Bake Magazine
www.bakemag.com/articles/19392-boudin-bakery-celebrates-175th-anniversary
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Boudin Bakery celebrates 175th anniversary

09.17.2024

Boudin Bakery, a San Francisco institution and the home of The Original San Francisco Sourdough™, has announced the celebration of its 175th anniversary. Born in the Gold Rush in 1849, Boudin is the oldest continuously operating business in San Francisco and is synonymous with the city’s history - surviving major fires and earthquakes, recessions, and the pandemic.

For nearly two centures, Boudin has continued the same baking methods and traditions while constantly innovating their menu offerings at Boudin restaurants.

“Boudin’s commitment to quality and tradition has remained steadfast, and we are proud to have cemented our place in culinary history here in San Francisco while embracing the future by offering innovation menu items that appeal to our consumer's modern tastes at our Boudin restaurants throughout California,” says Dan Giraudo, Boudin’s chief executive officer. “From classic sourdough loaves to artisanal sandwiches, fresh salads, and gourmet soups, our innovative offerings reflect a blend of tradition and modernity. Seasonal and locally sourced ingredients feature prominently, ensuring that every bite is as fresh and flavorful as possible.”

To commemorate its milestone, Boudin will be offering a special anniversary “Week of Deals” at all of its California locations, where applicable, during the week of September 30. Between September 30 and October 6, the bakery will be offering daily celebratory offers to customers ranging from a 1 lb. sourdough loaf of bread for $1.75 to special buy one, get one offers. Menu selections vary by location, so customers are encouraged to check online for additional information.

Boudin Bakery was founded in San Francisco in 1849 by Isidore Boudin, who hailed from a family of master bakers in Burgundy, France. Isidore “struck gold” with four simple ingredients to create Boudin’s now iconic sourdough bread: flour, water, salt and the “mother dough” (wild yeast starter). The secret to Boudin’s unique tangy flavor and chewy texture is in its mother dough—a combination formed by local varieties of wild yeast and lactobacillus—plus a few other helpful microbes and San Francisco’s foggy weather—to create a natural source of fermentation that allows its sourdough bread to rise without using commercial yeast. A piece of the original “mother dough” continues to be used in every loaf of sourdough bread baked by Boudin since the Gold Rush era.