Bread Hits the Road

Shortly after saying good-bye to my sister, Hannah, when she flew to Pennsylvania to visit a friend, I said farewell to some of the fruits of my labor. A sister in PA equaled a perfect opportunity to test my bread's endurance in mailing. Two days after sending the frozen loaves, I got the email. The Priority Mailed bread had made it to Mt. Joy safe and sound.
Joey, our PA friend and operations manager at the Global Aid Network (GAiN) warehouse, opening the package in the warehouse kitchen.
A hearty loaf of Multigrain Bread waits its turn while Joey cuts slabs of French Batard for the official taste test.

Hannah as freshness and flavor judge.

Taste Tester Todd. All warehouse staff got to be a part of the fun.

The verdict? French Batard showed a few signs of age but still was good enough to eat. This was not at all surprising for a lean bread (no added fats or sweetener), especially considering these loaves had been to a farmers' market before being put in the freezer. Multigrain Bread got higher ratings, or should I say raves. As good as fresh! Not a bad report for experiment #1.

Who Hid the Vegetables?

Last weekend I was designated the official fetcher-of-vegetables. It may not look like it, but this is our vegetable freezer. July through autumn we watch the high water mark go up in this freezer as we pick, blanch, bag, and finally freeze the vegetables from our garden. By now half or more of our store has been devoured at many a meal, so there is lots of empty space in the freezer - well, sometimes. This also is home to many bread orders. Those who aren't able to get their order right after it's baked have me put it in the freezer until pick up time. This makes for fresh bread for my customers... and interesting digging for veggies.

The hot item here is Multigrain Bread. Multigrain Bread is my #1 best seller to regulars and the bread I serve my family whenever I want them to be especially happy. I'm starting to think I should have given it a different name - something like Our Daily Bread.

On Monday digging for vegetables became easier as the order moved out. This wasn't to last. Now I could take a new picture of the freezer. This time it's covered with a layer of Whole Wheat French Boule.