Jewish Rye Bread is Back, A conversation with Steven Katz and Donna Webber

Welcome back to Pizza Quest,

Rye bread, the way we remember it — at least those of who grew up near Jewish bakeries and delis — has never really gone away but it does, at times, seem like an endangered species. Steven Katz, a Washington DC attorney and policy consultant, who also happens to be a published food writer and recipe developer, along with his longtime friend, library archivist and guardian of cultural taste memories Donna Webber, worked together over the past few years to develop a Jewish rye bread that checks off all the boxes connecting past with present. Steven, as the baker, calls his loaf, “Katz Rye Has Soul.” His food roots go deep in the American culinary industry, having been raised in Chicago’s meat packing world in a family business selling some of the finest steaks and other meat products known to mankind, and his collaboration with Donna resulted in a synergy that tapped into both of their passions for quality and authenticity. If you too are part of the rye renaissance, you will not want to miss this stimulating conversation. As we often say, it’s more about the quest than it is about the pizza, and Steve and Donna’s journey is a perfect example.