Not Wonder Bread

There are five major food groups in my mind: bread, cheese, coffee, chocolate, and wine. I could live on these and be happy for a very long time.

Before I moved to NC 10 years ago, I lived in England and before that in France. It goes without saying that France has GREAT bread. England also has good bread. In fact, even the chain supermarkets like Sainsbury's bake wonderful bread in their bakery section.

Needless to say, I am not a big fan of pre-sliced bread in plastic bags made in factories in Ohio (or where ever). Now that bread does serve a purpose when it comes to pimento cheese sandwiches but that's another story and another blog entry.

Imagine my delight to move to Durham and to discover Guglhupf on the Durham - Chapel Hill Boulevard. I can even walk there from my house. All of the bread there is good, but their plain and chocolate croissants are incomparable to anything else in the Triangle. If there is a better croissant out there, I have yet to find it. My latest discovery at Guglhupf is their museli bread. It is 100% whole grain (no white flour for you South Beach diet people) with oats, golden raisins, and hazelnuts. The bread is moist with a touch of sweetness thanks to the raisins and the hazelnuts add a nice texture. Fresh, this bread is wonderful sliced up with butter. A day or two old, it makes great toast. I bet it would also make a mean bread pudding but if I'm going to consume that many calories, it's going to be via chocolate!