Nashville Scene's Food Blog
Carrington Fox, the restaurant reviewer and food writer for the Nashville Scene, wrote this post for the Nashville Scene's Food Blog, Bites. Here is the link to the entire post or read it below.
Greatest Thing Since Twin Forks Farm Bread
 |
I first met David Tannen, self-proclaimed chief cook and bottle-washer of Twin Forks Farm Artisan Breads, a couple of years ago when I was picking up my weekly CSA veggie haul from Fresh Harvest Coop. Tannen doesn't remember meeting me, but I'll never forget the heft of the loaf I purchased from him. He had recently constructed a small beehive oven in his backyard in Primm Springs, Tenn., and he was firing up loaves of old-world bread--four at a time--like little whole-grain cannon balls.
I recently had occasion to try Tannen's bread again, and what a difference two years makes. While Twin Forks loaves still weigh in at a pound-and-a-half, the texture has migrated from dry and leaden to moist and meaty, and the flavor is a hearty harmony of sweet, sour and faintly bitter.
Tannen, a former traveling salesman of whole-food products, says he learned a lot about time and temperature in the last couple of years. He learned to keep his sourdough starter at a constant 80 degrees, and he developed a feel for when rising dough is just right for baking. ("That's where all the artisan stuff comes in," he says.)
Along the way, he also developed a following for his bread out Primm Springs way, so he built a bigger oven and can now bake up to 175 loaves a day.
Of course, it's hard to finish a phone conversation with the affable and enthusiastic Tannen, because every few minutes he has to mix in some more flour or move some dough into the cooler or out of the oven. When he can break for a minute, Tannen overflows with facts about yeast, bacteria, fermentation--not to mention the laborious description of building a fire to 1,000 degrees, letting it cool over night, cleaning out the coals and mopping the inside of the oven to sterilize it before setting in the first batch of dough. The first bake of the day cooks for about half-an-hour, but as the day goes on and the oven temperature drops, the cooking time extends to 75 minutes.
It sounds like an exhausting process, and if you had asked me two years ago if it was worth it, I wouldn't have been so sure. But the bread Tannen is churning out now is remarkable. I sliced the raisin loaf as thin as possible, warmed it in the toaster and slathered butter across it. Riddled with plump sweet raisins, the dense bread soaked up the melted butter like a sponge, and each chewy bite was a balanced blend of sweet and sour, sharing nothing in common with mass-produced raisin loaf beyond a quiet empathy.
When I told Tannen I smeared Jif across the Bohemian Three Seed, I think I heard him gasp in horror. It may be blasphemy to thusly pollute artisan bread, but the whole wheat slice--pocked with sunflower, flax and sesame seeds--made one of the best open-face PB&Js I have ever had.
Starting next week, Tannen's bread will be available at Lazzaroli Pasta in Germantown and at The Produce Place on Murphy Road. On Wednesday, March 11, Tannen will be at The Produce Place offering samples and coupons for $1 off the $4.99 loaves. Twin Forks Farm Artisan Breads will also be available this spring at the farmers' markets downtown and in Franklin and through Fresh Harvest Coop.
Tasted this outside of Savarino's, when Tannen pulled up with a truckload of his wares. I don't even like raisin bread, and his was great: the plump, moist raisins were like bits of candy. Good luck trying to sell bread to Corrado, though.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 6:55AMHi, this is David Tannen, chief cook and bottle washer, at Twin Forks Farm. Just wanted to let everyone know that my breads are also available at Whole Foods Market on Galleria Blvd in Franklin, TN. I deliver fresh baked bread on Wednesday and Saturday to this location.
I just removed the ashes and cleaned the hearth of my oven. The Bohemian 3 Seeded, the one with the sesame, sunflower and flax will soon be loaded in the oven. The neighborhood will soon be filled with the aroma of wholesome fresh baked bread.
Carrington, you are welcome to a slice, but you will not find any Jiff here. Only freshly ground peanut butter which also goes great on a thick slice of the Raisin Bread.
David Tannen
Twin Forks Farm
Artisan Breads
www.twinforksfarm.com
we ate this bread all last summer, picking it up from the franklin farmers market. it was good enough to make me get up early every saturday...
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 8:07AMWe picked up Twin Forks bread practically every week last summer @ the East Nashville farmer's market. It helped convert me from liking only white bread to liking only whole grain breads. Incredibly delicious bread!
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 9:31AMDavid, I delivered those loaves to Carrington like you asked, and that shrew didn't even let me have a taste! Why, I oughtta....
I guess it's either a testament to your bread, or to Carrington's cold-hearted indifference to her co-workers.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 11:31AM
says:
Jack -- That hurts. You will not be invited to my (increasingly hypothetical) Mad Men party. Now, Joe P. on the other hand just skyrocketed to the top of the list.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 11:56AMJack, perhaps we should have a meet with the consigliere for lunch over at Savarino's and discuss retribution for this insult!
I'll be sure to bring some bread.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 12:11PMCongratulations David,
Here at Whole Foods Market in Franklin every time David samples his bread on Wednesdays and Saturdays he sells out. We have a hard time keeping it on the shelves! I can attest to the quality and flavor, simply amazing. Keep up the good work David and see you tomorrow.
Micahel
Day 5 of Twin Forks Bread Watch: I had raisin bread today for both breakfast and dinner. It is still just as fresh and chewy as it was when it arrived. I've been keeping it in a big freezer bag. I'm thinking of conducting of endurance contest between TF bread and a loaf of my favorite challah, just for kicks.
Posted On: Monday, Mar. 9 2009 @ 8:54PMThis Bread really rocks. I had been looking for some old world style bread since moving to the United States several years ago. So when I found David at the Franklin farmers market I knew I had arrived. Try the Raisin bread with double cream brie and some fig jam or the hearty Bohemian 3 seed lightly butter with authentic salami. Heaven! David, thank you for baking this wonderful bread.
Posted On: Wednesday, Mar. 11 2009 @ 12:40PMMy husband and I have been enjoying David's breads since we discovered him last year at the Nashville Farmer's Market! We live in Hendersonville and now have to travel all the way to Franklin Whole Foods every few weeks to pick up 4-5 loaves of the Bohemian 3-seed (with an occasional loaf of Expedition thrown in). I spent much of my life in Europe (living and traveling) and had been searching for a bread that meets that dense, chewy European flavor! And David has mastered that.
We can't WAIT until Whole Foods in Green Hills starts carrying the bread and hope it's soon (sure would help with our gas bill, and then my 85-year old mother could also get the bread more easily!) :)
Thanks for your bread, David!
Posted On: Thursday, Mar. 12 2009 @ 9:37AMDavid's bread has become a weekly favorite in our home.
It is difficult, indeed, to find TRULY GOOD BREAD. David's careful crafting of this wonderful product, from the ingredients to the preparation to the specially-built oven, make their mark with every bite.
We're hooked. We fight for the last piece.
I've actually been known to hide the bread tin from my children.
Yes, it's that good.
And David's warm and winning personality makes it a delight to meet up with him on Saturdays at Whole Foods. A good man with good bread!
It's especially yummy toasted and slathered with butter.
There is nothing else on the shelves that rivals this healthful, quality bread. Now if only David would come to my house and bake it for me a few times a week. ;)
Posted On: Thursday, Mar. 12 2009 @ 1:48PMDavid, this raisin bread sounds incredible. Where'd you find such a great recipe? :)
Well done sir.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 13 2009 @ 7:55AM