JUST BAKE IT – All We Need is Bread

Really relating and I so do identify with the woman who lived in the late 19^th and early 20^th Century. Loving the clothes that evolved from these era’s, to what a women was expected to do for her family daily. The nostalgia of cooking on a wood stove, baking of bread, sewing for the family, gardening, canning, and then raising a large family are just of few of the every day tasks that warm my heart. Their ability to make bread was phenomenal.


Grandma Spicy has tried to make yeast bread; my skills are deficient, suppose my career detour was the handicap. That does not mean I will quit trying to improve my bread making skills. My Mother was very proficient at canning, cooking, crocheting and sewing; raising five children she did not make scratch bread. As a child I remember we bought day-old bread at the bakery on our monthly trip to town; then keeping it in the freezer. Today I was surprised in the grocery store with a bread find!

Grandma Spicy was so excited when I stumbled onto a loaf of par baked white French bread. The label caught my attention; it said “JUST BAKE IT” on this bright red label. Good marketing! It’s what caused me to put my hand on the loaf and then trying to decide on the purchase. Then the bakery lady appeared. She was about my age; so I asked her “Can you freeze half of this and bake it later? She smiled and said, “We just thawed it out and did the proofing of the bread. But what I do, I bake mine first and then freeze half.”  So I looked at the ingredients for my vegan “no, no list” and it passed the test. The price was $1.49 and weighing the use of the oven into the equation; it passed the final analysis because I love crispy bread. I love crispy anything. Occasionally a trip will be made to Panera’s Bakery for a baguette loaf to compliment a special meal. Loving the crunchiness of the outside of baguette really tickles my fancy when I do indulge in bread. Oh that is right, I already told you about my infatuation with crispy crunchy food.

So back to my JUST BAKE IT find, for the locals it was at Gerbes East. The Par Baked bread did make it into my grocery cart, oven and my dinner table. Don’t know if there will be enough left to test the freezing theory though. You might ask why not just buy the already cooked foil bagged French bread that is in every grocery store that you warm up in your oven. Honestly, that bread has a fair amount of preservatives to assure the shelf life, plus it’s just not the same. I get crispy not doughy and hot when it comes out of the oven.

So the directions for baking my JUST BAKE IT find were simple;

• bake directly on oven rack at 400 degrees until golden brown,
• for best results, bake within 24 hours,
• batards & French Bread 16-18 minutes,
• baguettes 12-15 minutes,
• Rolls 6-8 minutes.

The Grand assisted with the picturing taking; my hands
let you know how big the baguette really is.  

The label indicated it was French bread; it was the baguette size which is a little smaller diameter than a larger French bread loaf. Cooking my bakery find the full 15 minutes because I love my baguette a little browner. This is another plus to using Par Baked bread, you can customize your bake time to achieve the results you want for your bread.

By now I know you are probably thinking, really, getting so excited about bakery finds. However, food is my fuel and food is artistry for me; I enjoy prepping my food and creating recipes. A nice piece of bread cut on the diagonal really complimented my meal. JUST BAKE IT excited me!

Grandma Spicy