Nate Gerber ’27

Photo taken at the crumb-scene.

Breaking (bread) news: I, Nate Gerber, Inklings resident carbs connoisseur and sourdough fanatic, tested six sourdough options in Westport, and I discovered that we are (or at least should be) the sourdough capital of Fairfield County and potentially the world at large.

Much to the animosity of my stomach, which has probably developed an intolerance to gluten after this pitiful pursuit, I tried a full slice of each of the six loaves.

And to prove I’ve actually done such a feat, here is photographic evidence:

The breads that I tried were (in order) “Flour, Water, Salt,” Cob’s, Fatto a Mano, Fresh Market, Big Y and kneads. Each of the bread were rated on five criteria on a scale of  one to 10, those being appearance and shape (How good does it look), crust (How good is the crunch?), crumb (How good is the inside texture?), aroma (How good does it smell?) and flavor (How good does it taste overall?)

First, we have Flour Water Salt (FWS). I’ve had this brand in the past, and truth be told, it’s usually better—I have the feeling that this particular loaf was past its prime (i.e. stale). In any case, a review’s a review, and FWS scored an 8in appearance, a 4 in crust (due primarily to lack of crunchiness), a 6 in crumb, an 8 in aroma and an 8 in flavor. This totals to  34/50, or  68%.

Second is Cob’s, a real sexy loaf of bread. Its ridges and rotund (yet refined) shape remind me of… nevermind.  Beyond its eye-catching appearance, Cob’s has lots to offer—with an eight aroma, an eight flavor, a seven crumb and a seven crust. 40/50. H-O-T-T-O-G-O, you can take Cob’s “hot to go.”

Third is Fatto a Mano, the knight in shining armor of sourdough breads. The name “Fatto a Mano” literally translates to handmade, and you can taste the manual labor that’s gone into this loaf. Nearly a 50/50, but I took two points off from crumb—this is likely due to the fact that this is a pre-sliced variant. 48/50, that’s an A.

The fourth loaf is the Fresh Market. This bread got “disqualified” because it’s playing an entirely different game from the recognized form of “sourdough.” In other words, Fresh Market saw “football” and thought, “Oh! Soccer!” Where all the other breads were crunchy and solid, Fresh Market is squishy and… malleable? It tastes good, but it isn’t sourdough despite its labeling.

Fifth is the Big Y loaf. The Big Y to me is “why would anyone eat this?” The only thing sour was my disposition after tasting it. Mr. Y, I want my dough back. 17/50.

Sixth is Kneads—I “knead” more of this bread, pronto (apologies for the dry humor). This is the gold standard of sourdough: baked in small batches, a slightly burnt crust, a distinct tang and plentiful pockets of air. And with the perfect crunch, flavor and looks, Kneads was the rare 50/50, 100% perfect bread. “Loaf” at first sight.

“The takeaway? If you’re buying bread in Westport, you should absolutely check out Kneads. Cob’s and Fatto a Mano are great backup options. I strongly advise you skip the sourdough on your next Big Y visit, and definitely skip whatever Fresh Market calls “sourdough.”