| San Francisco Bread Review | Bennett Valley Bread & Pastry Olive Bread |
| Home | Reviews | Hit-Parade | Categories | Bakeries | Links | Forum | Contact |
| Summary | |
| Appearance : | Very good |
| Taste : | Good |
| Overall grade : | B+ |
| Pictures | |
 | |
| The bread | |
 | |
| The wrapper | |
| Click on the photos for larger view | |
| Bread name | Olive bread |
| Baker | Bennett Valley Bread & Pastry, Santa Rosa |
| Purchased | Tuesday, May 6, 2003, 12:30PM |
| From | Farmers Market, Ferry terminal, San Francisco |
| Tested | Tuesday, May 6, 2003, 8:30PM |
| Price | $4.50 |
| Weight | 18.5 oz. |
| Size (LxWxH) | 7" x 7" x 3" |
Appearance
This is a good-looking bread. It is a traditional round shape, with a lovely color, and lots of ridges on top. A few whole olives are apparent at the surface. Generous flour sprinklings help give it an appealing appearance. The density of the loaf is average. The crust feels relatively solid but not as solid as I would like. Otherwise the loaf is resilient and feels good. The smell is nice, but is only of bread -- you can't really smell the olives. The loaf cuts well, it's a bit harder to cut than most but still well within range. The inside reveals a fair number of whole olives.
Taste
The crust tastes OK but is a bit too soft. The flour sprinklings add nicely to the flavor, though. The body is relatively dense, with a nice consistency. The olives are very good, and they are present in adequate numbers, although I would have wished for a bit more. The smell is that of a nice country bread, with almost no olive smell, which is too bad.
Nutrition
No nutrition information, but the ingredients are very wholesome and get my full approval.
Conclusion
As an olive bread lover, I am not disappointed. This is a good olive bread, although it is not perfect. The crust could use some work, and there could be more olives.