QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Your Questions, Answered
HOW DO I ORDER?
Crumb Sourdough Microbakery accepts pre-orders only, meaning that I am baking custom sourdough just for you!
Fresh loaves are baked and offered for porch pickup on Fridays from 3:00pm-6:30pm.
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Pre-order by 7PM Tuesdays for pickup on Fridays.
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To pre-order, go to Order and complete the form.
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Because you are placing a custom order in one of the limited spots, payment is due at the time of pre-order to secure your spot. Please see my refund policy on cancelled orders or no-show pickups. Please do not send payment until I have confirmed your spot.
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Pickup address is confirmed at order.
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I currently accept Venmo and only non-credit card Paypal payments. Cash in exact change or checks accepted only prior to pickup.
WHY CAN'T I JUST ORDER ON THE DAY I WANT SOME BREAD (WHY DO I HAVE TO PRE-ORDER?)
The reason I ask for your orders by the Tuesday preceding Friday porch pickup is that the process of making sourdough bread takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days. It begins with feeding the wild yeast cultivated in the sourdough stater with flour and water over several days so that it's active and bubbly and ready to leaven the bread. Once the dough is mixed, it undergoes a long fermentation period followed by a longer refrigerated cold proofing stage. In my baking schedule, the sourdough is ready to bake on Friday morning.
HOW DO PORCH PICKUPS WORK?
On the appointed day of your pickup, your sourdough bread(s) will be beautifully packaged, written with your first name and placed on the bread display located on the front porch. They are ready for grab-and-go; no need to ring the bell. Orders must be picked up on the appointed day; I do not store bread.
DO YOU DELIVER?
I regret that delivery is not offered at this time.
DO YOU SHIP?
I regret that I do not ship. Oregon Cottage Food Law prohibits me from shipping my bread. All of my sales must be in-person direct to consumer.
DO YOU OFFER GLUTEN FREE SOURDOUGH?
Not at this time. If you are gluten sensitive, read, "Is Sourdough More Digestible Than Regular Bread?" below.
IS SOURDOUGH MORE DIGESTIBLE THAN REGULAR BREAD?
Yes!
Sourdough made the old, authentic way is more digestible than mass-produced, highly processed bread.
Some people avoid bread because it makes them feel bloated and gassy. But when bread is made the authentic, slow way, allowing the dough to ferment and the healthy bacteria and yeast to grow and work, the finished loaf is digestible, making a big difference in people’s comfort.
Highly processed commercial bread is made in industrial mixers that can mix 250kg (roughly 55lbs) of dough in 2 1/2 minutes, spinning out thousands of loaves with a mere pushing of buttons. The resulting bread usually has a soft and bland crumb that can feel like raw dough in your hand and stomach. Even the “whole wheat” breads have undergone the same fast industrial process, stripping out nutrients and resulting in a heavier and more indigestible product!
Further, the flour used is made from grain milled between high-speed rollers and shipped to the bakeries within hours when it’s still very unstable, so “conditioners” or “improvers”, emulsifiers, and often high quantities of fast-action yeast or extra gluten has to be added.
The flour I use in my sourdough is organically grown and milled using a slow and cool process in the oldest, continuously operated mill in Utah. The flour is pure, more nutritious and the fermentation process is long and slow. The lactic acid bacteria that grows during fermentation produces an enzyme called phytase, which ‘pre-digests’ the phytic acid in the wheat bran that is responsible for bloating and gas, making the bread easy to digest. Phytic acid also inhibits enzymes that are needed to break down the proteins and starch in our stomachs that results in digestive difficulties. Breaking down the phytic acid also allows our bodies to absorb more of the nutrients.
Finally, fermentation using natural yeasts and lactic acid bacteria results in bread that is digested more slowly and therefore causes less of a spike in blood sugar levels when eaten.
If you struggle with bread indigestion and regulating blood sugars, consider trying real sourdough!
Sources: “Crumb” by Richard Bertinet; Sustainable Food Trust
HOW DO I KEEP MY SOURDOUGH FRESH?
Sourdough will stale fast in the refrigerator, so don’t store it there ––even the breads with "inclusions", or added ingredients like chocolate chips. Because it’s fermented, it won’t spoil/mold quickly like regular bread and will keep for days at room temperature.
The crust likes to breathe and will stay crispy and happy in open air for 24-36 hours. Slice only as needed so the crust will keep the bread fresh. After cutting into it, keep it stored in a cotton tea towel or bread box on the counter. Avoid plastic baggies as they will cause the boule to "sweat" and soften the crust. If you must store it in a baggie, leave it slightly open at one end.
Sourdough freezes very well. Wrap in plastic wrap and then a freezer baggie. Thaw at room temperature on a wire rack. It will be as fresh and soft as the day you froze it!
HOW CAN I FRESHEN DAYS-OLD/STALE SOURDOUGH BREAD?
The ingenious answer is here in Bon Appétit’s website: Revive Stale Bread With This Life-Changing Tip
For validation of this method, read here: Is This Really The Best Way To Revive Bread?
HOW OFTEN DOES YOUR MENU CHANGE?
For now, the basic menu stays the same with the occasional addition of specialty seasonal items. Things could change as Crumb Sourdough Microbakery grows. Don't see a flavor you like? Contact me to inquire.
WHAT IS A "COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION" (CFO)?
While every State carries its own laws, in Oregon, the Home Baking Bill allows people to produce certain baked goods and confectionery items in their home kitchens and sell them directly to consumers without having to obtain a food establishment license or undergo an inspection from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Residential home kitchens must be built and maintained in a clean, healthful, and sanitary manner.
These products are homemade and is not prepared in an inspected food establishment.
WHAT IS YOUR REFUND POLICY?
Every custom sourdough bread order is made with care and love. Your satisfaction is my utmost goal.
Refunds or returns are not accepted if customer changes their mind, cancels their order after the Wednesday preceding a Sunday or Monday pickup, or fails to to pick-up their order.
Refunds or replacements will be considered if the bread is defective in some way or if a cancelled spot can immediately be filled.
Anything else you’d like to know? I'm here for you.