Sourdough bread makes for a sweet adventure

By Karen Aiello
kaiello@modbee.com

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Sourdough bread and San Francisco go hand in hand, and whether you enjoy just tearing a piece off from a freshly baked baguette or filling your bread bowl with steaming hot chowder, a visit to Fisherman's Wharf just is not complete without a taste of the doughy delight.

Visitors to the wharf can do more than taste the San Francisco staple -- they can visit Boudin, the original breadmaker, who began on Dupont Street in 1849 and rose into a 26,000-square-foot facility located at the wharf.

The new and modernized building opened to the public in 2005 and offers the opportunity to view the breadmaking process on a museum and bakery tour, dine in a full-service restaurant and visit Baker's Hall, where a marketplace and cafe celebrate the baked bread.

AP - Loaves of sourdough bread are shown for sale at the flagship Boudin bakery at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009. The original '49ers came armed with pickaxes, but it's possible to mine the pleasures of the City by the Bay without striking gold.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

If You Go

WHERE: 160 Jefferson St., Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

WHEN: Wednesdays to Mondays, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

ADMISSION: Free

GETTING THERE: Take Interstate 580 over the Altamont. Cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. Stay to the left and take the first exit: Harrison/Embarcadero (which snakes back under the bridge). At the bottom of the off-ramp, turn right at Harrison and go three blocks to the Embarcadero. Turn left and go two miles. At Fisherman's Wharf, the Embarcadero becomes Jefferson Street.

DRIVE TIME: 1 hour, 40 minutes (MapQuest)

MORE INFO: 415.928.1849 or online at www.boudinbakery.com.

Those wishing to take a close-up view will be able to watch through a 30-foot floor-to-ceiling observation window as the production process continues before their eyes. Observers can watch the dough measured and mixed on a platform and then tossed down 20 feet to the bakers below, who use their experienced hands to mold and shape the dough into loaves and other shapes such as crabs, turtles and -- in keeping with the upcoming holiday -- turkeys.

Upstairs in the bakery, visitors can stroll through a collection of historical and interactive exhibits, including an almost 30-foot chronology that tells the story of the Boudin family bakers and their journey along the bread line. Keep in mind that a portion of the original mother dough, which was brought to the new location, still starts each and every sourdough loaf baked at this San Francisco landmark.

After the tour and a stop for some browsing and shopping in the marketplace, visitors may choose to enjoy a meal inside the bistro, stop for a cocktail at the bistro bar or just grab a few fresh hot loaves, head outside, tear off a chunk and relish in the history and flavor of one of San Francisco's oldest and crustiest residents.

Bee staff writer Karen Aiello can be reached at kaiello@modbee.com or 578-2392.