| San Francisco Bread Review | Trader Joe's Potato Rosemary bread |
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| Summary | |
| Appearance : | Good |
| Taste : | Good |
| Overall grade : | B |
| Pictures | |
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| The bread | |
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| Wrapper | |
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| Nutrition | |
| Click on the photos for larger view | |
| Bread name | Potato Rosemary Bread |
| Baker | Trader Joe's, Emeryville |
| Purchased | Thursday, May 15, 2003, 5:30PM |
| From | Trader Joe's, 5700 Christie Avenue, Emeryville |
| Tested | Thursday, May 15, 2003, 8:00PM |
| Price | $2.79 |
| Weight | 17.5 oz. |
| Size (LxWxH) | 7" x 7" x 3.5" |
Appearance
The bread comes in a paper bag with a transparent plastic window. This may be practical, but I did not see any indication of whether the bag was made with recycled paper, which would be nice (sorry for this little soapbox bit). This is a handsome round loaf, the top looks a bit unusual with swirls rather than ridges. Generous flour sprinklings, pleasant color otherwise. The density is perhaps slightly above average, the crust is much softer than it looks, but the loaf is resilient. The outside smell is quite pleasant, with a strong potato component. The cut was very easy, the bread feels quite soft, but making regular slices was no problem. The crumb is white and of average fluffiness, with (to my surprise) visible inclusions of what can only be bits of potato skin. This seems like an excellent idea since the skin of the potato is where a lot of the nutrition is found. Very little visible rosemary. The inside smell is quite sweet, with a hint of potato and rosemary.
Taste
The crust is very soft, in fact it is hardly distinct from the crumb at all. The taste is quite good, the potato and rosemary are both clearl present. The crumb is also sweet, pleasant but the taste if fairly subtle, and I wished for more.
Nutrition
I note that Trader Joe (or whoever baked this bread) used enriched flour, of which I am not particularly fond.
Conclusion
This is a pretty good bread, I liked the bits of potato skin in the crumb, and the very present potato smell and taste. However, I wished for more of a crust, and the crumb could be more satisfying.