Louisville Restaurants Forum

Although I hated to see Hostess Bakery file for bankruptcy , I wonder if there is any chance of someone else going into the facility and turning into a bakery putting out breads of a more artisan kind?

I would highly doubt it. The equipment for making loaves of your standard white bread, outside of the mixers and proofers is specifically engineered for that type of production. Besides, it would take a lot of expensive labor to put out a product like that.
I think the closest Interstate Bakery to us was in St. Louis or Cincinnati. We have't had a local production bakery here in Louisville in almost 15 years since Earth Grains was closed. The old Rainbow Plant on 7th St.was shut down much earlier than that.
In the early 90's, they developed an enzyme to lengthen the shelf life of most baked goods. After producers figured out how to put it into thier recipies without changing the taste and texture of thier products, they started closing and consolidating operations. Most of our local grocery bread is now produced in Cincinnati.

Dan, you're a buzz kill.

Dan Thomas wrote:We have't had a local production bakery here in Louisville in almost 15 years since Earth Grains was closed.

Blue Dog? Or are you defining "production" as bigger in scale? They're supplying quite a few restaurants and point-of-sale spots now, though.

Breadworks? A local bread chain ...

While both of those local companies and Great Harvest are producing great products and supply to local merchants and restaurants, they are barely a fraction of a percentage of what a large scale producer like Klosterman, Bimbo or the now defunct Interstate Bakery puts out. That's what I was refering to. The scale of such an operation is mind boggling. We have a small scale production bakery at the Nutrition Service Center that would impress most people to see it in operation, but nothing on a scale of one of the few big boys that remain.

Dan Thomas wrote:While both of those local companies and Great Harvest are producing great products and supply to local merchants and restaurants, they are barely a fraction of a percentage of what a large scale producer like Klosterman, Bimbo or the now defunct Interstate Bakery puts out. That's what I was refering to. The scale of such an operation is mind boggling.

True. That's what I figured you meant.

On the other hand, economies of scale sometimes lead to sacrifices of quality. Consider a slice of Rainbo Bread (no "w" on that brand name, by the way). Now think about a Blue Dog baguette. Any further questions?

Sure Blue Dog is great stuff, but it's price point is quite expensive and sometimes I like uniform, soft white bread for sandwiches and grilled cheese.

Well, while I understand the 'kneed' for large scale bakerys (sorry guys, I couldn't resist) I still mitriculate to the smaller, more artisan, old school ways. Oh my, what I would give for Camolot Bakery's Salt Risen Bread......NOSH!

Unfortunatly, Hostess has befallen the vast void of corporate greed and not doing the right thing for the employee. When you go all Wal-Mart in the world, the world is the ulitmate looser.

Hence, one of my favorite rants; Buy Local, Buy Fresh, Buy off a Truck at the Farmer's Market. It's all good.

I miss the British way of doing things, where in a small town, you would find a butcher, a baker and quite possibily a candlestick maker. No, only joking about the last one!. However, you would find a greengrocer, a newsagents and other small shops. Also they have big supermarkets. In the town of Stroud, where I spent most of my teenage years, there was and is still a bakery that did the most aweome filled rolls, pasties and pies as well as bread. I think they have probably been in business for around 50 years or so. A town the size of New Albany for instance should have a bakery, butchers and greengrocers. Also, can someone answere a question for me. Why is american mass produced bread so sweet? Even the whole grain loaves are. Also, why is the crust not crusty?

Alison Hanover wrote: Also, can someone answere a question for me. Why is american mass produced bread so sweet? Even the whole grain loaves are. Also, why is the crust not crusty?

Maybe Chef Dan can tell you, Alison. Personally, I'm on your side. The thing that intrigues me is that you can roll an entire slice into a little ball the size of a pea.

I wonder if those discount Hostess bakery shops (I think there is one on Poplar Level and out 3rd street on Kenwood?) are going to close too?

Oh and about bread, it's all about hand cutting, hand rolling, made from scratch. I would love a machine to help us meet volume but something about using your hands makes it feel more personal thus higher quality. My opinion though.

Hand made from scratch. That's how we.. uh, roll.

I understand the Hostess store in Jeffersonville is already closed. There was a 50% off liquidation sign in the window 2 days ago. I heard they were cleaned out completely.

Alison Hanover wrote:Also, can someone answere a question for me. Why is american mass produced bread so sweet? Even the whole grain loaves are. Also, why is the crust not crusty?

The answer to your first question is high fructose corn syrup. It's added to darn near every processed food sold in America. Don't believe me? Read the ingredients list. I am, for lack of a better term, HFCS-intolerant, and I've spent the last few years very carefully reading labels to avoid this junk. Bread, cookies, ketchup/catsup, soup--you'll find it everywhere, including foods that, by all that's holy, should NOT have HFCS in it. Cheap filler ingredient.

I'm fairly convinced the obesity epidemic in this country in part stems from the overuse of HFCS, especially in bread products, but now most Americans have been trained to accept overly sweet bread. Before I swore off bread in total recently, I had to hunt the shelves for the bread specifically labeled as HFCS-free.

As for soft crusts, I have a feeling it stems back to childhood. Most kids want the crust taken off their bread, so they grow up wanting soft crust. Eventually mass-produced breadmakers softened everything to meet demand. At least that's my theory.

Oddly enough, a HFCS and wheat/gluten free diet has done wonders for my energy levels. I'm one of the few who won't miss Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs. I quit eating them years ago when they started putting more preservatives in them than actually FOOD ingredients.

Terri Beam wrote:

Alison Hanover wrote:Also, can someone answere a question for me. Why is american mass produced bread so sweet? Even the whole grain loaves are. Also, why is the crust not crusty?

The answer to your first question is high fructose corn syrup. It's added to darn near every processed food sold in America. Don't believe me? Read the ingredients list. I am, for lack of a better term, HFCS-intolerant, and I've spent the last few years very carefully reading labels to avoid this junk. Bread, cookies, ketchup/catsup, soup--you'll find it everywhere, including foods that, by all that's holy, should NOT have HFCS in it. Cheap filler ingredient.

I'm fairly convinced the obesity epidemic in this country in part stems from the overuse of HFCS, especially in bread products, but now most Americans have been trained to accept overly sweet bread. Before I swore off bread in total recently, I had to hunt the shelves for the bread specifically labeled as HFCS-free.

As for soft crusts, I have a feeling it stems back to childhood. Most kids want the crust taken off their bread, so they grow up wanting soft crust. Eventually mass-produced breadmakers softened everything to meet demand. At least that's my theory.

Oddly enough, a HFCS and wheat/gluten free diet has done wonders for my energy levels. I'm one of the few who won't miss Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs. I quit eating them years ago when they started putting more preservatives in them than actually FOOD ingredients.

Just out of curiosity , if you are HFCS intolerant can you tolerate other sugars, like raw cane sugar? Just wondering...

Dan Thomas wrote:The old Rainbow Plant on 7th St.was shut down much earlier than that.

Does anyone know exactly where that old plant was on 7th? I went there as a kid on a St Pius field trip in the 70's. I still have the hat they gave me for the factory tour. I did a little googling and found an article about the Rainbo plant in Lexington, but nothing about Louisville.