Artisan breads from Chabaso Bakery

Flour, water, salt, and yeast is where it starts. We use a tiny amount of yeast, preferring to give our breads the time to ferment naturally – at least 20 hours! That creates the best texture and flavor.

Non-GMO

At Chabaso, we have committed to use only non-GMO ingredients. All of our breads are Non-GMO project verified.

Kosher

Chabaso is a KVH Kosher certified facility by the Rabbinical Council of New England. All breads that are purchased from our online store are shipped directly from our facility and are KVH Kosher certified. However, this is not the case for Chabaso breads that are purchased at supermarkets and stores that lack Kosher certification.

Whole grains

At Chabaso we love grains of all kinds, and we know that the more whole grains we can eat the healthier we’ll be. We incorporate whole grains into our breads in different ways. Whether we add whole wheat flour to our dough, whole grains into the dough, or top our breads with whole grains the result is the same: a delicious, nutty, crunchy, and healthier eating experience.

Clean label

At Chabaso Bakery, we are committed to being Clean Label. To us, this means using simple, non-artificial, commonly-recognizable ingredients to bake our breads. This includes:

No Artificial Flavors or Colors

No Artificial Preservatives

No Genetically Modified Ingredients (Non-GMO)

No Artificial Trans Fats

No Artificial Sweeteners

No Partially Hydrogenated Oils

No Bleached Flour

No ADA (Azodicarbonamide)

No High-Fructose Corn Syrup

No Calcium Propionate

No Mono or Diglycerides

No Synthetic Conditioners or Additives

For generations bakers around the world have known that flavor takes time. As the bread dough slowly ferments, the yeast breaks down starches into sugars and, as it consumes that sugar it imparts its delicious nutty fresh baked flavor to the dough. Unfortunately, the desire to make bread faster has led many large bakeries away from taking this time. At Chabaso, we don’t cut corners on fermentation time. Our bread process takes 20 hours or more, depending on the type of bread. It’s how we make such flavorful bread.

Each of our breads starts with a preferment, where a portion of the flour is fermented slowly over a very long period of time. In most cases, our favorite is a poolish, which is a very wet preferment made with flour, water, and a tiny amount of yeast. Over the 16 hours that this ferments, the yeast moves freely and slowly consumes the starches in the flour. This helps to create subtle acidic and nutty flavors.

We work hard to make each loaf of Chabaso bread as consistent as possible, but some inconsistencies are built into our systems of artisan bread shaping. We have some pretty awesome machines helping us form the dough into individual breads, but we still do a lot of the work by hand. Our bakers flip, stretch, and score, our utility team members round boules and rolls, arrange ciabattas and baguettes, and shape batards. We love the combination of manual and automation. It allows us bake a lot of bread without losing the truly artisan qualities of a neighborhood bakery.

Our breads are baked directly on the hearth (floor) of our large ovens. This intense heat, combined with a large amount of steam during the beginning of the bake cycle, helps create the deliciously open crumb and crispy crust that our fans love.

We have spent years figuring out how to get the best and freshest bread to our customers. What we have learned is that the best way to do this is to bake our bread about 70% of the way, freeze it very quickly, and deliver it frozen to stores. It can then be baked off fresh every day so you have access to truly fresh-baked Chabaso breads, regardless of where you’re purchasing it. We’re not saying we’re unique in doing this. This is how the vast majority of the bread industry works. It works for us to keep our costs reasonable and create a consistent product and it works for you to get truly fresh bread, regardless of how close you live to our bakery.

See below for bakeoff instructions for Chabaso breads, from frozen, for in-store bakery professionals.

All bread 1.3 oz – 7 oz — 385 F for 6-10 minutes

All bread 8 oz – 11 oz — 385 F for 8-12 minutes

All bread 12 oz – 16 oz — 385 F for 10-14 minutes

All bread more than 16 oz — 385 F for 14-18 minutes

https://youtu.be/DIHj8sdTNJc

For the best eating experience we strongly recommend that you warm your bread in the oven or toaster. This refreshes the crispy nature of the crust and adds a nutty warmth to the crumb (the interior). Simply place the unwrapped bread in a 400° F oven for 3–4 minutes for small loaves or 8–10 minutes for larger loaves (such as ciabattas). Our bread is great right out of the bag, but a bit of heating brings it to a whole other level.

If you’re not planning on eating your Chabaso bread in the next day or two, freezing is the best way to save it for later. Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag. Feel free to hold it in your freezer for several months.

To serve after freezing, preheat your oven to 400°F. Remove the bread from the freezer and unwrap it. Place it directly into the oven and bake until it’s warmed through. Small items, like Chabaso STIX and rolls, should only take about 5–8 minutes. Larger breads, like ciabattas, will take about 10–12 minutes. Bear in mind that all ovens are different and yours may take a longer or shorter time.

Nothing is more important that safety, both for our Chabaso family here at 360 James Street and our Chabaso family across the US. We maintain British Retail Consortium (BRC) standards and are BRC Certified annually. Also are audited by a number of other national customers. We are always happy to have someone come see for themselves.