"The art of bread making can become a consuming hobby, and no matter how often and how many kinds of bread one has made, there always seems to be something new to learn."
- Julia Child
A few details about each menu item ...
Classic Sourdough
This recipe is a delightfully simplistic, classic sourdough recipe. But as simple as it is, I have a lot to say about it so its a good thing this text box has no word limits. Perfect for sopping up soups, grilling paninis, hollowing out for dips, or toasting & slathering with butter.
Ingredients include just flour, water, and salt. Sourdough starter (just fermented flour and water) is used as the 'yeast' in traditional sourdough baking. I love that such a beautiful loaf of bread can be made with just 3 ingredients. Speaking of ingredients...
For all the breads and baked goods on the menu, only King Aurthur flour is used. Over the years, I've experimented with so many different types of flour and King Aurthur is my all-time favorite. King Arthur Flour is an American supplier of flour, based in New England. It is actually America's oldest flour company and the earliest food company in New England. King Arthur Baking flour contains no bleach, no bromate, and no artificial preservatives of any kind.
In addition to being loyal to a flour brand, I'm also completely loyal to using Redmond Real Salt in the kitchen (both the bakery and in my own kitchen). Redmond Real Salt is an unrefined ancient salt mined from an ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah. It has been protected from pollutants for millions of years and contains natural minerals and trace elements without modern contaminants.
Does this make the bread taste better? I think yes but I'm also clearly bias so, maybe not. But it definitely makes me feel better eating it and serving it to friends, family, and customers I love.
Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough
Believe it or not, I learned this recipe before just the simple classic loaf. I've been making this loaf for a couple of years now and its probably still my favorite.
If you're timid about jalapeño flavor being too spicy, just know this isn't a 'burn your face off' type of jalapeño flavor.
A few things that I think make this loaf consistently delicious. #1, I only use Mezzetta jalapeño peppers. I've tried other brands and frankly it just doesn't taste the same so Mezzetta brand peppers is a non-negotiable at this point. #2 the cheddar cheese that goes into every loaf is hand grated (by yours truly) using a brick of cheese, rather than pre-shredded. This makes for the occasional 'big bite' of both pepper and/or cheddar that elevates a breakfast sandwich quite nicely.
Any bread, while baking, obviously smells great but there is something special when its Jalapeño Cheddar bake time in the kitchen. Special like, I think smelling it might be just as fun as eating it.
Sourdough
Cinnamon
Raisin
I would describe this recipe as a bit of a 'wild child'. As many times as I have made this recipe, using the same ingredients, and the exact same process...every single time the loaves head into the oven, I never know if it's going to behave like a regular size loaf, or if it is going to oven spring itself to new heights, spill out over the pan, drip gooey cinnamon sugar on the bottom of the oven, and become enormous.
I've thought about really trying to figure this out; to try to get more consistent size loaves that fit beautifully inside a toaster but, I've come to honestly just enjoy the mystery of how unpredictable this loaf is.
So, if you order the Cinnamon Raisin, or its sister (Cinnamon No-Raisin) just know that even though I weigh out the dough and shape the same each time, at this point in my bread journey, I don't have any control over the fact that it may or may not require flipping in your toaster to get it fully toasted because it may be that large.
I can tell you with certainty though, it will be tasty.
Sourdough
Sandwich Loaf
As much as I love the sourdough round loaves, and a chewy crunchy crust, sometimes you just want a consistently good, plain, soft sandwich loaf of bread, and this loaf delivers.
The softness comes from milk and butter that gets added to this recipe...and then the butter that melts on top right out of the oven :) Catching a bit of a theme on this one?
Whether you're making sandwiches, toast, grilled paninis, french toast, garlic toast, stuffing cubes...you name it, this loaf will probably work. If you're new to eating Sourdough, this is a great loaf to try, it has a very mild sourdough flavor and the texture is quite nice.
Einkorn
Sandwich Loaf
This is my tried and true, taught by my grandma, passed down to all the ladies in the family, traditional loaf. We each have put our own 'spin' on it over the years. My recent spin has been incorporating freshly ground Einkorn wheat to the recipe, along with my King Aurthur flour.
Side by side, the Einkorn Sandwich loaf looks almost identical to the Sourdough Sandwich loaf, but they're actually very different. I did a little write up on Einkorn in the February '24 newsletter so if you want to read up on Einkorn Wheat, check it out.
In short, Einkorn wheat is an ancient grain and due to its heritage quality, is easier to digest and full of nutrients.
I purchased a grain mill a couple of years ago and source organic, Einkorn wheat berries that I grind fresh before using. Using the whole wheat berry, and grinding it fresh preserves as many good nutrients as possible.
This loaf is made with commercial yeast and not Sourdough, but just like it's not-so similar-but-similar twin, it is extremely versatile and delicious.
Dinner Rolls
Dinner rolls that can double as a sandwich or slider bun! These have earned me the "Jen will bring the rolls" ask to most family holiday gatherings.
This photo doesn't really do them justice, but the glisten you see in the photo is (of course) butter. Like the sandwich loaves, the dinner rolls are basted with butter post baking so, if you try these you may notice some butter grease transferred to the bag. #notsorry
Pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds or in the oven to heat if you want them warm for dinner. If you do go the slider/burger route, we've also buttered and grilled these prior to applying a grilled burger and it doesn't disappoint.
Sourdough
Sticky Buns
These probably deserve a rename at this point because a dear friend of mine has coined the name 'stickies' and its definitely caught on for others ordering.
No matter what we call them, they're yummy. Plain or Pecan, I think the magic ingredient in the 'sticky' is local honey. This is another recipe that is so simple, but I think that's what makes it so good.
Soften the sticky by microwaving for 30 seconds or so, or you could even warm the entire pan in the oven if you're serving a crowd.
Maple
Granola
Maple Granola is a staple in our kitchen and I'm excited to be able to share it with others! Ingredients included in this granola are: organic rolled oats, coconut oil (because I don't use any seed oils), locally sourced maple syrup from Juniata County, pumpkin seeds, chopped pecans, raisins, flax meal, cinnamon, my homemade vanilla extract, Redmond real salt, and smidge of brown sugar.
This granola is good in milk, yogurt, ice cream, or by the handful :)
Sourdough
English
Muffins
Newest addition to the menu, these were the monthly special in January and had quite the instant fan base with several requests to keep them as a permanent weekly option. People's Provisions is also now carrying these weekly, so if you miss the order cutoff you can always find them in Lindsay's shop on the weekends.
These are sourdough, the dough is fermented 10-12 hours before rolling them out, cutting them and then dry pan frying in a cast iron skillet.
Breakfast sandwiches with toasted homemade sourdough English muffins are pretty much next level. Jelly, butter, and honey also compliment these very well.
Sourdough
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Before I found this sourdough cookie recipe I would typically use the back of the chocolate chip bag when making chocolate chip cookies and my cookies would be flat, 8 out of 10 times and I could never figure it out.
No more flat cookies for me, thanks to the addition and cold fermentation of this dough. If you're wondering, yes, it's a real struggle to not sample the dough when making these.
These, like the granola, are really good with milk, ice cream, and by the handful <3
