D. Gonzalez

Roti with green curry sauce at Gindi Thai

Somehow, food always seems to taste better when it's shared. And not just as it's passed around a table, but also when it travels across borders. The South Asian subcontinent has passed down its plates far and wide, providing the inspiration for new dishes through its native ingredients like pepper, ginger and cardamom, as well as incorporating itself into a wide world of meals through its unleavened flat bread, roti.

From South Africa's Cape Malay roti to the Caribbean's wrap roti, just as the use of spices spread across the globe, so has the use of roti and roti-like breads. Yet our favorite takes on roti don't wander too far from home. In L.A., some of the best roti comes from Southeast Asian restaurants like Gindi Thai, Simpang Asia and Penang Malaysian Cuisine.

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Coupe Louis Lesaffre

Swedish Team Presents

No culinary fragrance can compete with that of freshly baked bread. You can be comforted, exalted, seduced, relieved or stimulated by nutty, yeast tones gently wafting toward you. Or maybe you're just hungry. The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, or World Baking Cup, is an event that will make every gluten-free dieter collapse at mere mention. We hope Team USA is not afflicted as such.

This year, 12 countries over three years of competitions were granted entry to the Super Bowl of Bread. The three countries that medaled in the last World Cup, in 2008 -- France (winner), Italy and Taiwan -- were joined by Peru, the United States, South Korea, Sweden, Senegal, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Costa Rica. A lengthy vetting process whittled the best professional bakers in the world to teams of three, who were first chosen for their expertise in a given category, and then survived training in competition techniques and learned to work together. Turn the page for event details, and this year's winners.

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After January 13th, you won't be able to get Angeli Caffe's fluffy, delicious bread, but perhaps this catchy 2:54 music video will help you make it on your own. Now, all you need is that industrial-size, professional-grade Blodgett oven. (Ambitious home chefs can also get a few tips on how to make pizza and tiramisu from the clip.) [Video after the jump.]

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T. Nguyen

Garlic knots at Pizzanista!

Most fast foods have their natural sidekicks: burgers have their fries. Fried chicken has its mashed potatoes. But pizza? Pizza usually flies solo, content with committing crimes against calories all by its lonesome. Every once in a while, though, it is nice to see pizza partnered up, and we personally enjoy our pizzas with warm garlic knots riding shotgun.

Like a good sidekick though, a good knot is not easy to find: they are only as good as the pizza dough that forms them. In this Food Fight, then, we match homegrown Pizzanista! against New York implant Joe's Pizza in a battle of the have-knots.

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Amy Scattergood

Challah-in-process at Stoneground.

"Don't fill up on bread," a few million parents have warned, seated around a trattoria table, a basket of steaming slices and a cup of olive oil at its center. Their children have never listened, and it's no wonder. Bread is a much better food than a band, not the perfect food, of course, but for many the most satisfying--filling, simple, fragrant when warm, a confluence of pleasing textures. At home, many of us go through a loaf a week. Unfortunately, in Los Angeles, great bread is often surprisingly hard to find. Even the "artisanal" vendors at our farmers market don't deserve to share a shelf with Acme. You know the situation is dire when you look forward to par-baked ciabatta from Trader Joe's. Below we share a handful of exceptions to the rule. And we welcome any suggestions, since you may strenuously disagree with our list. Fine. Just weigh in.

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T. Nguyen

Stephen Gordon of Bicycle Bread Company

In the history of barters, there have been a few notables: a red paper clip for a house. Fifteen million dollars, Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, and three first round picks for Wayne Gretzky, Marty McSorley, and Mike Krushelnyski ("The Trade"). A beautiful scarf for a dirty old dust cloth. To this, we add: 10 loaves of freshly baked bread for a bicycle and the birth of Stephen Gordon's Bicycle Bread Company. Not too shabby.

Stephen Gordon graduated from USC with a degree in International Relations and a focus on Urban Planning and Development in 2008, but it was the university's relations with its community (or lack thereof) that motivated him to launch Bicycle Bread. Noting the dearth of healthy, easily accessible food options available in the local community (indeed, these neighborhoods are part of the larger food desert that swallows the South L.A. area), he opted to focus on local relations and development, envisioning a bakery that would offer fresh, healthy, whole grain bread to the immediate community.

First, though, he had to learn how to bake the bread.

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Flickr/xiaozhuli

Ecole de Cuisine is looking for a yeast breads instructor. The Pasadena-based school (with a new location coming soon in Glendale) wants someone who has a high level of execution, coupled with a creative and affable style. European training is a major plus, with a focus on hands-on education techniques.

"We're looking for someone special, who cares about their students, and who can raise the bar for them, showing them how to create artfully executed breads with consistency," said Susan Park, Ecole de Cuisine's Program Director.

The instructor would teach classes twice a week for 10-12 weeks, with a break between sessions. Classes are held midweek, from 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. The position is part-time and pay is commensurate with experience. Interested parties should send CV's/resumes to info@ecolecuisine.com.

Do you own or manage a restaurant or other food-related business and have a job listing? Email us the details and we'll post it on the blog. We may not be Craigslist, but if you're a Republican Congressman with a racy picture, feel free to send that along too.

K. Robbins

What's black and gold and bread all over? Breadbar's seasonal Black and Gold bread, available now through December.

While we'll admit to being partial to the squid ink that gives the classic pain de mie its shocking ebony color, we're equally won over by the loaf's glistening metallic crown, made from pressing gossamer sheets of 23 carat edible gold leaf into the cooled bread. The effect is elegant, with a bit of 80s splatter paint.

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