The Premium Bread of Ginza Nishikawa Arrives in Japan’s Tohoku Region

11.June.2019 | FOOD

Ginza Nishikawa is a popular bread shop that opened its doors in Ginza last autumn. The store has announced that on June 27, it will open its 10th branch in Hirosaki, Aomori―the first to open in the Tohoku region.

The shop sells one product: a high-quality premium loaf whose water content Ginza Nishikawa are very particular about. The bread’s chewy and slightly sweet taste is best enjoyed as it is―and on the first day. If left after the first day, you can enjoy a completely different tasting experience. This is because the water content decreases after day one. If toasted from the second day onward, the bread has a deliciously particular aroma which you don’t get when the bread is soft.

 

This bread goes extremely well with Japanese ingredients and condiments, such as kinpira gobo (braised burdock root), nasu miso, narazuke pickles, pollock roe, shuto (pickled bonito entrails mixed with honey, mirin and sake), and so on.

 

Ginza Nishikawa also recommends eating the bread with alcohol, such as a light and slightly sour red or rosé, or a strong white. It also goes well with sparkling wine, especially brands from Japan. With cocktails, they recommend drinking fruity ones like peach, loquat, or yuzu. Bread is normally seen as a breakfast food, but this bread is also one to be enjoyed in the evening too.

Ginza Nishikawa’s bread is handcrafted into delicious loafs that anyone can enjoy at anytime by their skilled bakers. The staff check the temperature of the weather and level of humidity to carefully calculate the rate of water absorption and fermentation time to ensure high quality results every time. And to make sure that the flavour and texture of the bread is exactly the same at every branch, the company created their own evaluation system.

The water in the bread is made with an alkaline ionizer which is what makes it so unique, giving it a smooth texture like silk.

The stores also sell four different cloths that wrap around a single loaf (¥1,296 tax included).

 

Be sure to stop by Ginza Nishikawa if you’re passing through Aomori Prefecture.

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