The Changing of the Sourdough Seasons...

As of September 22nd, Autumn has officially arrived. And although leaves seem to fall just about year-round in So Cal, the chilly nights are a welcome relief from the desert heat we personally experienced just a few weeks ago.

This weekend is the last one for Sourdough September. After that, we can look ahead to cozy meals at home (like our Sourdough Breadness Bowl with your Seafood Chowdah), Halloween haunts, and holidays coming sooner than we think!

Autumn is also a time when you'll probably get invited to several gatherings where food is the center of attention. When those occasions call for a Hostess Gift or a contribution to the table, bringing something special from Random Acts of Breadness will certainly add to the culinary conversation! 

The Quest for the Perfect Cookie... 

With the success of our Keto-friendly Blueberry Muffins and Muff'n Pops, I turned my attention to developing a Chocolate Chip Cookie. But not just any chocolate chip cookie; one that's grain-free, sugar-free and with a buttery, brown-sugar-like chew. The first attempt turned out like the above. The dough balls, though spaced plenty apart, became flat as they baked and eventually kissed each other, though they separated without much fuss. The whole bakery smelled heavenly, like caramel! Only problem, the oven still smelled like caramel the next day when we needed to bake bread! Fortunately, we have 2 oven decks so we used the lower deck for the bread baking and the upper deck eventually lost the caramel aroma.

This first batch was chewy and flavorful. I gave most of the cookies away for customers to get feedback. They LOVED them. But I needed to try some options. 

The second batch of cookies (I actually have a new name for them: Chewkies™) turned out lighter and didn't spread as much. But for both recipes, I don't yet have the perfect sugar-free chocolate chips. Seems there's either no-sugar dark chocolate chips which are bitter, or there are several brands of sugar-free chips with erythritol or resistive soluble corn solids (aka maltodextrin) as the first ingredient! I'm looking for a chocolate chip made with monk fruit or allulose as the only sweetener(s), and no lecithin or seed oils.

Right now, the healthiest sweetened chocolate "chips" I've found are Hu Kitchens Chocolate Gems. They're larger than baking chocolate chips and are sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar, so the jury isn't out on these yet. I'd rather have a tiny bit of unrefined sugar than a lot of sugar alcohol. But I'd really like to find the ideal chip I described above.

Stay tuned for my next Chewkies progress report...

This Week's Fresh & Frozen Breadness...

Here's what's available from our hand-crafted kitchen this week:

> Artisan Sourdough Rolls! (4 per bag)
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Rolls! (3 per bag)
> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaves (full-size boule, batard, petite)
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Loaves (full-size and petite)
> Artisan Sourdough Crisps (Naked, Herb, Smoked, Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan)
> Blueberry Muff'n Pops! - Gluten-free, Keto/Plant Paradox-friendly
> Beverages - Chocolate Chill, Balsamic Breeze
> Popsicles - Strawberry Coconut Cream, Pineapple Coconut Cream!

Order the above (and any of our other artisan products) at breadness.com/#shop. If a product is visible in the online shop, it's in stock. If you don't see a product in the online shop, it's sold out (but we might be making more, in which case the counter will be set to the available quantity).

Also, we can slice your bread(s) different thicknesses. Our most popular are Medium (about 5/8") and Thin (about 3/8") but we can do in between as well. Just ask! If ordering on line, enter your slicing preference(s) in the Special Instructions box during Checkout.

And Remember... we also carry the finest and freshest Organic Olive Oils from Ojai, Aged Balsamics from Modena, Keto-friendly Nut Butters from Yemetz Family Farms and NuttZo, Jamazing Jams from Laura Ann in Eagle Rock, Solar Grown Honey Spreads from Clif Family in Napa, Tasty Tapenades from Lisa Grabow in Pasadena, and the Best Butters from Raw Farm in Fresno.

Do we ship? Absolutely! 
If you (or someone you wish to gift) live within 120 miles of Los Angeles, we can ship on Wednesday or Thursday (via UPS Ground) and in most cases your Breadness Box will arrive on Thursday or Friday. Place your order before Wednesday morning here. If you live outside of So Cal, we can now ship 2-Day Air (or Ground service) on Wednesday (unsliced bread) for Friday delivery (orders that require 2-Day Air shipping must be in by Wednesday morning!). Join our growing list of nationwide customers who look forward to receiving their Breadness deliveries on a regular basis!

Let's Connect!
Random Acts of Breadness is located at 2214 West Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank (2-1/2 blocks east of Buena Vista on the south side of the street). Come to the bakery and sample our artisan wares, or order on line for bakery pickup, or have Breadness delivered or shipped to your door. You may also order by phone at 818-562-7303 and pay when you come pick it up. We're open Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.