BOBS WELL BREAD
SO MANY FLOWERS….SO MANY CROISSANTS
SPRING BREAK….. A ROAD BREAK FOR BREAD
APRIL 27, 2023
We drove into the small town on a spring break spontaneous adventure to see the wildflowers super blooming along the Corrizo Plains. Ranch hills start rolling once we crest the San Marcos pass, winding downhill past the big trucks trailing boats to the lake. Pulling into town it is clear Los Alamos is small. Population 1200. It was founded in 1876 by two ranchers, John S Bell and Dr James Barron Shaw. Bell street runs right through town and upon arrival it seemed that was just about all there was. Los Alamos means Cottonwood in Spanish. It is believed by some native American lore that when the stars were created they weren’t in the heavens, but instead they scurried beneath the soils looking for roots to be born from. The cottonwood trees held these star seeds from their branches and gave birth to the stars. Makes you wonder what the sky looks like at night in the tiny California town of Los Alamos
Our stop was not random. We were not there to star gaze. We were there for croissants. A very clear mission midway to our flowery destination. I promised Frances a box of buttery flaky goodness for the drive….and I thought I’d grab a sandwich and a loaf of bread for my own guilty pleasure.
Bob’s Well Bread sits astutely on the main drag of town. I would have driven right past had it not said bakery out the front. I’m not sure bakeries really need names other than “The Bakery”. Bakers provide an old world service. I would go so far as to say an “essential” service for any community. Such was true here in the wee town of Los Alamos. Locals and travelers alike are welcomed with beautiful baked fair of breads and morning pastries that entice them into their day, soothed, smiling and raring to go. You don’t need a reservation to go to a bakery….even the most famous are open to everyone offering their best to anyone who walks in the door. They illuminate the food world at it’s least pretentious….at it’s most comforting. Bakers are perhaps the food industry’s nurturers….the mothers who send us off in the morning with a “drink your juice, eat you toast and have a wonderful day honey”.
Although the streets empty, the bakery bustled. We ordered a box of croissants, plain and chocolate….Frances yelled “and a morning bun with the glaze on top,” as she ran to the bathroom….returning a short time later with a grin on her face and a squeaky stuffed croissant dog toy, which we added to the order. I asked for the Turkey sandwich to go on a small baguette, a loaf of the pain au levain, and a slice of bacon and onion quiche with a side salad of tangy greens.
FRANCES MAKING FUN OF HER MOTHER
Bob Oswaks opened Bob’s Well Bread in 2014 out of a little building from the 1920’s. It had been a market at one point, a biker bar at some other time and now a country chic bakery delight. As with most bakers of bread, he came into baking as a passion project, or therapy….maybe curiosity or nostalgia….a new phase in life when the old phase was no longer. Although I have yet to sit and talk with Bob, I did meet him briefly in Ojai. It was during an exhausting episode at the Dutchess and I’m sure I came off as a crazy mess as he stood there so well put together. He sported a casual blazer and jeans. A scarf too perhaps or maybe I just imagine him is scarves. He has that way about him. He has a look that doesn’t exactly scream baker but more gentleman of the afternoon.
We had arranged a time to meet and talk but he came down with something so our plans have been put on hold. I won’t say too much about him yet. I’d like to get his story straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak…..and I will in due time. What I can say now is that he has done well. Bob’s Well Bread has done well. In a tiny little town without too much around he has built a bakery. And his bakery is busy. No easy feat.
Frances raved about the croissants so we bought a few more before we walked out the door. We hit the road and headed to the flowers. We took a two hour accidental detour on a splendid rolling hill roadway by a lake. I stress ate the chocolate croissant on the side of the road as I tried to figure out how we ended up on the backside of the Corrizo plains national monument. Covered in flakes and chocolate on my cheeks we put windows down and sped back towards the 101…..croissant bits flying out the windows.
Frances had her second croissant just before passing out for her long comfortable two hour nap in the passenger seat, her third in the Corrizo fields of flowers like Dorthy in the poppy fields and I had her fourth as we set in to drive home the three and a half hours. And yes, the flowers were a sight to be seen.
My own baking habit has left little time over the years for exploring the baking world beyond Ojai. I have had my head in bread dough like an ostrich in the sand. I am now desperate to see what I haven’t seen and meet the people I haven’t met. The baking community is large and small all at the same time. I’m starting to dip my toe in and see what I find. How lovely to start so close to home. When Bob is well I will go visit him at his Ballard Shop and hopefully he will tell me his story. As a bread baker I am sure it is a good story because they always are.