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Bread

Spotlight on The Manghis’ Bread

Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly this week on a family-owned bakery that’s been serving fresh-baked bread to their community for over 35 years. From February 18th – 24th, member-owners can enjoy a 20% discount on all products from The Manghis’ Bread! Read on to learn more about their rich history and commitment to community:

 

Elaine and Paul Manghi founded the Manghis’ Bread in their North Randolph home in the late 1970s. Their mission was to provide healthy, homestyle breads at an affordable price for local families. The business moved to Montpelier in 1980. From 1980 until 2010 Elaine and Paul were the constant faces of the bakery, arriving in the early morning and going strong until afternoon. In February 2010, Paul passed away unexpectedly. The dedicated staff rallied and kept the bakery running smoothly. For several more years, Elaine continued greeting customers and calling wholesale accounts at the bakery, her home away from home. She retired in the spring of 2014 with much appreciation from the staff and
the larger community.

Since then, Manghis’ has evolved into a real family business. Elaine’s daughter, Maria, continues to work with the retail staff and now carries Paul’s operational duties. Elaine’s son-in-law, Steve, left New England Culinary Institute in 2010. He now carries Paul’s production duties, assisting the bakers to mix and bake the goods that are so loved. Elaine’s son, Matthew, occasionally jumps in to assist in both the production and retail sales.

Maria & Steve Stoufer

The foundation of the business is still to provide wholesome breads, breakfast sweets, and seasonal holiday items at an affordable price for local families. Currently, the bakery is primarily a wholesale operation, selling anywhere from 1,800–3,000 loaves to roughly 40 small Vermont businesses each week. Over 35 + years of operation they have also found quite the following with local families and are growing a much larger retail business, which unfortunately has been put on hold due to the pandemic. 

According to Steve and Maria, the bakery strives to be an asset to their community as a solid contributor to the local economy, a sustainable business model, and a concerned community advocate. They strive to minimize their impact on the environment with their unique volunteer delivery system. They provide for all of their staff a competitive wage and a safe, caring environment in which to work. They aim to encourage and support the growth of professional development and create customer satisfaction with their products and with their service.

Whether it is the regular loaf of white bread or the extra special bourbon cakes, Manghis’ is a warm and welcoming Montpelier establishment, offering a special mix of homemade treats and good character. They all look forward to continuing to serve this community for many generations to come.

Spotlight on Klinger’s Bread Company

Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly on Klinger’s Bread Company! From March 5th – 11th, member-owners can enjoy 20% off their full line of local fresh-baked artisan bread! Read on to learn more about this Burlington-based bakery and their time-honored baking traditions:

 

Rustic, Healthy, Hearty, Crusty, Chewy, Flavorful…
Just a few words overheard to describe the artisan breads of Klinger’s. Their hearth-baked breads were proudly brought to Vermont in 1993 by the Klingebiel families of Williston, Vermont and Salem, New York.

These flavorful, authentic European breads were developed by one of America’s premier artisan bakers. Their bakers have been thoroughly trained in the methods and subtleties of bread baking. The breads are made from starters which are allowed to develop over a thirty-hour period. Visit the bakery and watch their bread crafters at work. Amidst floured tables, you will see them mix the finest ingredients, hand shape loaves, and bake them with care in their French brick oven.

Klinger’s is proud to bring you the rustic, homemade taste of their signature artisan breads. Their goal is to produce breads with character and integrity, to make your mouth water with the aroma of loaves fresh from the oven, and to share the products of their labor with you again and again.

Spotlight on Klinger’s Bread Company

Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly on Klinger’s Bread Company! From March 14th – 20th, member-owners can enjoy 20% off their full line of local fresh-baked artisan breads! Read on to learn more about this Burlington-based bakery and their time-honored baking traditions:

 

Rustic, Healthy, Hearty, Crusty, Chewy, Flavorful…
Just a few words overheard to describe the artisan breads of Klinger’s. Their hearth-baked breads were proudly brought to Vermont in 1993 by the Klingebiel families of Williston, Vermont and Salem, New York.

These flavorful, authentic European breads were developed by one of America’s premier artisan bakers. Their bakers have been thoroughly trained in the methods and subtleties of bread baking. The breads are made from starters which are allowed to develop over a thirty-hour period. Visit the bakery and watch their bread crafters at work. Amidst floured tables, you will see them mix the finest ingredients, hand shape loaves, and bake them with care in their French brick oven.

Klinger’s is proud to bring you the rustic, homemade taste of their signature artisan breads. Their goal is to produce breads with character and integrity, to make your mouth water with the aroma of loaves fresh from the oven, and to share the products of their labor with you again and again.

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

The oldest known reference to a published Soda Bread recipe comes from the November 1836 edition of Farmer’s Magazine in London, referencing a recipe published in an Irish newspaper in County Down, Ireland that same year. The author of the recipe proclaims “there is no bread to be had equal to it for invigorating the body, promoting digestion, strengthening the stomach, and improving the state of the bowels!”. The use of soda ash in baking bread is originally credited to American Indians who used  it to leaven their bread prior to 1800, though the state of poverty in Ireland in the early 1800’s made it the simplest and least expensive daily bread to put on the table, thus making it their adopted method of choice and one that is now synonymous with Irish culture.

All recipes for traditional soda bread contain nothing more than flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt. This was a daily bread that didn’t keep long and had to be baked every few days.  It was not until well past the mid 19th century that recipes began including whiskey, candied fruit, caraway seeds, raisins, or other festive ingredients. This particular recipe from The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread offers options for both – just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

The oldest known reference to a published Soda Bread recipe comes from the November 1836 edition of Farmer’s Magazine in London, referencing a recipe published in an Irish newspaper in County Down, Ireland that same year. The author of the recipe proclaims “there is no bread to be had equal to it for invigorating the body, promoting digestion, strengthening the stomach, and improving the state of the bowels!”. The use of soda ash in baking bread is originally credited to American Indians who used  it to leaven their bread prior to 1800, though the state of poverty in Ireland in the early 1800’s made it the simplest and least expensive daily bread to put on the table, thus making it their adopted method of choice and one that is now synonymous with Irish culture.

All recipes for traditional soda bread contain nothing more than flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt. This was a daily bread that didn’t keep long and had to be baked every few days.  It was not until well past the mid 19th century that recipes began including whiskey, candied fruit, caraway seeds, raisins, or other festive ingredients. This particular recipe from The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread offers options for both – just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

Spotlight on Red Hen Baking Company

Our Member Deals Spotlight is beaming on Red Hen Baking Company this week! Member-owners can enjoy 20% off their full line of freshly baked breads from February 15th – 21st. Read on to learn more about this wonderful local bakery that’s been turning out fresh organic bread 7 days a week for nearly 20 years!

 

History

The folks at Red Hen Baking Company are guided by a belief that pure, uncomplicated ingredients and the hands of skilled artisans are the building blocks for great food. Their bakery sprouted from humble beginnings with a staff of 8 on Route 100 in Duxbury, VT. They were committed to using organic ingredients since the very beginning and became an established presence in the area’s many cooperative and independent food stores. Their bread was beginning to appear at more and more of the area’s finest restaurants and they became mainstays of the Montpelier and Waitsfield Farmers’ Markets. To this day, these venues still make up the core of their wholesale business.

After 8 years of hard work in Duxbury and a seasoned staff that had grown to over 20 employees (many of whom are still with the bakery today), they had the opportunity to move 5 miles down the road to the neighboring town of Middlesex. It was here that they established their new baking facility in a building constructed especially for their purposes with an attached café in a renovated building that housed the former Camp Meade Diner.

Their café has become known as a local destination and gathering place where people can enjoy not only the breads they’re so well known or, but also their increasingly lauded pastries, sandwiches, and soups. To supplement their own creations, the cafe also features beer, wine, and specialty food from near and far. Next time you’re cruising through Middlesex, be sure to stop in!

Quality Commitment

Although Red Hen has grown considerably since those early days in Duxbury, they remain dedicated to creating the very best food from the best possible ingredients. You can’t make great food without great flour (or potatoes or seeds or meal, as the case may be), so a great deal of time and energy are spent sourcing the very best of these items. In many cases, they are closely acquainted with the farmers and millers that are responsible for producing the raw materials used for baking their breads. In fact, over 90% of all the flour they use comes from two farmers within 150 miles of the bakery. Each year, 430,000 lbs of local wheat go into their breads!

Farmer Ben Gleason of Gleason’s Grains delivering flour to the bakery.

They employ methods that are as old as bread making itself and these processes guide their days at the bakery. This method of slow fermentation produces a complexity of flavor, a chewy texture, helps the bread to keep longer, and even adds to its nutritive value. Each loaf is then formed by hand and baked in a hearth oven. The Red Hen family of breads runs the gamut from dense whole grain varieties to light and airy ciabatta and everything in between.

Giving Back

Like any good hen, the folks at Red Hen feel a responsibility to do what they can to nurture the community that has nurtured them. There is never a shortage of work to be done and there are so many good organizations doing that work, but each year their staff selects a few organizations that they would like to support. Last year they directed over $26,000 to the following organizations doing work both close to home and further afield:

To learn more about Red Hen Baking, check out their web page! You can view their cafe menu, read all about their diverse bread offerings, and find great tips for storing your bread to maximize freshness.