Local love in every loaf.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Cinnamon Raisin workshop: a sweet success! Next month: pie

Thanks to all of the folks who braved the hurricane inspired gusts of wind to share an afternoon of baking, chatting, and garden-sourced snacks - and made some seriously delicious cinnamon raisin bread!

Cinnamon raisin workshop

See more photos from the workshop in our Flickr group - where you can add your own photos! Have any good shots from a workshop? Or taken a picture of your F&D bread made into a sandwich or French toast? We'd love to see them...

Next month's workshop will be all about pie. Conquer the challenge of from-scratch pie crust and bake your own freestanding pie in our backyard clay oven! We'll provide apples and pears, or bring your own desired filling. Email fancyanddelicious@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Cinnamon raisin workshop

Fancy and Delicious Autumn Pie Workshop
September 25 12-4pm
153 Eaton St.
Buffalo NY 14208

In bread we trust,
F&D

Friday, August 26, 2011

How to store bread

This is a question we get asked at workshops occasionally, and it's more important than you might think. Hopefully by writing this post I will save at least one person from coming home to a ruined loaf of what used to be good bread.


How to preserve this crusty bread?

First: never store your bread in the refrigerator! Even if it's wrapped in plastic, the loaf will dry out. The exception to this is supermarket bread, which due to its preservatives will remain soft, spongy, and spoilage-free for mysteriously long periods of time under almost any storage circumstances...

Second: Store crusty breads in paper; store soft sandwich breads in plastic. Paper bags preserve the strong crunch of a good crust, while plastic keeps the moisture from fleeing a softer loaf. Wait until bread is room temperature before wrapping in plastic to avoid condensation, which will make the outside of the bread soggy and encourage the growth of mold. You can also make use of a classic metal bread box (or bread drawer), or a linen bread bag – we sell these from time to time, actually.

Third: While it should be eaten within a week if stored at room temperature, bread can be frozen in plastic for longer periods of time. For maximum convenience, slice bread and then freeze so you can pull out slices when needed. Frozen bread can be thawed on the counter, in a low oven, or toasted as slices straight out of the freezer.

And a bonus tip: stale bread can be revived by either sprinkling with a little water and microwaving for a few seconds, or by storing in a bag with a cut apple. Or just dip it in soup.

In bread we trust,
F&D

Monday, August 8, 2011

A sweet workshop

Greetings, lovers of local baked goods! Our next bread baking workshop is scheduled for Sunday August 28. By popular request, we'll be baking our signature cinnamon raisin bread. Learn the secrets of the cinnamon sugar swirl and bake your own loaf in our clay oven!

Photo by the lovely Anna Miller

Reserve a spot by emailing fancyanddelicious@gmail.com - and by RSVP'ing you are committing to attending the workshop and arriving on time. A donation is suggested to cover materials cost.

Fancy & Delicious Cinnamon Raisin Bread Baking Workshop
Sunday, August 28
153 Eaton St.
Buffalo, NY
12-4 pm

In bread we trust,
F&D