Boudin Bakery

We are currently in Day 2 "At Sea" on our cruise.

In honor of this slow period, I thought I would show off a few photos from Boudin Bakery, on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

They have, not only restaurants and coffee houses on the property, they have a self tour of the bakery.

It is non-stop action in the creating and baking room.

Dough is mixed in huge vats and then fed into machines that shape them into the trademark bowl shape or sourdough french bread shape.

It is amazing to me how fast they work.

According to the self tour, the round balls of dough need to "rest" for 15 minutes before they are shaped into the large cigar shape of the sourdough french bread. That is what they are doing in the little sections you see in photo number 2.

Later, after they are rested once more, a baker puts 2 lines in the bread, to let the air escape while baking. The way they do it, is usually something totally individual.

After they are baked, they are thrown into overhead baskets, that snake all around the building. As the workers in the serving area need more bread, they grab some from these baskets.

It just amazed me.

Photo number 3 is looking toward the front of the building, where people outside can watch some of the forming of the bread.

They get you coming and going. :-)