Anti-Conquest Bread Co. Shokupan and Sourdough

By Mia Kim

My first taste of Anti-Conquest Bread Co. (or ACQ Bread for short) was through Cafe Forsaken, a free meal initiative that popped up at Honey's in Bushwick over a particularly sweltering August weekend. Fresh slabs of red and yellow Maine-grown tomatoes were placed atop creamy tarragon aioli which had been slathered on a thick slice of toast. Every bite was better than the last. The perfectly crisp, slightly sweet shokupan in particular, stood out. What is shokupan, you might ask? It's a pillowy soft milk bread that has become a breakfast (and sometimes dessert) staple in Japan. I personally love to devour it for lunch.

Owner and baker Tyler Lee Steinbrenner bakes shokupan using a fine-tuned recipe and the finest ingredients: Redeemer white wheat flour from Small Valley Milling in Pennsylvania, organic Chaseholm Farm milk, freshly milled sticky-rice flour from central Thailand and Kriemhild Dairy Farms meadow-pastured butter are all part of what makes his bread so special. You can thank local Haywood Fresh Farms eggs for that deep amber crust, too. 

The sourdough is crafted with just as much care. A 24-hour fermentation process begins with starters born from the resin of young pine cones foraged outside of Tokyo. Tyler then hand-mixes Einkorn wheat from Lakeview Organic Grain with Small Valley Milling Redeemer white and Glenn wheat flours, adding sun-dried sea salt from Amagansett. The end result is, much like the shokupan, a very uniquely satisfying loaf. 

ACQ Bread works exclusively with farmers who are passionate about sustainable practices and support a revitalization of American agriculture, just like the proprietor himself. Tyler started his Carroll Gardens-based bakery as a platform for ideas of mutual nourishment, food empathy and holistic methods. 

“The uniqueness of this is that with the simplest ingredients, one can make transcendent and edible objects through compassion and craftsmanship,” he explains. Both breads are leavened slowly from wild cultures for easier digestibility as well as distinct flavor and texture. Try some as breakfast toast or to create your new favorite sandwich. I promise every bite will be better than the last. 

ACQ Bread is currently delivered to the store on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.