There's Always Something to Discover in Oklahoma
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In the ovens of Oklahoma’s artisan bakers, Old World processes, inspiration, and simple ingredients yield loaves that aspire to their highest forms. State There's always something to Discover in Oklahoma For 22 years Discover Oklahoma has transported you to the state's best destinations - everything from authentic only-in-Oklahoma attractions, to rugged outdoor adventures, to delectable eateries. And even with 950+ episodes and more than 3000 featured locations, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the Oklahoma treasures there are to discover. Join our travel experts every Saturday and come see for yourself. Check your local listings for more information. Photo caption OklahomaToday.com 67 2125-4-OTRD DISCOV - Resize for Oklahoma Today (246-4)_8x10.875.indd 1 1/29/14 11:52 AM READ IS A contradiction— consists of whole grains, and is irregu- No stranger to European artisan thousands of years old and larly shaped. True artisan bread—like bread, Almenas cut his teeth in German cutting-edge in contem- the rich pumpernickel and airy focac- baking when he attended a food trade porary culinary circles. A cia found in many western European high school in New York and worked staple food in many parts meals—cannot be relegated to the role of for one of his teachers, who owned a Bof the world, it is symbolic in religious side dish but often is the star of the meal. German bakery. practices across the spectrum and In German cuisine, for example, breads— “When I was young, there were critical to millions, perhaps billions, of often rich, dark ryes—are the focus of bakeries in New York on every corner,” family traditions. morning and evening meals. Abend, the Almenas says. “I would wait in line, First came prehistoric flatbreads cooked German word for evening, and Brot, or and the line went out the door. It was on heated rocks. Then, in ancient Egypt, bread, even combine to form Abendbrot, the kind of place where they gave you a wild yeast spores made their way into or supper. little something extra, the baker’s dozen. coarse flour and water mixes. The yeast I remember the smell.” released carbon dioxide and, after being The bakery at Ingrid’s Kitchen is heated, became the precursor to today’s humble, a few steps below ground fluffy, leavened bread. THE ANTITHESIS OF level and packed with essential equip- To many American children, bread is ment and ingredients. Racks are a plastic bag of uniform slices—spongy, COMMON FACTORY dotted with newly frosted gingerbread comforting vehicles for peanut butter men waiting to march into the pastry and jelly, canned tuna and mayo, or BREAD, ARTISAN case, and flour dusts every visible surface: melted cheese, crusts cut off and dis- counters, containers, the floor, even bak- carded. To others, including a handful BREAD IS HANDMADE ers. Critical to maintaining the integrity of Oklahomans bringing the Old World of Ingrid’s family recipes, the restaurant’s to uncharted territory, it’s temperamen- BY SKILLED BAKERS breads include no preservatives or dough tal, scientific, and fundamental. Good conditioners, chemical additives that bread, it turns out, is business, lifestyle, IN SMALL QUANTITIES allow mass-produced loaves to be frozen and history. prior to baking. Understood at its most basic, bread is USING TRADITIONAL “It’s all natural, hearty, earth-grain the sum of its constituent parts—flour, bread,” Almenas says. “There’s a dif- yeast, salt, and water. But its implica- METHODS. ference. Everything here is made from tions reach far beyond the boundaries scratch. This is a real bakery.” of a loaf. The concept of “breaking bread” dates at least to the Bible, and N A WEDNESDAY morning in fellowship around a dinner table is as Germany’s dedication to bread is Midtown Oklahoma City, prevalent and perhaps significant a evident even in Oklahoma. Ingrid’s Oit’s still dark, and a few early tradition as Holy Communion. Bread Kitchen in Oklahoma City honors the breakfast patrons are sipping coffee shortages even were a major catalyst for bread-laden tradition of German cuisine and speaking quietly in a handful of the French Revolution. with eleven varieties of German rye sold booths. At Prairie Thunder Baking In its highest contemporary form, it daily, both fresh from the bakery and in Company, the predawn serenity belies is known as artisan. The antithesis of various items on the menu. The bakery’s what those in this business know: common factory bread, artisan bread bread recipes, brought to Oklahoma By 7 a.m., when the doors open, it’s is handmade by skilled bakers in small from Germany by Ingrid Quitz herself quiet because most of the hard work quantities using traditional methods. in 1961, remain unchanged since In- is winding down for the day. Counter Never frozen before being sold, it grid’s Kitchen opened in 1977. offerings—breads and pastries—are contains no preservatives, typically has During early mornings at Ingrid’s, be- baked overnight, while the city sleeps. a chewy outer crust and a heavy crumb, fore the breakfast rush, the only noise is Unwrapped baguettes stand tall the clattering coming from the kitchen. next to a shelf of country white bread. During proofing—the last dough-rising “Hold on,” says head baker Julius Also on display are several varieties of stage prior to baking—some Prairie Almenas, gesturing behind the counter levain, or sourdough; ciabatta; a darker Thunder Baking Company breads are placed in flour-dusted baskets. The and revealing a tattoo of a rolling pin bread dotted with Oklahoma wheat coiled design adds a decorative element on his forearm. “I have to pull the bread berries; and two sizes of Sonnenblu- PHOTO CREDIT to finished loaves. out of the oven.” menbrot, a German-style loaf made 68 March/April 2014 OklahomaToday.com 69 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Brotchen—crusty German- style rolls—are a specialty at Ingrid’s Kitchen and come really have to look ahead to see what plain or topped with sesame or poppy seeds. Prairie their needs are. It’s more like buying Thunder Baking Company BY 7 A.M., WHEN THE lettuce or tomatoes,” McBryde says. “I owner John McBryde removes spend a lot of time with customers, ex- loaves from his three-deck, 18,000-pound Fringand oven, DOORS OPEN, IT’s quIET plaining that we’re not going to have it imported from France. The if you call in an emergency. That bread appliance has 150 square feet BECAUSE MOST OF THE on the rack started two days ago, and of baking space—“the size of a bedroom,” McBryde says. the baguettes started yesterday.” Farrell Family Bread offers a HARD WORK IS WINDING Ordering a loaf of fresh bread days variety of loaves daily. in advance may seem counterintuitive, DOWN FOR THE DAY. but consider this: Preparation for Prairie Thunder’s sourdough—made from a starter that has been alive and maintained since the bakery’s inception in 2008—be- with sunflower seeds, cracked wheat, gins three days before the bread is baked. and honey. Before the café is in full Even when the bakery is closed, someone swing, the unmistakable aroma of fresh comes in to feed the starter. bread—tangy, sweet, comforting— Conversely, the yeast for the Swiss hangs in the air. farmhouse bread, offered once a week, A man walks in from the morning is newly cultured for each batch from chill and steps up to the counter to eye wild yeast that grows on organic raisins. the day’s offerings. “That smell,” he says, It takes a week to produce a single loaf, to nobody in particular. “It smells great.” and even then, there’s no guarantee. Owner John McBryde, seated at a Every now and again the yeast is finicky, nearby table, replies, “Does it? I have to and the ongoing experiment is on hiatus take people’s word for it, since I’m here for another week. all the time.” Anything from room temperature to McBryde retired from the oil and humidity can affect a culturing process gas industry several years ago after three as tenuous as this one. This is baking, decades as a geologist. Prairie Thunder yes, but it’s also a meticulously timed came from, he says, one of those “do science in which thousands-of-years- what you love” moments and a desire to old methods meet modern demand. fill an underserved niche for artisan bread Ancient Egyptians harnessed the in Oklahoma City. random cultivation of wild yeast and Prairie Thunder, like Ingrid’s Kitchen, baked bread in clay molds. The bakers uses no preservatives, resulting in a shelf at Prairie Thunder follow that initial life considerably shorter than the typical process but also go through two thou- store-bought loaves, generally three sand pounds of flour per week—all of it to five days. The ephemeral nature of transformed by human hands. artisan bread presents challenges for a “The bread is flour, water, salt, yeast,” rapidly growing restaurant industry in McBryde says, “grains, seeds, maybe a Oklahoma City, where Prairie Thunder’s little honey. All of this you’re looking at bread is a key player. is made from scratch.” McBryde calls his partnership with local chefs and buyers—among the N ANY SATURDAY morning, you bakery’s nearby clients are Tucker’s can walk into Farrell Family Onion Burgers and Stella Modern Italian OBread, located in a nondescript Cuisine—a “two-way education.” strip mall in south Tulsa, and owner Tom “I’ve learned a lot about their busi- Farrell’s father, Jim, will greet you at the ness, and they’re learning to deal with counter.