If there is one thing that we here at A Bread Affair are very familiar with it is -drumroll please- bread. Yes, bread. We can only imagine the look of shock and surprise on your face right now. The reason we chose to fashion our brand behind this ancient (wonderful) food is due to the fact that it is so widespread and versatile. When you really think about it, grains of all varieties form a foundation of diets worldwide. These grain products aren’t constrained to bread either, and also include pasta, rice, and even crackers or cookies. In fact, when you really break it down, these products are consumed with almost every single meal, especially in Western societies.

If there is one thing we here at A Bread Affair love even more than our (very) beloved city it is our customers. Without you folks, not only would we be unable to operate as a business, but our staff would also not get to experience the wonderful relationships that they have established with clients over the years! Since this is the case, we always try to share our baking knowledge with others, as there is no reason why we should keep all of our many kitchen secrets to ourselves. Today, we will be exploring a subject that has irked many amateur bakers for, well… since bread came into existence (for those that don’t know, this was approximately 10,000 years ago). We will be exploring some tips, tricks, and techniques that can be used in order to ensure that your freshly baked bread remains as fresh and tasty as when it first emerged from the oven. Nothing beats a crispy, light piece of bread, and it is time to take a stand against the nefarious bakery-cursing duo that is mold and staleness.

We’ve returned from the back 40 acres and for the first time in what feels like 2 months, we can take a moment to chat. Spring is a very busy time on the farm with fields to be readied, seeds to start and over wintering crops to be given a helping hand. And having a phenomenal local supply chain growing for us and for you we always find it the busiest time of year.

Operating one of Vancouver’s premium outlets for organically sourced artisanal baked goods has never been an easy task. With our duties ranging from handling inventory, merchandising products, and scoping out new and exciting recipes, there is never really a dull moment! Oh, not to mention baking bread. We do a lot of that. With such a hectic schedule, we often experience curious customers who will enter our establishment with a bevy of questions about the ins and outs of our business. We answer them to the best of our abilities, time constraints aside, but sometimes people simply want more information. No strangers to providing in-depth background knowledge about our products, we figured; why not address one of the more frequent queries we are faced with.

If there is one thing that we here at A Bread Affair consider to be a fundamental cornerstone of our business (other than flour) it is the sense of love and joy that we experience from our clients, fellow staff members, and our beloved friends and family. And what better time of year to express these emotions than the holiday season! This festive time not only provides a bounty of baked goods (have you seen our Seasonal cookies?) that are sure to delight taste buds and loosen belts, but also offers a wide variety of events and activities for people to go out and engage in. Vancouver in particular boasts many different options for Christmas experiences.

As most of our loyal, hungry, customers know, we bake our products using organically sourced ingredients. While most people are aware that this term refers to a product that has been used with a minimum of pesticides, usually needing to meet some sort of standard for its country of origin, many don’t understand the legal and formal proceedings surrounding organic goods in Canada. Here at A Bread Affair, we strive to keep our customers informed and up to date regarding the products at our disposal, and have thus thrown together a brief summary of what this actually means in the context of Canadian governance.

Wheat stands in one of the most vital, and often understated, components of the 21^st century human’s diet. From pasta and bread to beer and even candy, this vital grain appears in countless dishes around the world in numerous forms. Although on the surface it may seem that it is grown by simply planting a seed in the earth, in reality the origins of the wheat that we know and love today are much more complex. Few people are aware that the world offers a broad range of wheat types, and that it was only through a long, arduous process of experimentation and trial and error that the variety most common in Canada came to exist.

Crafting a variety of delicious, fresh bread is something that we at A Bread Affair have prided ourselves upon for a number of years. Using only premium organic ingredients, our products are baked fresh daily so as to garnish a dinner table, rest horizontally with a bevy of items in between (I believe they are calling it a ‘sandwich’ these days), or simply serve as a succulent snack on their own. There does exist one major downside in purchasing or making bread, however. If left for too long, the stuff has a tendency to get hard, chewy, and unappetizing. For lack of a better world, let’s call this state ‘stale’. Although we figure you’ll likely be devouring anything purchased from our shop long before it reaches this stage, sometimes a busy schedule or weak appetite interferes, henceforth leaving you with a slice, bunch, or loaf of unpalatable bread.