| San Francisco Bread Review | Safeway Artisan Olive bread |
| Home | Reviews | Hit-Parade | Categories | Bakeries | Links | Forum | Contact |
| Summary | |
| Appearance : | Good |
| Taste : | Good |
| Overall grade : | B |
| Pictures | |
 | |
| The bread | |
| Click on the photo for larger view | |
| Bread name | Artisan Kalamata Olive bread |
| Baker | Safeway, Pleasanton |
| Purchased | Tuesday, May 13, 2003, 2:30PM |
| From | Safeway, 20629 Redwood Road, Castro Valley |
| Tested | Tuesday, May 13, 2003, 3:30PM |
| Price | $2.79 |
| Weight | 20.5 oz. |
| Size (LxWxH) | 11.5" x 5" x 2.5" |
Appearance
Safeway is a self-service: you pick the bread yourself and put it in a brown paper bag. The loaf looks a bit underbaked, which I don't mind. There is a big ridge on top, from one large score. The crust looks pleasant, with some slight flour sprinklings, and a number of black olives visible at the surface. The bottom has a good golden color, and is covered with a fair amount of flour. The density of the loaf is a bit above average. The crust is relatively soft, The loaf springs back quickly when squeezed. The outside smell is slightly underbaked (once again, I don't mind that), with a noticeable olive smell. The cut is relatively easy, you can make good-looking slices because the bread is fairly dense. The crumb looks good, with a light color, not many olives visible, and a number of big bubbles. If you look carefully, you can find bits of rosemary. The inside smell is pleasant, strong with a hint of olives, but I was unable to detect any rosemary scent.
Taste
The crust is too soft, which I find unsatisfying to the palate. The taste is reasonably pleasant, if a bit pasty. The crumb is also a bit pasty, the taste is OK but nothing to write home about. The olive taste is greatly insufficient, and you only hit it once in a while.
Conclusion
Although this is not a bad bread, Safeway commits the usual sin of using an insufficient amount of olives. The few olives that are there are not spectacular either. I did not mind the slightly underbaked feel, but the taste is insufficient.