Loafing Around
This afternoon I joined 7 girlfriends at the Great Harvest Bread Company in Tempe for a bread baking class. I wasn’t sure what to expect; I love to bake and finally mastered a great loaf of bread with the ever-so-popular No Knead recipe. Then again, I’m rarely one to turn down an opportunity to learn, eat or bake. For $25 we got to do all three, plus spend several hours gabbing and having a great time.
Carolyn, the former owner, is transitioning out of the business and training the new owner Leslie. The two make a great pair; they were polite and friendly and you can feel their love for baking. It is always nice to be around people who are passionate about their work. They described Great Harvest’s business model, commitment to making healthy food (the company was founded by Montana hippies who ground their own wheat and sold bread by the roadside. How wonderful is that?), and community involvement. We placed our lunch order, threw on aprons and hats and headed back into the bakery to learn how to knead.
Their baker measured out two one-pound loaves of bread. We each kneaded, decorated and dabbed a honey mixture on top of these before they went into their ferris wheel oven to be baked. After a tour of the bakery, we sat down to eat. I’m not easily impressed with sandwiches. I love lots of sliced meat, generous veggies, no mayo or cheese and a great bread. They knocked it out of the park. My black forest turkey sandwich was so, so good. I had it on their nine grain and it was truly the best sandwich bread I’ve ever had. I was happy without eating another bite, but then of course came two large plates of sweets. Soon enough, the eight of us magically made brownies, cookies, muffins, scones and several types of specialty bread disappear. My favorite was the flax seed, carrot bran muffin. Sounds gross, but it was just the right balance of sweet, dense and healthy-ish. Yum.
Phoenicians, if you are looking for a fun way to get a group of friends together, this class is a wonderful way to escape the normal mall/shopping/lunch/movie/happy hour routine. Plus, you get to come home with a belly full of healthy, yummy food and two loaves of bread. For $25, it’s a steal. Plus, it’s a great chance to look at your girlfriends and say, “Nice buns!”
~K
- Posted in Domestic Art, Journal, Arizona, Kitchen Talk
- Permalink
‘Nice buns’ too funny! Looks like you gals had a blast!!
July 26th, 2008 at 4:37 pmWhat a fantastic experiance! Your sandwich looks super good. Thanks for sharing these great pics.
July 26th, 2008 at 4:41 pmI work at a Great Harvest about 2 days a week. It is a lot of fun and the products are wonderful, aren’t they?
July 26th, 2008 at 5:05 pmThat looks like a great place.
July 26th, 2008 at 5:10 pmYou can’t beat an awesome loaf of bread!
This does sound like a fabulous way to spend an afternoon! Thank you so much for sharing it (and all the great pictures!) so that I could experience it vicariously….
July 26th, 2008 at 5:48 pmWhat a fun thing to do! Sounds like a wonderful afternoon, I’m jealous. Glad you had a great time and great food too.
July 26th, 2008 at 6:11 pmOh, how I miss Great Harvest! We had a couple within pretty close driving distance when we lived in western WA.
July 26th, 2008 at 6:26 pmWhen I grow up, I want to be a great bread baker. You are well on your way!
Sounds like fun, if you like bread making you should get “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” this book is fantastic, and easy!
July 26th, 2008 at 6:29 pmI LUV Great Harvest! We don’t have one here yet.. but I actually had a craving for their bread about 3 days after Grace was born and that was our first outing out post-baby.. to get bread at Great Harvest! YUM haha.
July 26th, 2008 at 8:23 pmTH is drooling over the sandwich (he is a sandwich junkie) and I am drooling over the bread. What a great Saturday for you!
July 26th, 2008 at 8:41 pmThat is so much fun! I am going to have to see if our GH has classes or not. What a fun way to spend the afternoon with friends. And the bread looks amazing!
July 26th, 2008 at 10:49 pmSounds like a great way to spend an afternoon.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:00 amUmmm, I love Great Harvest. I’ll have to see if they’re having any classes here.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:01 amSound like a really fun time. The sandwich looks delicious.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:20 amThe loaves I ‘made’ yesterday have now been turned into fancy grilled cheese for dinner, and french toast this morning.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:53 amThanks for the invite Kel! Ryan and I are definitely going to make the drive over there. The bread is worth it! And I fully intend on having a sandwich when I do.
This looks like so much fun!
July 27th, 2008 at 1:01 pmThat sandwich looks delicious as well… yum!
Kelli,
July 27th, 2008 at 2:17 pmYour great photos and wonderful compliments just topped off my day. We relish in the opportunities we have to share our love of bread with our customers and friends — especially with our customers who become friends!!
Have a Great Harvest Day,
Carolyn Holmes, 480-777-1141
Owner of the only Great Harvest in Arizona
I can truly understand you. My best time is the one spent with friends cooking all together!
July 28th, 2008 at 2:06 amWhat a fun thing to do with girlfriends!
July 28th, 2008 at 4:54 amWhat a wonderful class and you look fabulous in your chef hat/apron. I love the breads y’all made, how delicious it all looks and sounds. I just did a quick check here in Tucson and called the number listed for our local Great Harvest Bread Company. If they offered the break class, my intent was to immediately sign up for it. Alas, the number has been disconnected. This may mean a trip to Phoenix for their class. Thanks for sharing this great opportunity.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:28 amwe have a great harvest - a local treasure. two words: spinach feta. yum. baker bob is a hero. I’ll have to see if ours offeres classes.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:38 amOh my gosh, that looks like so much fun. I’ll have to do that!
July 28th, 2008 at 7:46 amWish I livbed closer. This is my kind of fun day!
July 28th, 2008 at 2:19 pmthis sounds like such a blast!! and to do it with a group of girlfriends… nothing better!
July 31st, 2008 at 4:06 amxo