Saw a guy at the Reno farmer's market selling $9 sourdough loaves from a card table with a hand-scribbled sign.

Looked like prison bread. Pale. Dense. No scoring on top. He had three people in line. I almost said something but just walked away. Is the sourdough craze still that strong or is Reno just desperate for bread?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark_mitchell13h ago

Did you catch if he was actually using a starter or if it was just a mix from a bag? I read somewhere that some of these "artisan" guys are just buying pre-made dough and baking it off at home, which would explain why it looked like a sad brick. For $9, I'd expect at least some kind of effort, like a scoring pattern or a decent crust. The Reno market is weird for bread because the grocery stores here have garbage options, so people might just be happy to get anything that's not packaged.

mason.brian12h ago

That starter thing is a solid question. I looked at his Instagram and didn't see any jar of bubbly starter in the background, just a big mixer and some flour bags. If he's using a dry yeast packet from the store, then for nine bucks I'm paying for his oven time and not much else. The whole "artisan" label in Reno feels like a marketing trick because people here are desperate for real bread. You ever notice how the crust on these home bake loaves always comes out soft and pale, not cracked and dark like a proper bakery would get it? I bet half these guys are just microwaving a bag of dough from Sysco.