Sourdough in the Big Smoke

July 4, 2011 6:26 PM

Is there good sourdough available in London?

I want to eat moist, chewy, flaky deliciously sour sourdough, in London UK. I want sourdough like they make it at Boudin in SF. This must exist, surely?

posted by roofus to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Most London craft bakers make milder pain au levain or pain de campagne sourdoughs, so tangy SF-style options are more limited. Perhaps The Old Post Office, south of the river, or Sally Clarke's, sold at her shop in Kensington?
posted by holgate at 6:42 PM on July 4, 2011

Good SF sourdough is made from local wild yeast that got turned into starter over a hundred years ago. I've never found anything comparable in New York or London.
posted by elsietheeel at 7:21 PM on July 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm told by an educated California bread maker that wild yeasts, such as SF sourdough, are very particular over their local climate, so you'd be unlikely to find a bread tasting like Boudin in another region.
posted by anadem at 9:08 PM on July 4, 2011

I haven't had the Boudin sourdough, but am presently eating a slice of St Johns bread which fits all the points you mention. Available from the St Johns restaurants in Spitalsfields and Barbican, as well as at the Neals Yard cheese shops. You may find it delicious, as I do.
posted by tavegyl at 12:49 AM on July 5, 2011

nthing the Neal's Yard Cheese Shop. Lovely sourdough in there.
posted by stenoboy at 1:35 AM on July 5, 2011

in some Sainsbury Expresses (and only the Express shops) they sell LaBrea sourdough loaves. that's the closest I've found.
posted by wayward vagabond at 1:52 AM on July 5, 2011

LOVE LaBrea, also Gail's , Exeter St., and Clarke's. The latter two are well known wholesale suppliers to a lot of London restaurants but do have retail outlets.
posted by fray at 4:20 AM on July 5, 2011

(Gail's and Exeter St. Bakery breads both stocked with a small range at Waitrose supermarkets too)
posted by fray at 4:25 AM on July 5, 2011

Richard Bertinet is about the best baker operating in the UK at the moment. I've had his sourdough. It is amazing. His bread is available in Selfridges.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:41 PM on July 5, 2011