Above: Some of the rotating focaccia to be found at Santa Fe's Bread Shop. Photograph courtesy of Bread Shop/ Halley Roberts Strongwater.
FROM THE DAY Jacob and Mayme Brenner opened Bread Shop in January, loaves have floated out the door. It’s no wonder, given the artisanal caliber of bread this little Santa Fe shop produces, consistently attaining a perfect balance between crunchy shell and soft webs of dough inside.
Bread Shop specializes in levain, or naturally leavened loaves. “The dough rises because it is seeded with wild, airborne yeasts and beneficial bacteria,” Jacob says. “It is a much slower approach to making bread, which leads to both heightened flavor and nutrition.”
Arriving at the bakery just before 4 a.m. each day, he bakes sourdough boules, seeded rye, baguettes, mini sesame baguettes, and focaccias with rotating toppings, all of them warm from the oven by 11 a.m. You can order online and grab your goods from the pickup window or linger in the sleekly designed space.
“Every day in the shop I am reminded of how food is such a great catalyst for bringing people together and creating community,” he says. “It’s still so early in the bakery’s life, and despite so much uncertainty right now, it brings me immense joy to see a smile on someone’s face when they come to get their bread for the week.”
Above: Jacob Brenner packs up to-go orders at the Bread Shop. Photograph courtesy of Bread Shop/ Halley Roberts Strongwater.
BREAD SHOP
1708 Lena St., Suite 101
Thursday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
@bread.shop.sf