Whether corn-, wheat- or rice-based, every society has its own carbohydrate staple.
Some people take it for granted - or, in a society still recovering from an Atkins epidemic, even shun it - but we think it's high time to spread a little love for loaves.
Some people are into whole wheat; others go straight for the doughy heart of the loaf. And while there are people who insist they don't like chocolate, who actually doesn't like bread?
Both of us are shamelessly addicted, but we'd rather skip the styrofoam-textured Wonder Bread and go straight for the good stuff. The When Pigs Fly Sourdough Bread Company makes bread, that age-old staple, a luxury.
A block past the Rite Aid (formerly Brooks Pharmacy) in Davis, and across the street, When Pigs Fly is only about the size of a freshman double. How does it get away with this? Well, there's no oven. There's not even a kitchen in this bakery - none of its bread is made on site.
Purists generally scoff at the idea of bread that has ridden cargo from oven to shelf, but these guys have a pretty good excuse.
Every morning, When Pigs Fly gets its bread driven into Davis from York, Maine, where it's baked fresh daily. The whole process begins at 4 a.m. when the ovens are fired up and ends at 10 a.m. when the store on Highland Avenue opens. On days when there's bad weather and the trucks can't make it, the place doesn't open. It's just that fresh.
You may have previously seen their breads in the supermarket, but there's a far wider variety when you actually go to the brand's own store. Inside, wire racks are stacked high with crusty and hearty loaves, with flavors and styles ranging from "Sourdough" and "New York Rye" to "Chocolate" and "Mango, Pineapple, Raisin, Toasted Sesame and Ginger." Yes - you read right. Whoever comes up with these combos is a genius. But hurry, because the offers are seasonal and vary depending on what's available - a strong indicator of great food. What's more, all the ingredients are natural, though only some organic.
For our carb-mongering extravaganza, we chose four breads: For savory, we went with "Red Pepper Hummus with Sesame and Garlic" and "Spinach, Garlic and Potato;" and for sweet, we chose "Banana, Pecan, Maple and Brown Sugar" and "Orange, Roasted Pistachio, and Cranberry." Even though we only walked out of the store with those four (a total of $24), we sampled pretty much each loaf. If you're a fiend for samples, the people who work at When Pigs Fly are just as eager to dole them out as you are to receive them.
Like us, you can choose to get your loaves whole, or you can opt to have them sliced. But the professionals at When Pigs Fly don't recommend pre-slicing, because they say you lose a lot of the toppings baked into the crust, a devastating blow to all the crust-aficionados out there.
Lest we seem civilized, we bypassed the tabletop to instead sit on the floor eating loaves. Despite the smooth blend of savory tastes in the "Red Pepper Hummus" bread and the mild flavor of the "Spinach, Garlic and Potato," the specialty sweet breads floored us. Literally.
Think of the "Banana" one as your favorite banana bread, only better, and the "Cranberry, Roasted Pistachio" one as a light years superior cinnamon swirl. And even though these two are our favorites, and while we'd say you're missing out, there are a smattering of nut-free choices as well.
Winston Berkman is a sophomore majoring in international relations; Charlotte Bourdillon is a sophomore who has not declared a major. They can be reached at Winston.Berkman@tufts.edu and Charlotte.Bourdillon@tufts.edu, respectively.
