From Acme Bread: The Acme Bread Edible Schoolyard loaf is a 100% whole-grain bread, developed with Alice Waters of Chez Panisse to pay homage to her Edible Schoolyard project at King Middle School in Berkeley.
This 21oz loaf expresses the values of the Edible Schoolyard, being nutritious and simple made with local ingredients. The challenge was to make a whole grain bread that was soft and a little sweet, so that kids would love it. Besides the wheat, this bread contains a little honey, a bit of coarse rye pumpernickel meal, and salt. It is leavened with a starter containing the wild yeasts that occur naturally in the flour and the bakery environment. The rustic and whimsical shape of the loaf celebrates irregularities that arise when bread is made by hand. The loaf is frozen at the peak of freshness and will arrive with defrosting instructions.
How to Defrost:
This loaf of delicious Edible Schoolyard bread has been frozen at its peak of freshness. If you plan on eating it right away, let it sit at room temperature to defrost, it should be ready in 3-4 hours. If you intend on keeping it frozen, to eat at a later time, put it (including paper bag) in another plastic bag, zip lock preferably. It will keep for up to a month in the freezer if wrapped properly. To defrost, take out of the freezer, but keep it in its wrappings, and let it defrost at room temp for at least 4 hours or overnight.
If you would like to freeze the loaf in slices, let it defrost for 3-4 hours (or less as soon as you can get a bread knife through it) and slice to desired thickness. Freeze the bread slices separately, (this will keep the slices from sticking together in the bag) then place all in a bag together in the paper bag or parchment paper and plastic bags, and freeze. Remove slices as desired. They will thaw out much faster than the whole loaf, in about a half-hour.
Don’t be tempted to microwave your bread to defrost, as this dries it out and makes it rubbery!
To serve the bread warm, wrap your bread in parchment paper and foil and place it in an oven heated to 400 degrees for 3 or 4 minutes.