Oh Lovely Olive Loaf (La Brea Olive Oval Loaf)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	La Brea Olive Oval Loaf
Date:	18/09/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rich and tasty

Disadvantages: A little on the salty side.

I bought a loaf of this the other week in Tesco, not the cheapest loaf on the rack at £1.60 but I was feeling extravagant. You'll find it on the 'World and Speciality Bread' shelf.

La Brea Bakery seems to be an American company founded in California. Their bread is allegedly based upon traditional authentic methods that make use of a natural preservation process whereby bread is baked 80% of the way, cooled and then flash frozen. The loaves are then baked further upon arrival at stores or restaurants. The final bake lasts for 10 to 20 minutes. This caramelizes the sugars present in the crust and produces an open, porous interior. The bread does have a lovely chewy texture to it.

The flavour is undoubtedly rich and satisfying - this is certainly a very tasty bread and I found that just a few thickly buttered slices washed down with a fruit Smoothie was a meal in itself and a very healthy one at that. The crust is golden, crisp and chewy rather than hard, and within the soft interior you will find plenty of half sliced Kalamata olives that surprisingly still retain considerable juiciness. The olives are oil-cured and the flavour pf the loaf is enhanced further by the addition of thyme - the bread is rich in iron. I would say that the flavour is certainly reminiscent of delicious Mediterranean cuisine but it is also a very salty loaf that may be a little overpowering for some. The loaf retains it's optimum freshness only for a day and because of its rich flavour I don't think it is something that could replace my regular daily bread but perhaps something now and again for the weekend to be eaten with simply prepared salads. Definitely worth a try if you love black olives.

Ingredients
Unbleached flour (wheat flower, malted barley flour), water, sour culture, kalamata olives 5%, contains less than 2% or less of the following: salt, wheat germ, semolina, thyme, niacin, reduced iron, riboflavin, folic acid, thiamine Mononitrate, ferrous sulphate.

Summary: An authentically baked loaf flavoured with black olives and thyme.