BACK TO INDEX | NEXT CHEF When loaves of soft white bread stocked bakery shelves and bagels were the biggest breakthrough in breads, Nancy Silverton brought our culinary attention to the soul-satisfying pleasures of artisan baking. She and her chef-husband opened the doors to La Brea Bakery in conjunction with their restaurant Campanile in 1989 after finding no one in the Los Angeles area capable of supplying them with the flavorful crusty loaves that they had sampled in Europe. Trained at Le Cordon Bleu, Ecole Lenotre, and some of L.A.'s most reputable kitchens, Nancy had become head pastry chef at Spago in the late '80s, but still yearned to make good bread. Nancy immersed herself into starters, yeasts, and doughs, and quickly became L.A.'s leading lady of bread baking. Now, she supplies fresh, rustic loaves to L.A.'s finest restaurants and frozen par-baked loaves to supermarkets throughout the nation. In COOKING WITH MASTER CHEFS, Nancy Silverton demystifies the art of bread baking with a demonstration of her starter, a few focaccia snacks, and an olive loaf.  Julia Introduces Chef Nancy Silverton  Sourdough Starter  Rustic Bread  Focaccia  Olive Bread  Pecan Sticky Buns  Brioche Dough  Savory Brioche Pockets  Crème Fraiche Custard Brioche Tart, Part 1  Crème Fraiche Custard Brioche Tart, Part 2