QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Your Questions, Answered
HOW DO I ORDER?
Through 2023, Crumb Sourdough Microbakery accepts pre-orders only, meaning that I am baking sourdough just for you!
Fresh loaves are baked and offered for pickup on Fridays from 3:00pm-5:00pm at Just A Little Charm & Bendy Dog in Downtown Bend.
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Pre-order by 7PM Tuesdays for pickup on Fridays.
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To pre-order, go to Order
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 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 PICKUPS WORK?
On the appointed day of your pickup, your sourdough bread(s) will be bagged and ready to pickup at Just A Little Charm & Bendy Dog, 224 NW Oregon Ave, Downtown Bend. The store owners/employees will ask your name and retrieve your bread. You'll need to initial that you picked up your correct orders. Local neighbors (Three Rivers, Sunriver, LaPine) may pickup at the bakery. Address is provided at time of purchase. Orders must be picked up on the appointed day and time, or the the bread will be donated.
DO YOU DELIVER?
I regret that delivery is not offered at this time.
DO YOU SHIP?
I regret that I do not ship.
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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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If you struggle with bread indigestion and regulating blood sugars, consider trying real sourdough!
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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, bread box, or plastic bag on the counter. If you 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
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For validation of this method, read here: Is This Really The Best Way To Revive Bread?
HOW OFTEN DOES YOUR MENU CHANGE?
The basic menu stays the same with the addition of specialty seasonal items.
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. Pets are allowed in the residence but not in the food prep area. Residential home kitchens must be built and maintained in a clean, healthful, and sanitary manner.
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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 Tuesday preceding their Friday or Saturday pickup, or fails to to pick-up their order for any reason. Bread not picked up will not be stored for customers under any circumstances. Leftover bread will be donated.
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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.