Berkeley, San Francisco and South San Francisco

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bread (bred) n. 1. A staple food made from flour or meal mixed with other dry and liquid ingredients, usually combined with a leavening agent, and kneaded, shaped into loaves, and baked. 2a. Food in general, regarded as necessary for sustaining life: "If bread is the first necessity of life, recreation is a close second" (Edward Bellamy). b. Something that nourishes; sustenance: "My bread shall be the anguish of my mind" (Edmund Spencer). 3a. Means of support; livelihood: earn one's bread. b. Slang Money. (The American Heritage Dictionary)

Our Most Common Breads

  •  Pain au Levain

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Organic Whole Wheat Flour and Sea Salt

    A sourdough that contains about 20% whole wheat flour. 'Levain' also refers to the particular whole wheat sourdough starter used in this and other loaves Acme makes. What distinguishes this loaf from other sourdoughs is its particularly strong smokey' crust and its chewy lighter interior crumb speckled with whole wheat. Pictured to the right are the 'long', large, and small levain along with levain rolls. We also make a 'giant' version of levain as well as a version that contains 3/4 whole what flour that is a bit denser than the orignal. The loaves take nearly 24 hours to makefrom start to finish and are used as table bread at many Bay Area restaurants.

  • Walnut Levain

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Walnuts**, Organic Whole Wheat Flour and Sea Salt

    Levain Walnut bread is made with the same blend of flours as our regular Pain au Levain, and has a slightly purple interior due to the reaction of the acids in the starter with the walnut skins during the dough's long fermentation process. We make this bread in the 'small' 16 oz sized pictured to the left as well as a large 24 oz round not pictured.This bread is particularly good with a wide variety of cheeses. 

  • Sourdough

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water and Sea Salt 

     


    All of the breads that we call sourdough or levain are leavened with naturally-occurring wild yeast starters rather than bakers yeast. Our white sourdough baguettes, batards, and rounds, are probably the closest that we come to what people think of as San Francisco Sourdough. Pictured to the left are sour baguettes, sour deli rolls, a batard, round, twinkle (or sour petit), and a sour loaf.

    

  • Italian Bread

     Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Organic Whole Wheat flour, Sea Salt and Yeast 

    

    Not really Italian but definitely bread. Both shapes of this bread have a crisp, chewy, and strong crust. The crumb is tangier and more moist than sweet doughs. It is somewhat of a mild sourdough as a whole wheat sourdough starter is used in conjunction with yeast for its' leavening. 

     

    Originally formulated in an attempt to replicate the irregular structure and texture of Tuscan breads, but with the addition of salt and flavor. Italian Bread is leavened with both a wild yeast (sourdough) starter and with bakers yeast.

    

  • Olive Bread

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Olives**, Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Sea Salt and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

     

     

    If you are looking for a Kalamata (black) olive bread you will need to look elsewhere because ours is made with fruity, lightly cured, green olives. This olive bread is naturally leavened with a sponge that is started from a piece of our whole wheat levain. 

  • Sweet Dough

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Sea Salt and Yeast

     

    One of the very first doughs that we made at Acme. This is a straight yeast dough, leavened with a relatively small percentage of bakers yeast, with the addition of some of yesterdays dough as a pre-ferment.

    Not to be mistaken for 'sweet' dessert or breakfast bread that contains sugar. Sweet here refers to a flavor and crust texture milder than a sourdough. A wonderful bread for all purposes and especially for highlighting the flavor of an olive oil or mild cheese

  • Sweet Rustic Dough

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Sea Salt and Yeast

     

    This dough is leavened with a long-fermented bakers yeast-based liquid starter. We hand-mould all of the breads that we term 'rustic' and bake them in stone-hearth ovens. The Baguettes and other loaves that we make from this dough generally have a chewier crust and more irregular interior structure than their counterparts made from our regular Sweet Dough. Pictured to the left are Sweet Deli Rolls, Rustic Sweet Round, Sweet Ladder, Rustic Sweet Batard, Rustic Courrone, Rustic Sweet Baguette, Pain Epi, and the Rustic Roll

    The Sweet Ladder and the Rustic Couronne are not available for Wholesale Customers at this time. Availabiltiy is limited by location for other Rustic items. 

  • Pain de Mie

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Milk**, Unsalted Butter**, Sugar, Yeast and Sea Salt

     

    A sweet dough that also contains milk, butter and sugar. It is soft and smooth in texture with a closely knit crumb and mild crust.

    In French terminology, the outside of a bread is the croute or crust, and the inside of a bread is the mie or crumb. Pain de Mie is traditionally baked in closed molds or pans in order to minimize the amount of crust and maximize the amount of crumb, or mie. Our 'Long' (pictured to the left) and Giant Pain de Mie loaves are baked in closed Pullman pans, but we make this dough into other shapes as well. In some cases referring to these other shapes as Pain de Mie is inappropriate since they are not baked in closed pans.

    Oh well!

    All four divisions of Acme make this dough which comes in the two sizes photographed above right (small, and long) as well as in a giant size (not pictured), which is double the width of the long. Acme also makes this dough into several roll shapes pictured to the right: torpedo, burger/soft round bun, hot dog bun and tiny 2 oz baby buns.

  • Herb Slab, Herb Loaf & Fougasse

     

    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Rosemary, Sea Salt and Yeast

     

    We originally developed this dough to make our beautiful rosemary-and-olive oil Fougasse but now offer the bread in an Herb Slab, and Herb Loaf as well (pictured left). The Herb Fougasse is not currently available for wholesale.

    Acme also makes a beautiful Herb Foccacia, not pictured.

  • Challah

    (available Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

     Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Eggs**, Unsalted Butter**,  Honey**, Sea Salt and Yeast (poppy or sesame may be added)

     

    Not a Kosher product but close enough for many. We make it with poppy seeds or sesame seeds on top and also offer a non-seeded version.

    On certain Jewish holidays we try to have turban-shaped Challah, both plain and with raisins. We make Challah into 3oz rolls as well on the days we offer it for sale.

  • Cinnamon Currant Bread (with or without walnuts)


    Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour (Organic Malted Barley Flour), Water, Milk**, Currants**, Unsalted Butter**, Sugar, Sea Salt, Yeast and Cinnamon


    A sweet, sticky, loaf made by adding Zante currants to our Pain de Mie dough. The dough is moulded into little balls, tossed in cinnamon sugar, and piled into a loaf pan before baking. We offer the bread with or without walnuts. Wholesale availability is currently limited. 

     

    

*All products are manufactured on equiptment that processes Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Nuts, Soybeans, and Seeds.

** Known Allergen Ingredients

Not all types of breads are produced at every bakery. Please check with your wholesale office for availability of specific breads in your area.

Berkeley, San Francisco and South San Francisco