Eating Around: Gold Crust's Hot Stuff

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AT GOLD CRUST BAKERY in Alexandria, Paul Christou points to a vat of soupy dough he calls poulish, which burbles for the day in a refrigerated room. This yeasty liquid is a "starter," the beginnings of what may become Italian bread, ciabatta loaves or dinner rolls. "This isn't mass-produced bread, and our customers can taste the difference," Christou said. "We make bread the way it was made 60, 70 years ago."

Christou is giving a bread-making lesson, which includes the difference between poulish, his Italian bread-starter; bijan, a starter for stiffer white breads; and levain, which he makes by hand for wheat and rye loaves — all of which are aged for at least 24 hours, molded into loaves or rolls, aged some more, then baked and prepped for sale.

Christou learned starters for artisan breads from his Greek parents when he was young. Though he had retired from the bakery business, his children decided to open this bakery six years ago and asked for him to move to the area to help. Since then, it’s become the bread supplier to area restaurants including Chadwick's, Al's Steak House, Athena Pallas, the White House, and other big-name clients. "We supply Trader Joe's with 4,000 artisan baguettes a day," he said.

During the holidays, Christou anticipates production as usual, despite more bakery customers as well as more retailer demand. There's something special about picking up loaves from the family-run bakery, particularly when the backdrop is hundreds of cooling loaves on display. Visitors stopping in to buy a loaf or two can check out the steam oven, the braided breads, the kitschy baker statue, and, at this time of year, a selection of pies.

» Gold Crust Baking Company, 501 East Monroe St., Alexandria; 703-549-0420. (Braddock Road)

Story and photos by Express contributor Melissa McCart