We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.


The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
even have to do that.


Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
be interested?


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
> We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
> I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
> to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
> that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
> deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
> throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
> they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
> bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
> day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.
>
>
> The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
> crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
> that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
> adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
> blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
> even have to do that.
>
>
> Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
> for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
> crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
> they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
> bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
> Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
> preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
> the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
> be interested?
>
>
> --Lia

In my experience (not an expert), they don't get moldy if they are
thoroughly dry before you crumb them up. Don't toast them - just lay
them out on racks and let them air dry. At home, sometimes this takes
2-3 days. I keep dried bread crumbs (no flavorings or herbs) around in
Ziplocs for a l-o-n-g time. If you want to add herbs and flavors, make
sure they are the dried variety, not fresh. For instance, you could
use some "Italian Seasoning," garlic powder, parsley flakes, and the
like.

If you have the means to toast bread (oven), why not make
"gourmet-flavored" croutons? Commercial croutons are sold for what I
think is an exhorbitant price. Cut the fresh or slightly stale bread
into 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch cubes, sprinkle with dried (note, DRIED)
herbs, some olive oil, and toast at a low temp (about 275 deg. F. or
so), stirring frequently or flipping them around with a spatula, until
they are totally dried through, and are golden brown in color. These
keep indefinitely. I always have some Caesar croutons in a container
on my kitchen shelves. I sprinkle with olive oil and then shredded
Parmesan cheese, toss them around and toast them until they are dry all
the way through. I just store them at room temperature, and have yet
to have any go bad in any way - right now, I think the batch I have
stored is about 4 months old. They have lost no flavor at all.

But the key in both cases, is DRY.

N.

"Nancy1" > wrote in news:1141330861.487557.54990
@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com:

>
> Julia Altshuler wrote:
>> We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
>> I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
>> to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
>> that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
>> deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
>> throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
>> they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
>> bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
>> day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.
>>
>>
>> The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
>> crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
>> that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
>> adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
>> blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
>> even have to do that.
>>
>>
>> Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
>> for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
>> crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
>> they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
>> bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
>> Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
>> preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
>> the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
>> be interested?
>>
>>
>> --Lia
>
> In my experience (not an expert), they don't get moldy if they are
> thoroughly dry before you crumb them up. Don't toast them - just lay
> them out on racks and let them air dry. At home, sometimes this takes
> 2-3 days. I keep dried bread crumbs (no flavorings or herbs) around in
> Ziplocs for a l-o-n-g time. If you want to add herbs and flavors, make
> sure they are the dried variety, not fresh. For instance, you could
> use some "Italian Seasoning," garlic powder, parsley flakes, and the
> like.
>
> If you have the means to toast bread (oven), why not make
> "gourmet-flavored" croutons? Commercial croutons are sold for what I
> think is an exhorbitant price. Cut the fresh or slightly stale bread
> into 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch cubes, sprinkle with dried (note, DRIED)
> herbs, some olive oil, and toast at a low temp (about 275 deg. F. or
> so), stirring frequently or flipping them around with a spatula, until
> they are totally dried through, and are golden brown in color. These
> keep indefinitely. I always have some Caesar croutons in a container
> on my kitchen shelves. I sprinkle with olive oil and then shredded
> Parmesan cheese, toss them around and toast them until they are dry all
> the way through. I just store them at room temperature, and have yet
> to have any go bad in any way - right now, I think the batch I have
> stored is about 4 months old. They have lost no flavor at all.
>
> But the key in both cases, is DRY.
>
> N.


N.,

I'm impressed! Nothing like a slice to turn into garlic bread with a
spaghetti dinner and a salad with croutons on the side, when not wine and
cheese tasting.

Brilliant!

Andy

Julia Altshuler wrote:

> Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
> for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
> crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
> they go moldy like any bread.

That's fresh bread crumbs; If you dry or toast them, they won't.

But make a product with high perceived value. I'm assuming that we're
talking about a crusted bread, like French baguettes or Italian bastoni.

If so, slice that bread into 1/4" slices and lay them out in a baking
sheet in a single layer. Spray them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle
dried herbs on them. Toast them in a low oven (275-300) to dry the bread
and given them a slight brown color. Voila, breads for bruschetta,
crostini, soup croutons, dips, cheeses...

They present a much higher value than crumbs. Call them something unique
and bag them in paper. Give away samples and I bet you sell them pretty
well.

Make the crumbs with several kinds of breads so they don't directly
compete with the crumbs in stores.

Pastorio

> At which point my boss asked about the
> bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
> Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
> preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
> the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
> be interested?

Julia Altshuler wrote:

>
> The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
> crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
> that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
> adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
> blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
> even have to do that.
>
> Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
> for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
> crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
> they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
> bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
> Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
> preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
> the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
> be interested?
>

I never have problems with bread crumbs going bad. I have a basket on the
counter where I leave bits of bread to dry out. When the basket is full I
get out the food processor and grind the dried bread into crumbs. Then I
keep it in a zip lock bag in the cupboard.

One thing I have to wonder.... right now you are a wine and cheese vendor.
You might want to check your local laws to see if grinding up crumbs and
bagging them up for sale is going to make you subject to food processing
regulations.

Bread crumbs are a good idea... but I think croutons would be a better
seller. You'd bake them in the oven like you were considering with
the crumbs.
```````````````````````````````

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:00:45 -0500, Julia Altshuler wrote:

> We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
> I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
> to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
> that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
> deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
> throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
> they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
> bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
> day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.
>
>
> The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
> crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
> that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
> adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
> blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
> even have to do that.
>
>
> Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
> for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
> crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
> they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
> bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
> Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
> preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
> the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
> be interested?
>
>
> --Lia

--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

sf wrote:
> Bread crumbs are a good idea... but I think croutons would be a better
> seller. You'd bake them in the oven like you were considering with
> the crumbs.


Thanks. I've printed out the ideas and will show them to Mr. Boss
today. I'm liking the crouton idea too. It might solve the first
problem I mentioned which is that many of our customers don't enjoy
cooking from scratch. It's hard to characterize our entire clientele,
but I'd say they make a salad and buy a fancy bottled dressing, not
enjoy mixing up a dressing from a recipe. They'll get cheese and serve
it plain on a cheese board with crackers they bought at the shop. I'd
say most don't cook with cheese. I was surprised when high-priced
envelopes of single-serving spice mixes sold so well. This is a product
where you open the envelope, rub it on a steak, and grill the steak.
It's nothing more than some herbs and spices, mostly salt, that's been
pre-measured. That's why I have my doubts about bread crumbs. I can't
imagine that our customers would know what to do with them. They're not
exactly the casserole sort. But croutons. They might put croutons on a
salad. I'll mention this to my boss today. Thanks to everyone who wrote.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
> sf wrote:
> > Bread crumbs are a good idea... but I think croutons would be a better
> > seller. You'd bake them in the oven like you were considering with
> > the crumbs.
>
>
> Thanks. I've printed out the ideas and will show them to Mr. Boss
> today. I'm liking the crouton idea too. It might solve the first
> problem I mentioned which is that many of our customers don't enjoy
> cooking from scratch. It's hard to characterize our entire clientele,
> but I'd say they make a salad and buy a fancy bottled dressing, not
> enjoy mixing up a dressing from a recipe. They'll get cheese and serve
> it plain on a cheese board with crackers they bought at the shop. I'd
> say most don't cook with cheese. I was surprised when high-priced
> envelopes of single-serving spice mixes sold so well. This is a product
> where you open the envelope, rub it on a steak, and grill the steak.
> It's nothing more than some herbs and spices, mostly salt, that's been
> pre-measured. That's why I have my doubts about bread crumbs. I can't
> imagine that our customers would know what to do with them. They're not
> exactly the casserole sort. But croutons. They might put croutons on a
> salad. I'll mention this to my boss today. Thanks to everyone who wrote.
>
>
> --Lia

I really agree with the crostini suggestion. They go very wellw ith
cheese, and that way your customers can one-stop shop: buy their wine,
cheese AND something toeat it on, all in one stop on the way to the
party! No need for crackers!

Jude wrote:
>
> I really agree with the crostini suggestion. They go very
> wellw ith cheese, and that way your customers can one-stop
> shop: buy their wine, cheese AND something toeat it on, all
> in one stop on the way to the party! No need for crackers!

The local Whole Foods (and probably every store
in the chain) had been doing that. They'd thinly
slice the old bread, oil it with olive oil, toss it
with herbs, then bake.

This went well for a few years until they had a
bad batch. It wasn't baked nearly enough. They
were very soft, not even much like toast. That
batch sold poorly, and succeeding batches also
sold poorly. Apparently, someone in charge didn't
feel like throwing out the slow-moving batches,
so they were merely repackaged as they passed
their expiration date. I know some of them were
repackaged at least twice, so they were quite
stale and hard. I thought I was being careful
about avoiding those packages, but they caught me
once. That was the very last time I bought them.

The lesson to learn is always throw away the bad
batches. Don't ever repackage a stale batch,
because it will hurt sales of your good batches.
The local Whole Foods doesn't understand that.
They took a good technique for recycling old bread
into a tasty product, and they destroyed the local
market for that product through their own greed
and/or incompetence.

Julia Altshuler wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
>> Bread crumbs are a good idea... but I think croutons would be a better
>> seller. You'd bake them in the oven like you were considering with
>> the crumbs.
>
>
>
> Thanks. I've printed out the ideas and will show them to Mr. Boss
> today. I'm liking the crouton idea too. It might solve the first
> problem I mentioned which is that many of our customers don't enjoy
> cooking from scratch. It's hard to characterize our entire clientele,
> but I'd say they make a salad and buy a fancy bottled dressing, not
> enjoy mixing up a dressing from a recipe. They'll get cheese and
> serve it plain on a cheese board with crackers they bought at the
> shop. I'd say most don't cook with cheese. I was surprised when
> high-priced envelopes of single-serving spice mixes sold so well.
> This is a product where you open the envelope, rub it on a steak, and
> grill the steak. It's nothing more than some herbs and spices, mostly
> salt, that's been pre-measured. That's why I have my doubts about
> bread crumbs. I can't imagine that our customers would know what to
> do with them. They're not exactly the casserole sort. But croutons.
> They might put croutons on a salad. I'll mention this to my boss
> today. Thanks to everyone who wrote.
>
>
> --Lia
>
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the ease with which fools and
their money are parted, certainly not in the food department. Have a
sign up with suggested uses. Sell the croutons as ideal for use in
caesar salad - at the supermarket here, I kid you not, you can get
caesar salad packs with the lettuce, the croutons and some sort of
dressing. Or rebadge them as sippets, puts the gourmet finishing touch
to cream soups.

Christine