Not just Americans. If you ever watch those international baking competitions, it’s fairly common for group coming out of East Asia to be slammed in the taste department. Fortunately Japan does offer other great things instead like said crepes, ice cream and of course if you travel to the larger cities there are plenty of places that accommodate a visiting palate.
Like everywhere else in the world though, Japan has a mixture of traditional, moden and just non-tradition offerings. I have never seen so many Starbucks or McDonalds until I lived there. I mean I thought we had a lot but… wow. And those don’t exist in the quantities they do because the Japanese population has something against cheeseburgers and a tall coffees and smoothies. Green tea smoothies are deliciously sweet.
I don’t actually think anyone here is arguing bread is uncommon…Just that it is…largely one note. Monotone. Singular. Milk white fluffy garbage…Ok I don’t really care about white bread outside P&Js. I want Sourdough. I want Rye. I’ve been to a couple different Costcos in Japan. Their bread section made me depressed. It was the smallest piss-ant rack of bread I have ever seen at a Costco. Why even bother.
The one thing I’ve learned about Costco though is how regional they are. Where my sister lives, they have mooncakes for the new year, a large selection of food from India, tons of Kosher offerings, and just really neat stuff because that population is… there. Here, you’d probably not like the bread section either. Muffins, danishes and bagels. You get some large offerings of the Dave’s bread, but nothing to write home about.
Sounds like you need to find a small bakery out by you, maybe a few train stops away or something to get away from the fluffy, jiggly offerings you dislike.
If this is a big deal for you you need to go to some European specialty shops in the larger cities like Tokyo or just go to a high-end department store and eat the cost. You’ll be paying 3x whatever you’re used to in the West though.
I remember when living in Malaysia bread was this sliced sweetened junk so i pretty much cut it out of my diet apart from trips to Deli France or the westernised supermarkets in KL. This was a long time ago and that baking is now part of the foodie culture and sourdoughs and the like are easily found these days
Paul Hollywood (UK TV baker) is doing a travelogue to Japan at the moment and he’s going to some amazing patisseries.
To me, the single best baker of the world is in Japan. His name is Matsuzaki Futoshi, and he owns a shop, simply named Bäckerei Biobrot in Ashiya, Hyogo, between Kobe and Osaka.
He went to Germany where he became a Meister in two less years than is usually needed. He bakes brown breads and cakes exclusively from the flour he mills himself every day in the back of his shop. His Landbrot is the best bread I have ever eaten. I was eating it daily for 4 years of my life, and my intestines and mouth were so happy for it. It is the single thing I miss from Japan now that I am back in France.
If you get the chance, go see him. Better arrive before 11AM, as he is pretty much sold out 2 hours after he opens. He will also let you taste each and every of his breads on your first visit.
So this might be breaking news, but it seems like former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot while making a speech in Nara. What a crazy world.
