Golden-brown baguettes that beg for butter, seed-studded boules that make your supper sing, foccacia loaded with the season's bounty--each loaf is beautifully crafted to tempt your eyes as well as your appetite. And why not indulge? Our locally baked artisan bread, with its thick crust, hearty flavor

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Gail Lunsford and Steve Bardwell (above) of Wake Robin Farm helped start the Madison County Tailgate Market; since the Market was without a baker, they began baking bread in their home kitchen. By the third year, they were experimenting with European-style bread recipes and built a wood-fired brick oven that bakes 12 loaves at a time. These enthusiastic, ever-striving bakers now produce around 210 loaves per week; "Bad Boy French Sourdough" is the customer favorite.

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According to David Bauer (left) of Farm and Sparrow Bakery, he was always drawn to the "craft end of food." When nobody in the restaurant where he worked wanted to do the baking, David rose to the occasion. Seven years later, his baking has reached art form, and he enjoys a loyal following of local breadies. David currently mixes his dough entirely by hand in 40-100 pound batches. He produces around 1,000 loaves per week in his wood-fired oven. Most popular with customers is David's rustic but elegant "Seeded Bread."

Joe Ritota, a fourth generation Italian baker, and his wife, Annie, began baking bread for themselves and their friends in their home oven. Eventually, Annie's, Naturally Bakery and Cafe opened in downtown Sylva, and they now bake around 20,000 loaves weekly. Even at this scale, much of the work at the bakery is done by hand.

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All of these bakers have a deep, almost reverent, respect for the handling of the dough itself. According to David Bauer, "You always respond gently to the dough, being conscious of every movement of the hand, never forcing the dough to do anything it doesn't want to do." Joe Ritota adds, "When your hands are touching bread, making bread and loving bread, that love goes out to benefit the people who eat that bread."

So, delight in our good fortune and enjoy the wealth of artisan bread available across WNC. If the price scares you, remember that the price of flour has more than doubled since last summer, and the bakers have raised prices only slightly. See the list above for loaf locations.

LOAF LOCATIONS

28806 Deli | 1328-A Patton Avenue, West Asheville, 828-252-5664, www.28806deli.com

Annie's Naturally Bakery | 506 West Main Street, Sylva, 828-586-9096, www.anniesnaturallybakery.com, at the Bakery and area groceries

Bracken Mountain Bakery | 42 South Broad Street, Brevard, 828-883-4034

City Bakery | 88 Charlotte Street, 828-254-4289, 60 Biltmore Avenue, 828-252-4426, Asheville, www.citybakery.net, at the Bakeries and natural groceries

Farm and Sparrow Bakery | 590 Barnard Road, Marshall, 612-720-6435, www.farmandsparrow.com, at the Bakery, natural groceries and tailgate markets

Flat Rock Village Bakery | 2710 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, 828-693-1313

Jonson's Bakery | 106-1 Clubhouse Drive, Highway 105, Foscoe, 828-963-5668

Loaf Child Bakery | 828-649-9612, at natural groceries and tailgate markets

Stick Boy Bread Co. | 345 Hardin Street, Boone, 828-2689900, www.stickboybread.com

Wake Robin Farm Bread | 828-683-2902, at tailgate markets

West End Bakery | 757 Haywood Road, West Asheville, 828-252-9378, www.onhaywood.com/westendbakery, at the Bakery and natural groceries

Wildflour Bakery | 173 East Main Sweet, Saluda, 828-749-9224

Ruth Gonzalez is a former market farmer, backyard gardener, and founder of the local Tailgate Market Fan Club. Join the club at tailgatemarketfandub@yahoo.com.