Bakery & Bread

Tips for choosing a great spread of baked goods

There are few things as satisfying as biting into a soft piece of bread, especially if it's fresh from the oven. Actually, that's not true the same statement could be made for almost any bakery item, whether it's a hot muffin, sweet piece of pie or a decadent cupcake. Here are some tips to consider when you're looking to buy baked goods or the items to make them, which you can easily find at Every Day Low Prices to suit your budget.

Sandwich Breads

Sandwich bread should be soft, which you can check by giving it a gentle squeeze. The bread should give slightly from the pressure then spring back into place. Darker bread, such as rye and multigrain, will be firmer than lighter bread like white and wheat, but it still should flex easily when checked. If you like your sandwich ingredients or the spreads that you're putting onto the bread to be the star of the show, you want to choose lighter bread. However, if you like your bread to be more robust, consider more savory types of bread like sourdough or pumpernickel. The standard loaf of bread has between 20 and 24 slices, which include the end slices, known as heels. If you like your bread slices thicker, Texas toast is an ideal option; these are typically twice as thick as standard sliced bread.

Another way to check if your bread is fresh and this rule goes for all bagged baked goods is to look at the color of the clips or ties that seal the bread closed. The color indicates the day of the week the bread was made. The standard industry rule of thumb is:

• Blue = Monday
• Green = Tuesday
• Red = Thursday
• White = Friday
• Yellow = Saturday

Rolls and Buns

The rolls and buns category is a large one, although the two most common here are hamburger buns and hot dog buns. They follow the same rule of thumb for freshness and baking date. Most of the buns that are available are white, with wheat usually being a slightly more expensive option. Some areas of the country also sell buns made with potato flour. Most bun packages come eight to a pack, but 12 is also common, and there are foodservice packs that have 16 or more in a package.

For the most part, rolls are savory and made with white flour, although there are wheat and multigrain options, too. There are also some rolls done Hawaiian-style that are slightly sweet. Although some rolls come pre-baked, there are many rolls that you can heat in the oven for five minutes or so before serving warm. Rolls typically come in packs of 12 but can come in packs as few as four.

Tortillas, Pitas and Wraps

Tortillas, pitas and wraps are flatbreads that can have sweet or savory fillings. Tortillas and wraps are virtually the same thing, although wraps tend to be larger, thinner and sometimes flavored, such as with spinach or sundried tomato. We sell pita bread that comes in packs of six to eight, while our tortillas and wraps come in packages of 12 or more. Smaller tortillas, such as corn or flour ones for soft tacos, often have more than 20 per pack. These work best by slightly warming them in a hot skillet for a minute per side or in a microwave oven for a few seconds to make them more pliable.

Pies and Tarts

Pies typically come in either 8-inch or 9-inch diameters and can either be shallow or deep dish. There are savory pies like pot pies and quiches, but most pies are sweet. Some are single-crust pies like pecan pie and some are two-crust, with a layer of pastry on top, like cherry pie. Some pies can be either one-crust pies with a crumb topping on top like Dutch apple pie or have a meringue top like lemon meringue pie. There are also some fried pies that can be eaten with your hands and have sweet fillings inside like chocolate or apple. Tarts are similar to pies but usually are one-crust pies, made with rolled dough and baked in a special tart pan. they're usually very thin, high-end pastries.

Cakes and Cupcakes

Cakes are only limited by the baker's imagination. There are round cakes, square cakes and rectangular cakes. Cakes can be a single layer or as many layers as the baker feels like making. Most cakes are either yellow cake or chocolate cake, but there are marble cakes that feature both flavors and cakes that are mixed with ingredients like fruit or food coloring. Frosting made with powdered sugar is a common covering, but cream cheese is a nice alternative. Some cakes don t even need frosting.

birthday cakes tend to have more frosting on them than traditional cakes and have writing and designs on them. Wedding cakes tend to be large, multilayer cakes that are set on tiers and decorated lavishly. Most are made with white icing or fondant, but other colors appear sometimes, especially in decorative accents.

Cupcakes are smaller versions of cakes made in muffin pans. These are made with the same batters as traditional cakes. These are sometimes baked in paper or foil cupcake liners. What's nice about cupcakes is they're frosted individually, allowing for a lot of creativity. When you decide what kind of baked goods you want, we have everything you need. Choose from our premade varieties or buy the items you need to make them yourself.