San Fran SD Memory

Many years ago I took a trip to the City by the Bay with my parents and sat at Fisherman's Wharf where we ordered a round loaf of sourdough bread. My parents and I ate the entire loaf as if we had never had sourdough before. We hadn't, actually or at least I hadn't. This memory is one of the things that has driven me to be an Artisan Baker today. I was 18 at the time and that was 40 years ago. My dad is now in his 80's remembers that day and still recalls how delicious that bread was.

Fast forward to today. Now that I have the ability to make just about any kind of SD bread, I'm trying to recall what I remember. I know that sounds silly but what I'm asking is, what are the qualities of that popular loaf? Do we have a member who could be forced into duty who would buy a loaf from a big bakery and document the eating of it? I would love to see it again and hear about the crust and crumb, the sourness in particular. I know the smell of the ocean will make the experience more pleasurable and we will have to try and simulate that component using a hill top and wine.

My guess is that the breads I make today are more mild than those sold in SFO. I want to create a rustic Vermont type bread in a small boule form. The idea is to make a bag of these for hunting trips and give one to each hunter to have for lunch later while sitting in the woods in a foot of fresh snow.

Seriously, anyone willing to take up the call to duty here?

Eric