Kays Translations

Chapter 64. Let’s Think About New Breads—Part 1: Grandpa Jill’s Recommended Bakery

Grandpa Jill is taking me to a bakery he’s always been recommending, a place I’ve been curious about for a long time.

“It’s just around that corner over there.”

Following Grandpa Jill’s lead, I turn at the corner and see a signboard with a picture of bread on it. This is the place. It’s easy to find, which is nice. I’m also glad to see that Grandpa Jill’s knee seems to be doing well.

Ivy vines are creeping up along the wall of the shop, reaching right up to the door. When I open the door, the bell attached to it rings out, announcing our arrival.

When I walked in, I was hit with the fragrant smell of bread. It was irresistible. I can’t help but breathe in deeply, taking in the delicious scent. Why does the smell of bread make me feel so happy? Just this alone makes my stomach growl in anticipation.

Looking around the store, the most common type of bread lined up are large, round loaves. Maybe they have whole wheat and rye varieties? Some of the loaves are slightly different in color. The scoring patterns on the breads are different, with some having crosshatch slices, and others the traditional grid. There are also medium-sized loaves and some oval-shaped, slightly smaller ones. All look perfectly baked with appealing crusts.

Ah, over there are the baked bread rolls Grandpa Jill said he likes. It’s small loaves of bread topped with ingredients, baked directly into the dough, placed in an easy-to-reach place for picking up.

Next to the baked rolls, there was also a selection of thinly sliced bread with cheese and ham sandwiched in between.

From the back of the shop, the heat from the bread oven radiates through the air. The person busily working in front of the oven must be the baker. He is a large man with a very well-built build. He has a large piece of cloth securely wrapped around his head, probably to absorb all his sweat.

Grandpa Jill, following after me into the shop, casually waves his right hand to a woman inside. Unlike the baker, she is very slender, with her hair tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing an apron.

“Oh, Jill-san. You came?”

The woman’s gaze shifts toward Grandpa Jill’s legs, probably out of concern for him.

“Yep, Ann. Just the usual, please.”

Hmm, so this is Ann. Their casual exchange gives off such a familiar vibe, like a regular customer talking to their favorite baker—pretty cool.

There’s an allure in having a place where you can just say give me “the usual” and it’s understood- I kinda envy that. You gotta be like a real regular at a place to pull that off, right?

Oh, but I remember a place I used to go—a restaurant that served really delicious dry curry. I’d always order the dry curry. The other menu items looked good too, but that dry curry was so good that I would always have a hard time deciding what to order, but I would always end up ordering the dry curry.

Then, one day, as I opened the door to enter the store, a staff member told me, “Sorry, we’re out of dry curry today.” I instinctively responded with “oh, I see,” and just turned around and left. 

I was surprised that I was recognized so clearly…like,

Yeah, that’s definitely the “Dry Curry girl”!

Ah, I really want to eat dry curry now. And curry bread too!

Most likely, Grandpa Jill is the “Baked Bread Roll Person.” Ann skillfully fills a basket with bread that she carefully hands over to him.

I like baked bread, but right now, I’m curious about the thinly sliced bread with cheese and ham sandwich in-between, especially the ones stuffed somewhat carelessly. They look simple but must be incredibly tasty. And the fact that they don’t include any green vegetables in it is also quite appealing.

I also want that big loaf of bread. I really like rustic, hearty bread. If it’s firm, that’s great, and if it’s super chewy because of high water content, that would make me happy too.

Regarding shelf life, rye bread might last longer, but whole wheat bread can also last a long time depending on how it’s made and baked, and I think it’s made to last a long time because of its size.

While I was pondering what to do, the owner appeared from the back carrying a tray of freshly baked bread.

“Jill-san, just in time. Try this.”

He offers Grandpa Jill a slightly greenish loaf.

Ann quickly slices it into manageable pieces for easy eating.

“Larry, mind me sharing some with Saki too?”

Grandpa Jill asks.

“Oh, of course. Please, try some.”

It seems like a taste test for a new product. What a job perk.

“Thank you.”

Let’s eat. I pick it up and put it in my mouth. Hmm, this is…

The older man, who had been already started eating it, says:

“It tastes like grass.”

Such honesty…

Well, I suppose he’s right. I wonder if he added some herbs, giving it a somewhat wild, robust taste. The direction is not bad, but perhaps the herbs chosen weren’t optimal. If I were to add something, I’d like to use rosemary or basil; I think they would work better.

“Not good, huh…”

Larry’s shoulders slumped.

“He wants to make a bread that will be the highlight of the store, but it’s not easy.” An says with a wry smile.

“I still think toasted bread is be fine.”

　Grandpa Jill seems to be a big fan of baked bread.

I wonder why they went for such an adventurous flavor. Curious, I ask him,

“Why does it taste like this?”

“After trying various recipes, I started to lose track of what I was doing…”

Larry explains.

Ah, I see. He’s tried so many things that he’s lost his way.

“Well, how about adding raisins, or changing the fillings in the baked bread rolls?”

I suggest, since I’ve tasted some of their products. Why not try putting curry inside? Or maybe salt bread? I was surprised when I first saw that hollow part in the bread, but I didn’t realize it was melted butter. It’s simple but packed with so much oil—delicious, but it might be tough on the stomach.

“Tell me more!”

He asked me with great enthusiasm, so I said whatever came to mind.

He frowned at the idea of adding sweetened beans, like red bean paste, as a filling. I guess it’s hard to know whether or not something like bean paste suits you until you try it.

It’s delicious though.

Although I didn’t say “curry bread,” I think experimenting with spicy meat and vegetable fillings might be promising, especially since they already have a baked bread roll as a base.

It might be a good idea to offer samples of new products to customers, as is done now, and how they sell before committing.

Of course, considering ingredient costs and other factors, it’s not going to be easy.

“Maybe changing the yeast, too?”

Natural yeast is tasty but tricky to handle, and the flavor can be inconsistent.

Using dried yeast directly might be problematic, and the taste would end up being the same. But if they use dried yeast to make a preferment (medium dough), and keep cultivating it, perhaps they could develop a distinctive bread that fits the store’s esthetic.

We got so caught up talking about all sort of things that before long, we decided to hold or more specifically participate in a future “New Bread Tasting and Development” session on an upcoming day off.

Oh, I also bought that big loaf of bread and some thinly sliced bread with cheese and ham. It was unbelievably delicious. I thought it was just cheese and ham, but there were also thinly sliced onions inside, which added a nice accent and made it really tasty. It was so good, it should be the shop’s signature item.

It instantly makes you think, “This is good enough!” It’s great to have something like this, simple but delicious.

As for the large loaf, I heard Larry saying he was concerned about its inconsistent rise and flavor, but honestly, it was still very tasty. I wonder if they’re aiming for even better. Impressive!

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