The 1800s German Bakery Behind New Orleans' Po'Boy Bread

New Orleans has always been a melting pot. And that's not just because Louisiana traded hands between France, Spain, and the U.S. over its long history. In the 1800s, New Orleans was the second largest port of entry into the country, just behind New York. The city saw a huge influx of immigrants from Italy, Haiti, Cuba, Ireland, and Germany, among other countries. These various groups helped to create the city's unique food traditions, including one of New Orleans' most celebrated sandwiches. The French bread that has become the standard for the po'boy, the state's most iconic sandwich that can be stuffed with everything from roast beef to soft-shell crabs, comes from the Ledenheimer Baking Company, which was started by a German immigrant 130 years ago.

In the 1880s, George Leidenheimer emigrated from Deidersheim, Germany, and settled in New Orleans, which had a thriving German community and his family. He founded his bakery in 1896 and was known for his dark, German-style bread until he switched to making a French bread with a crispy crust and a light, airy interior around 1905 to suit the city's tastes. Ledenheimer's French bread predates the official birth of the po'boy, which dates to the late 1920s, but it has become the bread used by many of the city's po'boy shops, including Parkway Tavern, which has been serving these sandwiches for over a century.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the John Gendusa Bakery, another old-time establishment that made the first po'boy bread used by brothers Benny and Clovis Martin, who are credited with the sandwich's creation back in 1929 when they served it to striking streetcar workers, or "poor boys." And while Gendusa's is also still around, it's a much smaller operation than Leidenheimer's, which has blossomed over the ensuing decades. Today, George Leidenheimer's great-grandson Sandy Whann heads up the company, which has become the largest po'boy bread maker around, serving both the city and supplying wholesale products nationwide. His son, William Whann, the fifth generation, is director of operations.

One of the reasons so many of the best restaurants in the city, including those making unique po'boys, rely on Leidenheimer's French bread is its distinctive makeup. The bread dough is naturally fermented, helping to produce its signature flavor and crumb, and hand-stretched to its 32-inch length. The bakery is as dedicated to the city as the city is to Leidenheimer's. Even in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2003, Leidenheimer's continued making bread by temporarily moving its operations to a Chicago bakery until it was able to get the New Orleans facility back up and running. Leidenheimer's may have German roots, but it's 100% New Orleans.