A Look at How La Tour’s Poi Sourdough Came To Be
(Partner Content) The brainchild of CEO Brandon Lam, La Tour Bakehouse’s poi sourdough represents the company’s since-day-one dedication to using local ingredients whenever possible.
You can find it in restaurants, farmers markets and even Costco: La Tour Bakehouse’s poi sourdough is a celebration of Hawai‘i as much as it is a genius marriage of carbs. The idea is the brainchild of La Tour Bakehouse CEO Brandon Lam, who had been thinking of new ways to incorporate local ingredients and agriculture that make the Islands so unique. “People love our sourdough bread, so I thought, ‘What if we combined sour poi with sourdough?’” says Lam.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
It made perfect sense: Both undergo a similar natural fermentation process to create that sour tang. La Tour already had a 20-year-long partnership with Hawaiian Poi Co.—its kalo is the prime ingredient in its super soft and sweet taro rolls and buns—and, it turns out, HPC was more than happy oblige. Most people like their poi fresh, and this was a perfect way to repurpose the product that, after two or three days, were no longer desirable. La Tour started to develop the recipe and, after testing, loved the flavor combination. And a new bread was born.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
This is far from the first time La Tour Bakehouse has partnered with local suppliers. Ever since the Ba-Le days, it’s made a point of incorporating local ingredients whenever possible. “As a local bakery, we’re always trying new ways to support local agriculture,” says Lam. “And since we can’t grow wheat here in Hawai‘i, we have to be creative when developing new items, and with sustainability in mind.” Farm Link Hawai‘i supplies local bananas for its scrumptious banana bread. Some of its other products incorporate local honey, eggs, ‘ulu, sweet potato and more. La Tour even sprouts its own wheat berries locally to make its 100% sprouted multigrain bread—a favorite among bread fans as well as La Tour’s executive chef, Rodney Weddle—a process that results in a highly nutritious bread with no processed flour.
Now through November 30, 100% of sales at the new La Tour Bakehouse retail location will be donated to charity. Visit La Tour Bakehouse at 888 N. Nimitz Hwy. Suite 105 to restock on your favorite loaves or discover new favorites.
