25% off a loaf

Show on smartphone or print off voucher to redeem in store, this offer expires on Sunday 6 May 2012.

Renovations start on our new home 641 2nd AVE

After just over one week of demolition it’s pretty amazing how the space is just opening up.

The ceilings have extended up to around 16-17 feet and we’ve been rescuing the original tin ceiling tiles which will be be re-used as a decorative feature in the finished interior.

There is a lot of exposed brick work that seems to be the original too, so we hope to keep some areas of this exposed in the finished interior.

We hope to be into our new home by the end of June 2012.

Loaf Bakery’s top 10 selling breads of 2012

Our Fernie bakers hand-make more than 20 varieties of bread fresh every day.

This is Loaf Bakery’s guide to the top 10 loaves sold at our retail store and café in the first quarter of 2012.

1. Grainary Tin Loaf

The Grainary Tinned Loaf has consistently been our best-selling bread thanks to its combination of a tasty crust and a wholegrain topping.

Before we put our classic dough in the tin to bake, we fill the bottom of the tin with a selection of wholegrains – barley flakes, cracked wheat, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and millet.

The result is a crusty loaf that is easy to slice, with a soft doughy middle and a crunchy, wholesome topping.

If you like this you’ll love: Multigrain Rye, Sunflower Barley Bread, Seeded split.

2. Sourdough Tin

3. Sourdough Cob

4. Sourdough 400

No wonder our sourdough range is so popular – Loaf’s sourdough bread is made the traditional way – using natural leavening processes from a starter made from flour and water.

The natural Lactobacillus cultures in the starter produce lactic acid, which is what gives the sourdough its tangy taste.

Our number 2 best-selling Sourdough Tin loaf is the right size and shape for delicious sandwiches, with a great crust.

The Sourdough Cob is handmoulded and baked on the bottom of our stone oven to create a crispy, beautifully coloured crust.

Sourdough 400 is the 400g version of our Sourdough tin, which is 800g – perfect for small households.

If you like these you’ll love: Multigrain Rye, Wholewheat Sourdough, Sourdough Baguette

5. Wholewheat Tin Loaf

6. Everyday Wholewheat 680g Loaf

 Like all Loaf’s products, the wholewheat tinned loaf is made with wholewheat flour, yeast, water, salt and olive oil – none of the nasty additives and preservatives that you find on the label of commercially-produced bread.

 We introduced the smaller Everyday 680g loaf last year after a number of people told us they don’t eat enough bread to buy the full-sized loaf, and it has been popular ever since.

 If you like these you’ll love: Wholewheat Sourdough tinned, Wholewheat Split, Wholewheat Cob, Wholewheat rolls.

 7. Tinned White Loaf

Our classic white loaf – great for sandwiches, toast, grilled cheese, or thickly sliced with butter and jam.

Like all our loaves, this is fresh, handmade bread with no additives – just unbleached white flour, yeast, salt and water.

If you like this you’ll love: Fernie Bloomer, White split tin, White Crown, White dinner rolls.

8. Sunflower Barley Bread

This loaf really became popular after we featured it as our Loaf of the Week – the unique flavour of this bread comes from molasses, cooked barley, sunflower, poppy, caraway and fennel seeds, and a blend of white, rye and wholewheat flour.

If you like this you’ll love: NY Deli Rye Loaf, Seeded Split Bread, Carrot and Herb Bread.

9. Sourdough Baguette Loaf

10. French Baguette Loaf

It’s no surprise our baguettes are in our top 10 list – the French would never dream of eating baguettes any more than a few hours after they were baked, so why should you put up with hard bread packed with preservatives so it can be shipped from a factory in Calgary, or limp baguettes made from frozen dough?

Our bakers work overnight at our kitchen in the Annex, Fernie, to make sure the handmade, hand-moulded bread hits the shelves as quickly as possible after it leaves the oven.

Is there any better taste than butter and jam or cheese on freshly cut baguette?

 If you like these you’ll love: Ciabatta, Foccacia, Grainary Cob

Where do hot cross buns originate from?

Hot cross buns are a familiar sight at Easter time but do you know their origins or that they are seen as bringing good luck?

Christians see the hot cross buns as representing the crucifixion.

Traditionally in Christian countries bread was marked with the sign of the cross with a knife, as a blessing. One theory is that the pastry or icing cross on the hot cross bun is an extension of that.

Another theory is that the cross dates from Ancient Greek offerings to the four moon gods. Others say the buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre and representing the four quarters of the moon.

Hot Cross Buns baked on Good Friday were believed to bring good luck to a home if hung on the kitchen wall, protecting it from fire and ensuring that all breads turn out well. The bun should be replaced each year.

Folklore also says that a bun from each batch should be kept to bring good health – sections of it should be given to a sick person to make them healthy.

Sailors believed that taking hot cross buns to sea would protect them from shipwreck.

Farmers in certain regions of England believed they would protect the granary against rats.

They are first mentioned by name as “hot cross buns” in Poor Robin’s Amanack in 1773 but are believed to have predated this.

During Elizabeth I’s time, English bakers were only permitted to produce them at Christmas and Easter by law.

Loaf’s handmade, all-natural hot cross buns are now available in the bakery.

Five tips to liven up your lunchbox

Bored of the same old sandwiches? Try Use Your Loaf’s top five ways of making lunch easier to prepare and more fun to eat.

Try a different style or flavour bread

Instead of the plain white loaf, try Loaf’s Chili bread, Focaccia with cherry tomatoes, cheese and olive bread or potato and bacon bread.

If you prefer wholewheat, try the Apricot, fruit and nut loaf, , Cheese and Walnut bread, Sunflower and Barley, Cinnamon and Raisin, Rye breads or Grainery.

We also have different styles of loaf – why not try Loaf’s Foccacia, Ciabatta, Bear’s Paw or White and Sourdough Baguette, or our flavoured bagels?

Switch up your condiments

Transform your regular sandwich flavours by reaching for a different sauce.

Flavoured cream cheese, pesto, sweet chili sauce, salsa or guacamole make a great variation from mayo, mustard and pickles.

Cookie cutter fun

Kids will love sandwiches cut into fun shapes using cookie cutters. No more uneaten lunches at the bottom of the school bag!

Use leftovers from last night’s dinner

Leftover cooked meats and vegetables are great in sandwiches – and make life easy for whoever is making tomorrow’s lunches.

Try slices of cold sausage with cheese and salad or roast beef and potatoes with tomatoes – great with one of Loaf’s handmade, all-natural breads.

Transform your sandwiches into pizza

Spread a slice of Loaf bread with crushed tomatoes, add your favourite sandwich toppings chopped up finely, sprinkle with cheese, then broil until the cheese is melted. Leave to cool before packing into a plastic tub.

Kids will love the treat of eating pizza for lunch – and they won’t realize how many vegetables you sneaked into the finely-chopped topping!

What’s in your loaf?

We compared the ingredients from two whole wheat loaves sold in Fernie grocery stores with the ingredients from Loaf whole wheat bread.

Information on the ingredients comes from the Real Bread Campaign

Loaf bread

Loaf’s real, honest bread is made fresh every day, using traditional hand baking techniques, so we don’t need to add any additives or preservatives.

We do use an electric mixer to mix batches of dough, but every loaf is hand kneaded and hand-shaped by our experienced bakers before being left to rise and bake.

They can produce several hundred loaves in one overnight shift at our commercial bakery in the Annex, Fernie.

Loaf whole wheat bread ingredients

Wholewheat flour

Water

Yeast

Olive oil

Salt

Factory bread

To speed up factory breadmaking, additives are used to imitate the structure, taste and texture that form naturally during Loaf’s traditional breadmaking.

This means that it takes less than two hours for a loaf to be mixed, baked, cooled and packaged ready for shipping.

Chemicals are also added to inhibit the growth of mould so that mass-produced bread can be shipped across Canada and sit on the grocery store shelf for several days before it even makes it into your kitchen.

 Wholewheat loaf from Fernie grocery store bakery

Stone ground whole wheat flour

Unbleached white flour

Water

Yeast

Sugar

Salt

Canola oil

Gluten

Calcium sulphate

The chemical name for Gypsum, used to make dry wall.

Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate

Emulsifier, stabiliser, thickener

The stearic acid and/or the lactic acid from which Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate is produced could be of animal origin.

Diacetyl Tartaric Acid esters of mono diglycerides

Emulsifiers, stabilisers,thickeners

The fatty acids on which these are based could be of animal origin.

Tricalcium phosphate

Also known as bone ash – a rais­ing agent

Ascorbic acid

Vitamin C – inhibits the growth of mould

Enzymes

Shorten the proving process

Country Harvest 100% wholewheat loaf

Wholegrain stone ground whole wheat flour including the germ

Water

Wholegrain ground flaxseeds

Wheat gluten

Sugar/glucose-fructose

Yeast

Raisin concentrate

Vinegar

Salt

Vegetable Oil (soy bean and canola)

Diacetyl Tartaric Acid esters of mono and diglycerides

Emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickener

The fatty acids on which these are based could be of animal origin.

Calcium Propionate

Inhibits the growth of mould.

Propionates can lead to a risk of mi­graine, or eczema and calcium propion­ate is reported to cause skin irritations in bakery workers.

The Food Intolerance Network claims propionates can cause:

Migraine and headaches; gastro-intestinal symptoms including stomach aches, irritable bowel, diarrhoea, urinary urgency, bedwetting; eczema and other itchy skin rashes; nasal congestion (stuffy or runny nose); depression, unexplained tiredness, impairment of memory and concentration, speech delay; tachycardia (fast heart beat); growing pains, loud voice (no volume control); irritability, restlessness, inattention, difficulty settling to sleep, night waking and night terrors.”

Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate

Emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners etc.

The stearic acid and/or the lactic acid from which Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate is produced could be of animal origin.

Vegetable Monoglycerides

Emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners etc.

Sorbic Acid

Inhibits the growth of mould.

For more information see the Real Bread Campaign www.sustainweb.org/realbread

Where else do you eat bread?

Does the owner or head chef at your favourite restaurant or lunch spot know what ingredients are in the bread they supply to customers?

Why not tell them if all-natural, chemical-free bread is something that is important to you.

Romantic Valentine’s Day ideas from Loaf

Surprise your Valentine at work with coffee and pastry

Have you tried our new pain au chocolat pastries?

Light, buttery, flakey pastry wrapped around a stick of chocolate and baked until it is airy and crisp.

They are the perfect way to start a romantic Valentine’s Day brunch, or surprise your Valentine at work with a take out coffee and pastry for mega brownie points.

Treat your Valentine to lunch at Loaf

Loaf’s new lunch menu is available 11am to 3pm every Tuesday to Sunday at Loaf café.

Don’t forget our great lunch deals – our daily sandwich and soup combo is $10 and our sandwich of the week is always 15% off – we won’t tell your other half what a bargain your lunch was if you don’t!

For something totally different, try the PLT, Loaf’s take on the BLT sandwich, containing crispy prosciutto with roasted red peppers, cream cheese, tomato and leaves.

We also have Black Forest Ham, Turkey, Avocado and chicken sandwiches, all available on Grainary, NY Deli Rye or Sourdough.

Our salads include the popular House salad with avocado, pear, cherry tomato,  mixed leaves, pistachio, feta and house dressing.

You can also build your own 7” thin crust Italian style pizza.

Bake a decadent chocolate bread and butter pudding with Loaf bread

Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate bread and butter pudding tastes even better if you use Loaf’s chocolate or apricot, fruit and nut bread.

Use it as the grand finale to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at home – you can’t fail to impress.

New products at Loaf Bakery

Multi-Grain Sourdough $6.25

Bagels

Plain with Sesame Seeds $6.00 (bag 6), Multigrain $8.00 (bag 6), Jalapeno & Cheddar $8.00 (bag 6),

Cinnamon & Raisin $8.00 (bag 6),

Apple/Pear Strodel $3.05

Pain Au Chocolat $3.05

How to keep Loaf bread fresh for longer

Multi-Grain Sourdough

Loaf’s bread contains no artificial preservatives – we use the generations-old techniques of rising, proofing and baking, which act as a natural preservative.

That’s why our bread only needs the simplest, most natural ingredients – flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil.

BUT that doesn’t mean that Loaf bread doesn’t stay fresh – stored correctly, our bread should still taste great after several days.

Tips on keeping bread fresh

Store at room temperature: ideally at a cool room temperature of around 17°C/63°F.

Do not store bread in the refrigerator (except in extremely hot weather) as this will speed up the staling process. The average temperature of most domestic refrigerators is about 5°C/41°F – the temperature at which bread stales most quickly.

You can store bread in the freezer, for example by putting half of the loaf in a plastic bag to use at a later date or to take out slice by slice. It can be defrosted whole or slice by slice; defrosting a loaf at room temperature can take a few hours and is the best way.

Sliced loaves: Once opened, the wrapper should be kept loosely folded under the loaf allowing circulation of air inside the wrapper.  It is also advisable to keep the end crust to keep the top slice fresh.

Crusty rolls and bread: Unwrapped crusty bread should be kept in a clean well ventilated bread bin. Free circulation of air is essential to keep the crust crisp, so the container should not be airtight.

Old breadcrumbs will gather mould, so the bread bin should be thoroughly washed once a week; a little vinegar in the rinsing water will help prevent mould.

How to refresh bread: Crusty bread, rolls and buns which have become a little stale or lost their crispness can be freshened by wrapping in foil  and placing in a pre-heated oven at 250°C/450°F/gas mark 8 for 5-10 minutes. The bread should be left in the foil to cool down and eaten soon afterwards because reheating causes it to dry out and go stale fairly quickly.

Uses for leftover dry bread: Use it up as French toast or bread pudding or use a food processor to make it into breadcrumbs and freeze for future use

Loaf makes smaller Everyday versions of our wholewheat and white bread especially for households that don`t eat a lot of bread. They cost $3.50 from the bakery.

Source: Federation of Bakers

A guide to Loaf breads suitable for special diets and allergy sufferers

Wholewheat Sourdough

Loaf bakery’s bread is hand-made fresh in Fernie every day, and we make good, honest bread containing no artificial preservatives or additives, just the basic ingredients – flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil.

As well as tasting great, its more healthy and natural, and Loaf bread is suitable for many people with special dietary requirements.

This is our guide to which of our loaves are suitable for people who are vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, or who have nut allergies*

Loaf is proud to make real honest bread with no preservatives or additives

Read the label on mass-produced grocery store bread and you will see the long list of preservatives and additives needed to make it quickly in the factory and then keep it ‘fresh’ while it is trucked across the country and stored in warehouses for several days.

Even bread that is baked in grocery stores’ in-store bakeries often contains additives because it is usually made from frozen dough.

Loaf bread is suitable for:

Vegetarians

Loaf bread is made with olive oil – no animal fats are used in our doughs.

! The potato and bacon bread, and all meat used in pies and pastries is provided locally by Fernie’s Backcountry Meats.

Vegan

Loaf bread does not contain animal fats, lactose or dairy products

! Some special breads contain cheese – please see below.

! Pumpkin loaf, Banana bread and Panettone contain eggs.

Dairy-free

Loaf’s classic bread dough contains no lactose or dairy products.

! Our Foccacia contains feta cheese.

! Cheese and Olive bread, Cheese and Walnut bread and Chili bread contain cheddar cheese.

! Chocolate bread contains chocolate chips and cocoa.

Nut allergy

Loaf’s classic bread dough contains no nut products*

! Specialist breads containing nuts are:

! Chocolate Bread (walnuts)

! Cheese & Walnut Bread

! Apricot Fruit & Nut (walnuts and almonds)

! Bears Paw (pecans)

*If you have a severe nut allergy, please note that both our nut-free and nutty products are baked at the Loaf bakery in Fernie and so may contain nut traces.

Wheat allergy

Spelt bread does contain gluten; it is not suitable for people with celiac disease. Nonetheless, many other people with allergies or intolerances to common wheat can tolerate spelt.

Loaf organic spelt bread is available on Saturdays by pre-order only. Please contact us if you are interested in this bread and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Still not sure?

Our website gives a full list of the ingredients used in each of our breads is on the Loaf website.

If you still have questions about our products, please ask one of our Loaf staff or contact us and we will do our best to help you.