We regularly market at the Kaka'ako Farmers Market and are happy to say that although we have established favorite vendors, we continue to FIND new vendors with great artisanal products to try. This past Saturday, while roaming about the farmers market after getting a green smoothie ('Ōma'o Man) and checking out the fresh omusubi (The Rice Factory), we came across Roscoe's Sourdough.
What caught our eyes at Roscoe's Sourdough was the fabulous display of their fresh baked sourdough breads. The loaves of bread ranged in flavors, shapes and prices ($5 - $10). The appealing factors of Roscoe's Sourdough were their impressive crisp crust, beautiful "bloom" (color) and crumb. Especially attractive to me, at the time, was their Olive-Garlic focaccia square priced at $5 (mainly because we hadn't eaten breakfast yet). second loaf that attracted me was called "Da Purps" which has the purple Okinawan sweet potato listed as one of its ingredients. However, I didn't want to get ahead of myself so only purchased the focaccia.
I didn't get to chat with the woman behind the table as she and another woman were having a conversation so I wasn't able to get any background information about the baker or his business. However, I did only interrupt to ask to purchase a square of focaccia. She was friendly and smiley as she packaged a fresh square of focaccia into a plain brown paper bag.
We rushed home to tear into some of this sourdough focaccia. Its mild sourness complemented the roasted sweet garlic and olive oil. The focaccia was delicious at room temperature as its chewy yet airy structure made for a great mouthfeel. I did think about lightly toasting the focaccia and smearing it with some butter or dipping it into an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip. Instead, I cut the square horizontally to make 2 squares while sautéing mushrooms, onions and garlic as a topping. I then topped each focaccia half with the mushroom mixture, sprinkled feta cheese atop and toasted the focaccia until the cheese melted and focaccia was warmed through. In short, the warmed sourdough focaccia tasted better than its room temperature version.
I can't wait until next Saturday to try a loaf of Roscoe's Da Purps or maybe the classic O.G. read more