2016 Bakery of the Year, La Brea Bakery
Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery named La Brea Bakery as its 2016 “Bakery of the Year.” La Brea Bakery has taken an industry-leading position on non-GMO breads and brought the concept of “farm-to-table” breads, made with heritage grain, to a national audience. And the bakery has forged new ground with gluten-free breads that mesh with the bakery’s artisan sensibilities. For the complete story, see “La Brea Bakery, artisan bakery to the nation.”
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La Brea Bakery began as a small storefront on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, offering six archetypal artisan breads: sourdough baguette, country white sourdough, whole wheat, Normandy rye, olive and rosemary olive oil. “The word quickly spread about the unbelievable breads being made, and we’ve been growing ever since,” says Kristina Dermody, president (left; also pictured, John Yamin, CEO). Photo: Leslie Grow Photography.
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Nancy Silverton, La Brea Bakery’s founder, was unable to find breads in Los Angeles in 1989 that met her standards for her restaurant, Campanile. She sought truly artisan, Old World breads like those she savored during travels in Europe. “She made the decision to teach herself to bake,” says Kristina Dermody, president. “After a great deal of trial-and-error, she developed her own starter from scratch. Using flour, water and wild yeasts from the skin of organic grapes, she created a living, breathing masterpiece that would ultimately become the signature ingredient in every loaf of La Brea Bakery bread.” Photo: Leslie Grow Photography.
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The original La Brea Bakery product labels are still on display at the current bakery-café location on La Brea Boulevard in Los Angeles. Photo: Leslie Grow Photography.
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“Today, our breads are sold in all 50 states and 22 countries,” says Kristina Dermody, president. “However, we’ve never forgotten where we came from. We continue to instill the same strict quality standards and artisanal baking methods we’ve had since inception.” Photo: Leslie Grow Photography.
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Leadership at La Brea Bakery today (left to right): Jonathan Davis, senior vice president, culinary research and innovation; Kristina Dermody, president; Andrew Blok, brand manager; and John Yamin, CEO. Photo: Leslie Grow Photography.
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La Brea Bakery is ahead of this curve with the introduction of its La Brea Bakery Reserve line in May 2016, baked with single-origin Fortuna wheat grown in Big Sky Country, MT. La Brea Bakery runs long fermentation for its breads—up to 24 hours—so the Fortuna wheat needed to stand up to that process. According to Jonathan Davis, senior vice president, culinary research and innovation, not only did it fit the system, it thrived. “The flavor that it generated was truly unique—and enhanced through the longer fermenting process,” he says. “You really have to taste it side-by-side to really get the nuances of it.”
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Take-and-bake loaves are a primary part of La Brea Bakery’s business—and artisan quality has always been at the heart of every loaf. “It’s dedication to the quality,” says John Yamin, CEO.
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La Brea Bakery has brought truly artisan, long-fermented bread to countless households through a masterful combination of operational efficiency and a stalwart adherence to the artisan ideals that grounded the bakery at its inception in 1989. “We focused on the bread as opposed to how to make the bread,” says Jonathan Davis, senior vice president, culinary research and innovation. “We designed all the machinery around the bread. Essentially, we stuck with the same types of mixtures that we’ve always been accustomed to, just in larger quantities. We use the same types of ovens as on the small scale—again, just on a much-larger scale. We stick with what we know.”
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La Brea Bakery recently completed a new, state-of-the-art, thermal-oil, artisan bread line in its Van Nuys facility, built with top sanitary design and operational efficiency features—and there’s plenty of room for an additional line when the time is right. Davis notes that La Brea Bakery prefers thermal-oil ovens for their precise control of heat, moisture and artisan crust development. The new line is highly automated, but every La Brea Bakery line features some element of baker contact.