$60 for a loaf? New York bakery has customers lining up

NEW YORK — Korea may have its bread pilgrimages, but Manhattan has taken the bakery craze to another level: $60 for a single loaf of rye bread. RYE by Martin Auer, an Austrian bakery that opened in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood in September, has quickly become one of the city's most talked-about new food destinations, drawing crowds and widespread media attention for its unusually expensive sourdough rye bread. The 3.3 pound (1.5 kilogram) loaf costs $60 (80,000 won), while customers can purchase half a loaf for $30 or a quarter for $15. Located on Lafayette Street, the bakery specializes in just one type of bread. Its minimalist interior looks more like a high-end retail showroom than a traditional bakery, with customers able to watch the bread-making process. The bread contains just three ingredients: organic rye flour, water and salt. According to the bakery, the dough undergoes a fermentation process lasting up to 24 hours, using a sourdough starter more than 50 years old. But the price has raised eyebrows, particularly because a comparable loaf from the same bakery sells for roughl