Frequently Asked Questions

Our breads that are USDA certified organic by the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of New York are the Organic Whole Grain Health, Organic Nine Mixed Grain, Organic Whole Wheat Sourdough (Miche), Organic French Sourdough (Levain), Organic San Francisco Sourdough, Organic Sourdough Rye with Caraway Seeds, Organic Spelt, Organic Peasant and Organic Catskill Wheat. Many of our other breads, pastries, preserves and granola contain organic ingredients, but are not certified organic.

While both breads contain organic honey, the Whole Grain Health is the sweetest loaf, with one hundred percent organic whole wheat flour and organic sunflower, organic sesame and organic flax seeds. The Organic Whole Wheat Catskill is a simpler loaf made with one hundred percent organic wheat flour.

Organic San Francisco Sourdough is made entirely with organic unbleached white flour and has a mild tang and crisp crust. Organic French Sourdough (Levain) is made with a combination of organic whole wheat flour and organic white flour and is characterized by its dense crust and moist crumb. Organic Whole Wheat Sourdough (Miche) is made with organic whole wheat flour and has a dense crust and dark crumb.

None of our sourdough breads (Organic Whole Wheat Sourdough (Miche), Organic French Sourdough (Levain), Organic San Francisco Sourdough, Organic Sourdough Rye with Organic Caraway Seeds, Organic Spelt and Raisin Nut) are made with commercial yeast. They are leavened with a sourdough starter, a mixture of organic flour and water that allows the available wild yeast to mingle with the lactobacilli present in the air. Once fully ripened and developed, the sourdough starter is used to provide flavor and serve as a leavening agent in our breads.

Fiber refers to the amount of roughage or whole grains in a given product. Our Organic Whole Grain Health and our Organic Nine Mixed Grain breads have the highest percentage of seeds, cracked grains and whole grains.

Wheat berries, the part of the wheat plant that is ground into flour, consist of three parts: the starchy endosperm; the embryo, called the germ; and the indigestible outer husk, called the bran. Whole wheat flour uses one hundred percent of the grain, while white flour is sifted to remove the germ and the bran.

At Bread Alone we only use unbleached white flour. Bleaching is a way of chemically aging flour so that it will have more gluten-producing power and gives it a longer shelf life. Not only does this process remove natural beta-carotene pigments which color and subtlety flavor bread, but it can also inhibit fermentation in sourdoughs by killing the natural yeast. Unbleached flour is stored for three to eight weeks to allow it to oxidize naturally, giving it the same gluten producing potential as bleached flour. Bromate, which is outlawed throughout Europe as a carcinogen, is also a gluten- maximizing additive. Large commercial bakeries often use bromated flour, because bromate makes bread dough very extensible and thus easy for machinery to handle.

All of the nutritional facts are available online.

Most of our breads contain no sweeteners or animal products. The breads that are baked with organic, local honey are: Organic Whole Grain Health, Organic Spelt, Organic Catskill Wheat and the Multigrain products: The Multigrain Baguettes, Multigrain Rolls, Multigrain Panini, and Cranberry Almond Panini. Additionally, the Challah and Brioche are not vegan.

Yes, our kosher certificate is available on-line.

Very! Bread Alone has security measures in place to safeguard against the loss, misuse and alteration of information under our control. By making your purchases through our secure server, you are protected by Secure Socket Layer ("SSL") technology, used by most browsers, including Netscape and Microsoft Explorer. This technology allows us to utilize advanced encryption in order to protect the information transmitted between your computer and our server. Through encryption, the personal information you enter, including your name and credit card information, is securely dispatched over the Internet.

We will send you a confirmation email when you order and another to let you know that your package has shipped.

We can send food to all 50 states and Washington D.C. Unfortunately, we can't send Bread Alone food products internationally. We can ship books and non-perishable items internationally so please contact us by email: info@breadalone.com or call our customer service department at 845-657-3328 for more information.

We ship our orders on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please note that if you place your order on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday it will be shipped on the following Monday or Tuesday. If you place your order on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it will be shipped the following Wednesday. We guarantee that bread is shipped the day it is baked. For special shipping requests, please contact our customer service department at 845-657-3328.

Our system automatically calculates the standard UPS shipping and handling charges based on the total weight of your order. After you add items to your shopping basket, you can click on "Calculate Shipping" and you can find out how much your shipping and handling charges are. Once you finish shopping and select "Checkout", your final shipping charges will be calculated by UPS.

Your package will ship via UPS. We cannot ship to P.O. Boxes.

We can be reached Monday – Friday by phone: 845-657-3328
Via email: info@breadalone.com
By fax: 845-657-6228

Or by mailing us:
Bread Alone Bakery
P.O. Box 358
Boiceville, NY 12412

Refrigerating your bread may appear to extend its usable life, but the temperature and moisture of the refrigerator will actually speed up the staling process and toughen the crust.  Breads that seem to retain their 'freshness' in the refrigerator tend to have extenders, fillers or stabilizers in them.  Our bread has only natural ingredients.

If you find yourself with stale bread, wrap it in plastic wrap and reheat briefly in a microwave or toast lightly. You must, however, use it almost immediately or it will become quite brittle.

Store bread at room temperature—for up to two days—in a sealed plastic bag.

If you’re going to keep the bread longer than, say, two days, wrap bread tightly in foil, place in a freezer bag, and freeze. Thaw the slices at room temperature, or in the microwave or oven. (For a frozen full or half-loaf heat the bread, still wrapped in foil, in a 450-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, then crisp it by removing the foil and returning it to the oven for a minute or two.)

For unsliced loaves, store bread at room temperature (cool places are best) in a paper bag for up to three days. We strongly recommend that you store your whole loaves in a paper bag (not plastic) in order to preserve the wonderful crust!

If you plan to keep your whole loaf longer than four days, wrap the bread tightly in foil, place in a ziplock bag and freeze. To thaw a frozen loaf, either let sit at room temperature until fully thawed, or heat in foil in a 300-degree oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.