568854 Sat Nov 01 00:04:46 -0700 2008 24 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 4142162 I saw in the Mercury Newspaper that Feel Good Bakery is selling loaves of bread w/ stencils of presidential rivals Barack Obama & John McCain. Not sure how much each loaf cost. Might be fun to get. Obama loaves are outselling McCain loaves 8 to 1. Anyone try it? Ruth? Sat Nov 01 00:04:46 -0700 2008 10677 hhc 1 4142510 Thanks for the tip! I haven't been by there for a while, but I'll check it out. Sat Nov 01 08:53:47 -0700 2008 4142162 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 4143383 I went in today -- very cute! The stencils are on their Old World miche loaves ( http://www.feelgoodbakery.com/breads.html ) and look pretty good. They have a couple of different sizes, I think he said they were $16 and $18 (the smaller one is four pounds). We had a discussion about whether it was better to buy the one featuring your candidate, or the one with the picture you wanted to stick a knife into. ;-) The owner said they were going fast -- especially the smaller loaves. They will have a big stock of them Tuesday but they would be first-come/first-serve as they are no longer taking orders. He suggested I come in when they open at 7 a.m., which I might do since I walk right by there on the way from my house to my polling place. BTW, novelty aside, the bread is fabulous. Sat Nov 01 18:44:42 -0700 2008 4142510 10159 Ruth Lafler 3 4143390 Don't eat it. Save it to sell on Ebay or if it becomes worthless use it as a curling stone. Sat Nov 01 18:51:34 -0700 2008 4143383 105235 wolfe 4 4143399 You have a point -- in a few days it will turn rock-hard and then could become a permanent decorative accent! Sat Nov 01 18:57:20 -0700 2008 4143390 10159 Ruth Lafler 3 4148879 Update/Correction When I went in this morning, they were selling three variations: French -- $16; Triple levain -- $18; and Old World Miche -- $20. The miche I bought was still warm and smelled heavenly. Tue Nov 04 09:37:21 -0800 2008 4143383 10159 Ruth Lafler 4 4149960 Am I missing something here, $20 for a loaf of bread with a flour picture? Are they donating the $15 in profit to a political cause or are people so jaded they think this is worth it? What a boon for the owners of the bakery! Tue Nov 04 16:26:22 -0800 2008 4148879 195937 tomatoaday 5 4150053 As noted above, the $16 loaf weighs 4 pounds. Tue Nov 04 17:12:28 -0800 2008 4149960 10039 Melanie Wong 6 4150948 A pound of flour in the industry currently costs .39. Wed Nov 05 08:47:43 -0800 2008 4150053 195937 tomatoaday 7 4150973 Organic flour, btw. But whatever. If you don't want to buy it, don't. And you know, in these times, I don't mind paying more to support a small local business that's making a top-notch product using top-notch ingredients and a lot of skill. So that's the "political cause" I'm supporting. Wed Nov 05 08:55:44 -0800 2008 4150948 10159 Ruth Lafler 8 4151005 I should add that while I was there they also sucked me into one of their fabulous $2.50 croissants and a divine $3 bearclaw warm from the oven. It was a special "on the way to the polls" treat! Wed Nov 05 09:12:09 -0800 2008 4150973 10159 Ruth Lafler 7 4150989 BTW what is the cost of a top notch 8 oz baguette these days? Wed Nov 05 09:02:30 -0800 2008 4150948 105235 wolfe 8 4151083 Don't know, but a loaf of organic Orowheat is about $5. Wed Nov 05 09:46:47 -0800 2008 4150989 10264 rworange 9 4151159 And this is the equivalent of three or four of those, plus it's, you know, GOOD. BTW, when I was googling to see if I could verify the size of the loaf, I ran across info about and Entenmann's/Oroweat outlet in San Leandro: http://www.yelp.com/biz/entenmanns-oroweat-san-leandro Wed Nov 05 10:17:51 -0800 2008 4151083 10159 Ruth Lafler 8 4151087 Acme epi (in Berkeley) $1.90 if you bring your own bag. Wed Nov 05 09:48:36 -0800 2008 4150989 10133 wally 8 4151175 Just pointing out the markup is not as outrageous as tomatoaday makes it out to be. Wed Nov 05 10:23:46 -0800 2008 4150989 105235 wolfe 9 4151575 King Arthur Organic flour $8.50 for 5 pounds. Recipe found on line for a 4# Miche lists (total) 13 cups of flour and 3 1/4t. salt, the rest water. I cup flour weighs 4 ounces. 13 cups = 56 ounces or 3.5#. 3.5# flour costs $5.95 Bakery sells bread for $20, approx ingredient cost to a home baker $6.00. So yes, I think it is that outrageous. My opinion only. Wed Nov 05 12:51:36 -0800 2008 4151175 195937 tomatoaday 10 4151631 Of course there is time involved (although most of it is resting time.) And of course there are operating costs. I don't live in a cave and make all my own clothes and refine my own gas. I just find an approximately 70% potential profit margin too rich for me to pay. I guess my original question should have been how much is the bread without the picture? If it is also $20 then I guess that is the going price for a 4 pound loaf. Anyhow, this has turned into a slinging match ~ and I'm not going to play any more. Wed Nov 05 13:08:02 -0800 2008 4151599 195937 tomatoaday 11 4151970 Perhaps you would be interested in the discussion about the $65 pumpkin pie and $30 banana bread in NY http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/568378 Then there's that infamous $8 nectarine at Zuni (yeah, I know ... it was only really about four bucks). The only thing about your whole discussion is that it is an argument that could be applied to almost anything Why not factor out how much less expensive it would be to eat at home rather than Chez Panisse ... If the actual costs of the ingrediants at a $250 French Laundry meal is more than $20 I'd be really surprised ... given portion size. What about all the pricy chocolates in the Bay Area ... I'll bet even the less expensive XOX truffle would only cost a few cents to make, etc, etc, etc Don't even get me started about Fonda's $6 tamal ... what do you supposed the markup on that one is? That has nothing with it or on it ... a small, not even tasty six buck tamal And the other thing is that this is still marginally Chowhound ... it is about delicousness ... not necesarrily about value for the dollar ... which doesn't mean a good value doesn't count ... but you never asked how it tasted. Not that I didn't think $20 was a bit much for a loaf of even with a fancy picture on it. For myself, I'd probably only go as high as $10. If I was throwing an election party I might splurge to have a theme. Sooo ... are the McCain loaves half off today? Wed Nov 05 15:04:50 -0800 2008 4151631 10264 rworange 10 4151653 Given those prices, could you comment on the home baking cost of what would be a take-out $16.95 large cheese pizza that weighs a lot less than the $16 four-lb loaf? I've heard pizza margins are even higher. Wed Nov 05 13:15:42 -0800 2008 4151575 10039 Melanie Wong 11 4151821 Is this where we should talk about this? Just on weight, the pizza would be more expensive because cheese costs more than flour but yes anything along those lines ~ bread, noodles, tortillas, pizza dough are low cost high margin. Most restaurants price their offerings based on a menu mix that includes using lower cost items (such as a cheese pizza) to offset higher priced items such as a lasgna or even higher topping costs. Even simple restaurant operations have more complex operating costs than bakeries or coffee stores. Also, most people are willing to pay more for a ready to eat entree rather than a side item and pay for convenience to satisfy an immeadiate need, even if they can cook something satisfying with a .99 ball of dough from TJ's, a decent prepared sauce and shredded cheese for a lot cheaper. Wed Nov 05 14:07:04 -0800 2008 4151653 195937 tomatoaday 10 4151727 What about labor? We are not only paying for ingredients when we buy a handmade baked good. Wed Nov 05 13:39:01 -0800 2008 4151575 25012 chemchef 11 4151735 You couldn't pay me enough to keep baker's hours. Wed Nov 05 13:41:23 -0800 2008 4151727 10159 Ruth Lafler 12 4151743 Likewise. Been there, done that! (and I did NOT get paid enough) Wed Nov 05 13:44:36 -0800 2008 4151735 25012 chemchef 8 4151718 Acme's organic baguette is $1.70 if you buy it from their shop on San Pablo. Wed Nov 05 13:37:08 -0800 2008 4150989 25012 chemchef