Our resident caffinologist, John Flemming, pursues perfection. It’s inconceivable to him that we who have bought a $12,000 espresso machine hesitate before spending another $1,500 to buy a reverse osmosis water filter (whatever that is).    Can you imagine my not wanting to dig into our marble front counter a hole for his spray rinse […]

Pepco came.  Washington Gas came.  Pepco installed its meter and turned on the power and Washington Gas installed its meter and gave us gas. We completed our construction and our oven technician came from California to turn on the ovens and heat them gently to 450 degrees over two days.  We made a test batch […]

Look at the comments made from time to time about what I write here and the questions asked. Wonderful, useful comments and very few questions – other than one now being asked several times each day:   It’s a reasonable question to ask us after all these weeks of construction. We have a bit to […]

You must be tired by now of reading about what foods we aren’t going to make – bland food and Frenchified pastries.  It’s time as we prepare to open to write about what you will find at Bread Furst. I really think that each of our major products – breads, desserts, and foods – will have […]

            I read the Forest Hills Connection of course and for weeks have been anxious about the arrival of this moment. We are going to interfere this week with the sidewalk on the west side of Connecticut Avenue just in front of Bread Furst.  I hope I won’t be admonished […]

In the good old days – say, 1990 – eating was a pleasure – that is for those who could afford to eat for pleasure. And selling food was even more fun. Certainly I know what you know – that 24 years ago we had less access to varied ingredients than we do now and […]

Our pastry chef Jack Revelle and I had a wonderful meeting last week. He and his staff-to-be have been working on the opening pastry menu.  I thought it was too creative. Too creative ?? !! Bread bakers like me are drawn always to tradition.   We connect to history.  We’re not interested in sun-dried tomato-chickpea-basil bread. […]

For years I have worn caps whenever I bake, cook, or teach. I feel cleaner when my head is covered. By now I have a pile of these caps many of which I have picked up in markets in cities like Jerusalem and Bangkok. I began that practice a decade ago. My son Philippe was sent […]

I realize that I have written about equipment, staffing, construction, and apprentices, but have yet to say much if anything about the point of all this – the breads, sweets, and foods.  A lot of words devoted to structure, not much to content. We’ve been having a little debate in our staff and apprentices meetings, […]

Now is the winter of our vent and cement.  The apprentices think my descriptions are indelicate but as I see it, we are now installing the intestines of Bread Furst. At the top of the interior up above near the beams, the shiny venting for air-conditioning and heating is being hung. You’ll not see those […]