Breaking Bread Uptown

Our Daily Bread Bakery wakes up a new neighborhood

By leslie a . westBrook

Photos By eliot crowley

Ihad just spent an hour visiting with Laurie Zalk, the co-founder and coowner of our daily Bread, at the bakery and restaurant’s snazzy new digs. I was heading home with a long, freshly baked seeded baguette when, en route, I passed a woman with a sign that read: “homeless and hungry.” I pulled over, tore off a third of the loaf and reached out to her.

“Thank you, that looks delicious!” she exclaimed, her bright eyes lighting up. As I handed her the bread, telling her it was fresh from the bakery, she thanked me again profusely. one small deed, a simple gesture and I had apparently made her morning—and mine. Such are the small joys of breaking, sharing, and baking bread.

After more than 30 years of bread baking, two fires, one business partner, a marriage (and divorce) and several children later, business partners (formerly husband and wife) Ze’ev Zalk and Laurie Zalk re-opened their hugely popular bakery and breakfast and lunch spot in a new location in the spring of 2013. The new interior is a fun departure from their former space: the walls are covered with corrugated steel and painted a burnt orange; breads are now displayed behind shiny glass doors, and lights that look like giant hershey’s kisses, hang over display cases filled with tempting treats. There’s a full kitchen (the spot was formerly mimosa) – resulting in expanded breakfast and lunch menus.

Laurie is a product of the hippie era – a flower child that traveled the globe in her youth and has explored much of the middle east. In fact, she cites restaurants in Lebanon (as well as Seattle) as inspiring the new location’s interior design, created with the help of Samantha Keeping Interiors. Incorporating corrugated steel was the brainchild of Chris Sochin, who works at the Santa Barbara museum of Art and was inspired by an installation the incorporated the material; the color orange was chosen from Samantha Keeping’s suggested color palette. our daily Bread has been serving Santa Barbarians and visitors since 1981. The bakery – long situated on a busy corner in our town’s historic district – relocated to yet another lively corner uptown, at de La Vina and Alamar Streets. The new interior look is fresh and modern, there’s now a full kitchen and their beautiful breads and pastries sit behind fancy new glass doors and cases. A glassed in work area provides an insiders view where customers can watch croissants being made.

After 31 years, Our Daily Bread moves uptown with a fresh new look.

“I feel very welcomed here,” Laurie remarked on the move, “Customers have said to me: ‘Thanks for waking up our neighborhood!’”

The bakery began as a simple idea, between friends.

“I was your typical home baker. I loved to bake desserts, always from scratch,” said Laurie, noting that the idea of opening a bakery began with three women, but the day before the trio were to sign the lease, one dropped out who didn’t think the business would succeed.

In the meantime, Ze’ev Zalk, an Israeli who landed in Santa Barbara during his own globe-trotting, was experimenting with flour and yeast at a bakery on milpas Street. he soon became Lori’s (life and business) partner. Ze’ev thought most bread in the United States was awful (rightly so, at the time) and, lucky for us; he wanted to introduce european-style breads to our town. he had been trained and held a master’s degree in horticulture; so the leap from watching plants grow to bread rise may have seemed a natural segue.

Ze’ev remains in charge of the bread operation while Lori, who has a background in private catering, oversees pastries and all aspects of the front of house, including breakfast and lunch menus. But bread is the mainstay of the business. There are approximately 18 varieties to choose from, with the most popular breads and rolls being ciabatta, multigrain, and french. I am partial to the Sicilian olive bread; the zucchini muffins (which are sold along with other odB pastries at Café Luna in Summerland) are another favorite of mine.

You don’t have to drive to the new de La Vina location to buy our daily Bread’s wares. Their wholesale bread operation accounts for about 60% percentage of their business and they bake over 1,000 loaves daily. They distribute from Goleta to Carpinteria to grocery stores, fine restaurants, cafes and hotels including the four Seasons Biltmore, el encanto, Ca’dario, olio e Limone, hungry Cat, Paradise Café, Petit Valentien, Arnoldi’s, and Aldo’s among other spots. Grocery stores include all Albertson’s markets (the Carpinteria store carries odB’s pastries), Lazy Acres, Tri-County Produce, montecito Village market and Pierre La fond’s deli.

All of the breads are hand-shaped, which contributes to their quality since the dough is not overworked by machinery. Two of the most popular breads, ciabatta and multi grain, are levain style, which means they’re made with our daily Bread’s own sourdough culture. When the bakery moved, a temperature control room was built to maintain the sourdough starter and flour at 70 degrees. “We don’t have to make adjustments for weather changes,” noted Laurie. for the past 31 years, all of our daily Bread’s end-of-day breads, pastries, and salads are donated to local, charitable groups. The loaf I bought and shared, covered with sesame seeds and a hint of licorice flavor from a sprinkling of anise seeds, was delicious. I ate way too much of it – and I hope it helped fill the belly of the grateful homeless woman as well – and left her a little less hungry and at least, for a moment.

The new menu features old-time favorites and full breakfasts offered daily that include lemon-berry pancakes, omelets, breakfast burritos and even a feast of eggs, chicken sausage or turkey bacon; two pancakes or french toast aptly called “for the Indecisive”.

Lunch items include healthy burgers: turkey, veggie and quinoa, all made from scratch; a large selection of salads ranging from Cobb to Caeser to Kale; grilled fish tacos and Panini sandwiches. Turkey chili is served, as well as hearty homemade soups that change daily.

All the desserts – tempting cakes include carrot, fresh apple and ricotta cheesecake - are also made from scratch, including the bakery’s well-known “Princess Cake”, topped with marzipan that has been carefully rolled over whipped cream.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the hard working staff – some two-dozen bakers, servers, cooks and helpers – some who have been with our daily Bread for many years. head baker Ignacio Guzman has toiled at the company for 28 years, Beto behind the counter for 12 years, and several other employees have worked for as long as eight years.

There’s a line of gluten free and vegan pastries and breads baked on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bloody marys, mimosas, margaritas and even Peach Bellinis are now offered (guests staying in the airstreams at the Santa Barbara Auto Camp across the street are treated to two mimosas). Wines by the glass are offered ($7-$8) along with local beers like 805. one hope winery donates to the charity Share our Strength, which brings me back to where I started.

Our Daily Bread, 2700 De La Vina Street, Santa Barbara, CA 805-966-3894, www.ourdailybread.net

OJAI REd. A multi-vintage blend of Syrah, Grenache and Pinot Noir. Versitle with food due to is terrific balance, you’ll find loads of red plum and black pepper. An amazing value.

JAFFuRS VIOGnIER. Rich, lush and inviting, it offers up attractive scents of orange marmalade, honeysuckle, apricots, white flowers and mint.

PALI HunTInGTOn PInOT nOIR. a siren of cherries, raspberries, dark chocolate and vanilla. It melts in the mouth. It fills the palate with sumptuous fruit, supple tannins, [and] lovely oak that weaves through the flavors and acidity for backbone.

SCHARFFEnBERGER BRuT. Bright aromas of green apple and lime lead to vibrant, layered flavors of citrus, anise and creamy vanilla in this sparkler. 90 Points Wine Spectator