a general bread; a different shape might be more useful, for example, to toast.
*
Rosemary and Olive Oil Sour Dough Bread: the Bread Roll Company
£3.50 per 800g loaf (before trade discounts)
Positive comments: Good texture, colour and appearance; looks hand finished; very nice aroma when sliced; more expensive but worth the money; many uses.
Less favourable comments: Would have been enhanced by a sprig of fresh rosemary instead of being sprinkled with dried.
Country loaf: Brinker
£1.65 per 500g loaf; six per case, £9.90
Positive comments: Nice shape.
Less favourable comments: A bit heavy and dense, too malty; would expect a more rustic loaf from the name; dark crust looks a bit tough.
Chocolate and Cherry Sour Dough Loaf: the Bread Roll Company
£2.05 per 400g loaf
Positive comments: Looks appealing; good aroma of chocolate and cherry; would make a great bread and butter pudding.
Less favourable comments: Looks more like a Christmas log - ditch the icing sugar and maybe add a chocolate topping; cherries seemed a bit lost - could benefit from a dash of kirsch to give it an extra kick; nice, but difficult to see how to serve it, apart from afternoon tea.
Pavé Pérène au Levain: Delice de France
£1.60 per 450g loaf (frozen weight); 20 per case, £32
Positive comments: Good crust; good taste of sour dough; nice, even shape.
Less favourable comments: Disappointing, bland; looked good but crust was chewy after initial crunch; not a distinctive enough flavour; didn't taste freshly baked.
Black Olive Fougasse: Bakehouse
£1.18 per 280g loaf; 22 per case, £26
Positive comments: Appearance makes you want to break it up with your hands; looks appetising.
Less favourable comments: Flavour lets it down; the big chunks of olives taste cheap and don't have much flavour or aroma.
Sundried Tomato Ciabatta Loaf: Delice de France
£1.38 per 250g loaf (frozen weight); 23 per case, £31.74 (catalogue price)
Positive comments: Looks good.
Less favourable comments: Dry and bland; sun-blushed tomatoes would be better; not much flavour; too airy; quite expensive.
Pain de Campagne Rustic Triangle: Delice de France
53.5p per 110g unit; 40 per case, £21.40
Positive comments: Looks like it would make a good sandwich; eye-catching for a deli bar.
Less favourable comments: Dry, very tough and not much flavour; probably acceptable for a deli bar but pricey.
Cheese and Caramelised Onion Bread: the Bread Roll Company
£2.05 per 400g loaf
Positive comments: Firm and spongy texture; good caraway flavour; nice decorative crust of cheese; looks rustic.
Less favourable comments: No onion flavour coming through, would be better without the cheese on top and leave caterers to add their own; not as much flavour as you'd expect from the name - could have been much stronger.
