Posted by Michael Stern
, December 20, 2009 13:00
If you like fresh-that-morning bread made from a tenderly-nurtured (and tender-flavored) sourdough starter, baked so the crust is severely chewy but not quite hard and the inside is soft but substantial, and if you like meaty, briny, glistening purple-black Calamata olives, here is a large serving of heaven. The idea of a levain-risen, olive-studded batard is ingenious, but more often than not disappointing, even when the bread is good, because the olives lost their punch long ago. That’s definitely not a problem at Ross’ Bread, a storefront bakery and coffee/tea shop in Ridgefield, Connecticut, that makes a glorious sourdough levain crowded with olive chunks that ululate with salty joy. (109 Danbury Rd. 203-438-4822)
