Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
[Photographs: Meredith Smith]
If you've ever been in Boston long enough to need to buy decent bread, then you've probably run into Iggy's. Their loaves populate the shelves of most stores and markets whose clientele wants bread a cut above of the commercial stuff. But did you know that you can buy your bread straight from their Cambridge bread baking headquarters? Oh yeah. And not only that, they have trays and trays of pizza slices for sell!
I only learned of this recently. I had even bought some lumber just steps away from the office park camouflaged bakery, completely oblivious to the fact that the traffic flow to and from the adjoining parking lot had anything to do with pizza.
The day I visited, a half dozen varieties of slices were available. That's surprising because Iggy's isn't the kind of place that has much on hand but bread. This isn't a sandwich destination. Furthermore, each variety of pizza had three or more toppings. And the toppings weren't just your run-of-the-mill pepperoni, sausage, or veggie. Spicy chopped prosciutto, roasted peppers, and arugula topped one pie, spicy salami, kalamatas, and cilantro topped another, and a third had squash, chive, and goat cheese.
The crust here has a lot of elasticity and a little bit of heft. That works in its favor since the toppings are substantial. The hole structure here is closer kin to ciabatta than sheet pan pizza. It has a some good chew, but from toppings to crumb, these slices fall into the flatbread category.
Perhaps because there is not a reheat option, the white pies trumped the sauced ones. And of the white slices I tried, the portobello, red pepper, and provolone was the best. The provolone had an unexpected depth and tang that made me swear it was Fontina, the mushrooms and peppers were nice and thin and none too watery, and a sprinkle of thyme added a nice herby finish.
Iggy's Bread
130 Fawcett St., Cambridge, MA (map)
617-491-7600; iggysbread.com
About the author: Meredith Smith is the Slice editor. You can follow her on Twitter: @mertsmith.