1. Our Daily Bread
Looking at bread in a new way and creating
value starting with one loaf of bread

2. What do we need?
Our team this week is completely new, we never met each other and we
want
To introduce ourselves.
To add another layer to the skill of creative observation.
To squeeze as much value from “a loaf of bread” theme as
possible.
To have fun.

3. How can a loaf of bread
satisfy our needs?
We decided to introduce ourselves to each other by sharing stories
about our daily bread:
• Bread we had on our table on November 6, 2012
• Bread we observed around us on that day
• Bread we thought about on that day
• Bread we told other people about on that day

4. Felipe’s Loaf of Bread on
November 6, 2012
I had a long day of work. I want to go to sleep after a very long day. But I also want to finish creativity
course assignment and try out new strawberry fruit spread. How can a loaf of bread satisfy my needs?
On my way to the strawberry jam store , I took the opportunity to practice creative observation skill
inside stores and to take pictures of several unusually creative breads in my city. I went to Boudin bakery, San-
Francisco, and took pictures of their decorative breads.

5. Felipe’s Loaf of Bread on
November 6, 2012
Boudin Bakery is based in San Francisco, California. It is world famous for its “Original San Francisco
Sourdough French Bread". The bakery was established in 1849 by Isidore Boudin, son of a family of master bakers from
Burgundy, France. Isidore creatively combined the sourdough popular among California Gold Rush miners
with French bread making techniques and the legendary Boudin bread was born.

6. Felipe’s Loaf of Bread on
November 6, 2012
I also went to Whole Foods Market and took a picture of their selection on November 6, 2012.

7. Felipe’s Loaf of Bread on
November 6, 2012
Then I realized that I needed bread for the week so I purchased a loaf. I decided to purchase a different
brand (house brand) of my favorite bread. I will take this loaf of bread to work and eat it as a snack.

8. Felipe’s Loaf of Bread on
November 6, 2012
The nutritional facts of the breads we sell here in San Francisco.

9. Felipe’s Loaf of Bread on
November 6, 2012
So, how did a loaf of bread satisfy my needs today?
• Shopping trip gave me the opportunity to observe and take pictures
of beautiful bread loaves.
• I was able to spread my new sugar free strawberry jam on my new
bread, allowing me to taste both.
• Now that I have my fill, I am ready to go to sleep to get ready for
another long day tomorrow!
Felipe Valls

10. Javier’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
I am going to be really honest with you: I don’t eat bread at all. I dislike carbs as much as I can, so I try not to eat bread
because I dislike it… I like to care of my diet (selfish reason).
However, I can tell you I am a big fan of some breads that I have seen when I have traveled outside USA. My favorite one
is from Colombia. It is called Roscon, which is a bread filled up with guava fruit and cheese. It is like heaven. It is a very
sugary bread.

11. Javier’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
My mom used to make a bread with sugar cane called Cuca. It is very dark because of the sugar cane products used and
it is also very sweet. ¡¡¡mmm!!! Cucas

12. Javier’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
In Mexico I have tried bread with jalapenos and some spicy cheeses. It looks really weird to eat, but once you tried it is a
very intense experience. I love spicy foods.
I also love the Mardi Grass bread (King Cake). It is really amazing to see the different colors and shapes and the surprises
you find in it.
I know this is not considered bread, but I love donuts, which could be considered some kind of bread in USA.
Returning to my native Colombia, there is also a bread make of yucca roots called Pan de Yuca. It is way easy to bake. They
sell the dough ready to mix: you just need to add water, cheese, salt, eggs and bake for twenty minutes.
Francisco Javier Villalba.

13. José Antonio’s Bread on
November 6, 2008
Dear all, allow me to show you pictures of the different kinds of bread I have at home right now: Bimbo, Chapata, and
Whole Grain bread. What’s unusual about them is that my wife is pregnant now and needs to eat a special bread.
To me bread has the experiential and emotional component. It is experiential gastronomy. When I taste bread, it evokes
recall of different feelings and emotions, such as taste of homemade food, memories of place of birth, and others. It
links the origin of bread with my country, sunny and sandy Spain.
Bimbo White bread is designed for children, it has no crust, it is wider than usual, and it has many
vitamins. Its daily message to me is to get inspired by fun and childhood. Brown bread is widely used for dieting and
weight loss. It is perhaps the most global bread in meaning, because everyone these days is concerned about their diet.
All bread is commercialized, pre-sliced, both traditional wood oven-baked chapata and more modern breakfast toast
bread.
José Antonio Cano

14. Liudmila’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
I live in Canada, Toronto, the most multicultural city in the world, population 4 million. 90% of
Torontonians were born outside Canada, immigrants from all over the world. We have breads of at least 130 different
ethnicities baked and sold in our city. And many people bake their own bread or combine store bought and home made
breads in their diet.
I am Russian. My husband is Cuban, our son is Cuban-Canadian-American. Our bread today is varied and
there is plenty of it. Our diet is fat free plant based, so when I don't cook and I want to finish leftovers, bread is the main
source of calories and carbohydrates in our meals. In our family bread is served with every meal, as a snack and for
dessert.
Here’s what we have in our bread box. Top right, clockwise. Homebaked buttermilk bread for breakfast.
Whole Wheat kaiser bun for snack. Cuban Galletas de Sal (water crackers) served with marmelade for desert. Polish
sourdough Pioneer Rye served with hot soup for lunch. Canadian megabakery WonderBread, whole grain, pre-
sliced, for grilled sandwiches for dinner.

15. Liudmila’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
Bread is very expensive in Canada, even though we produce most wheat of the world per capita. In our family I bake a
lot of bread myself, and homemade bread costs me up to 80 times cheaper than store bought kind.
Today I spent only 70 cents on bread (Kaiser Roll bought for snacking on the go). Prices of our bread currently are as
follows
WonderBread from mega bakery is the cheapest bought bread - $2.40/kg of bread
Next cheapest bread is Rye Bread from Polish bakery - $4.30/kg
Water Crackers are relatively expensive, $5.30/kg
Kaiser roll is astonishingly expensive - $10/kg, even though in store it doesn't look like an expensive item, 70 cents per
bun
Home baked buttermilk bread $0.30/kg . That much bread for 30 cents!

16. Liudmila’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
As part of the course assignment I posted a request to share stories about daily bread in my online blog and got over
hundred replies from Russian-speaking readers from all over the wold in a space of a few hours.
There will be many more replies in the days to come. It's accelerating, like a snowball. People from all continents are
sharing stories about daily bread on their table and bread customs in their countries and towns. It's all in Russian, but I'll
post a link anyways. Readers of my blog find topic of daily bread fascinating and generously share their stories.
http://mariana-aga.livejournal.com/170088.html
This link leads to a more complete story about my bread on November 6, 2012, about stores I visited, bread I saw, and
pictures I took. And about amazing power of creative observation that this course teaches us, the gifts it keeps giving.

17. Liudmila’s Bread on
November 6, 2012
We got a huge positive response, starting with a loaf of bread, just as was our assignment. People are learning
about themselves and about their compatriots in other countries and towns of their own country a lot and
engage in lively discussions, reveal their observations about bread, and share tips about where the best loaf is
sold in their town or what is exactly the best recipe for the tastiest loaf. They befriend each other, exchange
contact info and build new community, both virtual and in real life.
In our team, we learned to practice brainstorming in a group of strangers, to remedy the situation of too few
participants by creating a virtual team with’ orphans’ from several course teams, we learned to see bread in
many different ways and to reframe and increase its meaning and value in hundreds of ways (transcripts of
brainstorming sessions are available upon request). For example, our team mate Sebas Nogueira from
Spain, contributed
“I suggest we begin the brainstorming by understanding the process of generating value. Some thoughts:
- the value of a loaf of bread is not the same in a rich country compared to an area that has problems to feed
the population
- we can count value as the number of persons interested in the loaf of bread itself. For some religions bread has
an important role in their Holy Mass.”
We got to know each other better, and ultimately we are becoming more creative than before the course.
All starting with a loaf of bread.
Liudmila Valls