I keep a loaf of sliced, whole grain panini in the freezer - actually it's sold as a half loaf. It's from a bakery in Canada. I love it toasted, or for grilled cheese. The loaf is wide, so one slice cut in half makes a nice sandwich. No artificial stuff, no HFCS. It keeps very well in my freezer. We don't eat enough bread to use a whole loaf before it molds. And we buy Bay's English Muffins, which are in the refrigerator section of the grocery store where we shop. They last a long time and are versatile.

I'm not a big fan of bread these days, but I have enjoyed Ace Bakery multi grain Demi-Bagettes. I used to get an olive bread that I really like, from one of the grocery chains that no longer has a store near me.

For dinner today I had slices of a whole grain baguette (from Kroger) spread with duck&pork pate - the bread was so-so, but the pate was delicious!

This is $5 from my local bakery, Manresa.

If it was a good baguette I would pay $$$. I'm always disappointed in the ones I find.

It's sad they managed to mess up a cheese board. I'd have thought that'd be a safe bet.

I finally tried a bakery the other day, in a nearby town that some friends have raved about. $3.50 for a baguette. I gave a piece to DH while he was on a phone call. After one bite he muted himself so he could enjoy it, later he came down to ask, WHERE was that from? The bakery website says they source most of their ingredients from France, so that might be the difference. I have heard that everything from wheat to water matters. It really is good.

Today DH brought home a baguette that I usually like from the grocery store, ”Parisian whole wheat”. But now, it’s just meh. Spoiled already!

Kathsgrdn, now that you are retired you might give bread baking a try. Some people really become knowledgeable about flour, technique, and how to bake various breads, and there is a real satisfaction in baking a really delicious loaf. Imagine being able to make a baguette like you saw in the store.

Manresa sells a baguette making kit!

Lucille, I do have a bread making machine that I used occasionally but not recently. I've looked up how to make brotchen in the past, but haven't tried yet. I could try those and a baguette one day.

The only thing I've baked lately are dog buscuits for the local Humane Society.

Our best local bakery, Fire Island, charges $5.50 and yes I pay that but not every day or week! Costco baguettes are decent and nice to have around and keep in the freezer at half the price.

My homemade baguettes are very inexpensive and nowhere close to expert but, the minute they come out of the oven everybody is happy!

When it comes to bakeries and baguettes, it’s an embarrassment of riches around here. I can remember when $3.50 was a common price point; now it’s $5-7. (Good bagels are now $3!). Whatever it is, when I want one, I will gladly pay!

My favorite bread is sourdough. My favorite sourdough is from Boudin, whose "home" is in San Francisco, but luckily there are two locations close enough for us to get to. However, they are usually sold out of the sourdough loaves by 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m., so if we don't get there early enough we're out of luck.

I'll admit I'm a bread snob, and it's not unusual for me to pay $7-8 for a loaf of bread; $5 for a baguette would not seem out of place, but I'm not a huge baguette fan. I was at the local farmers' market today and the most popular stand was a French bakery selling baguettes for $4.75, and croissants for $4.

My favourite bread is a nice sourdough rye with caraway seeds. I love rosemary focaccia, but I think of that as more of a baked side for other food than as a bread, but I guess it does count.

I dont have anything to say about the price of bread but I would have sent the soup back and politely asked for it to be reheated

Trader Joes small baguettes are pretty good and they also have my favorite sliced bread called Super Bread and it is!

I most often avoid bread unless I am having a sandwich and I have found that I love the Lewis Honey Oat as well. Otherwise, no bread unless I am lunching at a local restaurant which has delightful rolls--only one for me though.

Whole Foods has a bread called Seeduction, it’s good for certain uses, especially breakfast. The label says what day it was baked so i can almost always get a fresh loaf.

DH loves two breads he picks up at the grocery store when we go to Toronto. The words that come to mind are Dimpfelmeier and Klosterbrodt. I did find one of them at an out-of-the-way Hungarian/European import grocer nearby, but DH found it stale so now he waits and buys it when we visit TO.

I used to work next door to Cadoro Bakery in Inglewood, and I met the owner on a visit to see if I could buy bread there. They did not sell bread, but they threw out bread that did not sell and gave it to me for free. In exchange for the free bread, I offered to make five luxe tablecloths for their farmers' market tables

and the owner agreed to give me free bread for life. I used fabrics in our warehouse for these tablecloths, and the owner told me that sales increased dramatically once he started using the new tablecloths. For me, the bread from Cadoro Bakery is even better than the bread from La Brea Bakery, and both bakeries specialize in sourdough. I've had San Francisco sourdough, but for me the sourdough in L.A. is even better, even though its reputation is not as long.

I still make a lot of bread, even though I can get bread for free whenever I want - I just have to schedule an appointment to meet with the owner of Cadoro Bakery. I like to make 100% whole wheat bread and also several different rye breads, but I've given up on making sourdough bread, as it is too much effort to keep the starter alive - plus I can get sourdough for free that is better than what I can make.

My favourite bread is a nice sourdough rye with caraway seeds.

TV, we may have been separated at birth. The best ryes I've had are from Zaro's and Zabar's in NYC. The Zaro's in particular has a huge amount of caraway seeds. Around here good rye is difficult to come by, but there's a pretty good loaf sold at one local supermarket that comes from Brooklyn.

Baguettes are $3.70 from Grand Central Bakery, a popular Portland area bakery. Very reasonable and one of the best baguettes I've ever had, as well as their ciabatta and Como bread.

" I'll admit I'm a bread snob, and it's not unusual for me to pay $7-8 for a loaf of bread; $5 for a baguette would not seem out of place "

Are these prices in Canadian dollars ($1 Canadian =US 75 cents) or did you convert them?

" This is $5 from my local bakery, Manresa. "

Funny enough, Zalco, we got some stuff (first time) from Manresa a few weeks ago and were pretty disappointed. The "sourdough" baguette wasn't very sour and the Levain batard, seemingly of the same dough mixture, was the same. Both had good crust and interior structure, but we found the taste lacking.

Did you ever try the Michelin started restaurant of the same name and same owner (Kinch)? We've been fortunate to enjoy meals at a number of other M 3 Star restaurants over the years and we found it to be not of the same standard. Comparably priced but not a comparable experience.

" Are these prices in Canadian dollars ($1 Canadian =US 75 cents) or did you convert them? "

No, they're what I pay (Canadian) - the exchange rate only matters if you earn in one currency and spend in another, or if product is imported one way or the other. I earn Canadian dollars and I spend Canadian dollars. For the same reason, I don't convert the prices other people talk about into Canadian dollars - it would be meaningless and useless.

" The "sourdough" baguette wasn't very sour "

I found the same with the sourdough batard I bought at the market yesterday -- good enough bread, but with virtually no sourdough flavour. If that's their sourdough, I wonder how light tasting their regular bread is like.

Elmer, that is such a relief to hear you say you did not enjoy Manresa, the restaurant in LG. It was the first time my husband and I went to such a high end place and boy were we let down. We went with another couple, so the evening was great fun anyway, but the food was so uninspiring. The only thing which stands out in my mind was a cool presentation of a soup, where the waiter brought a thick puree of vegetables in a soup plate and then poured the broth out of a Japanese style cast iron teapot. Other than that, the bill was the biggest stand out.

As for the bread, the crust on that loaf is delicious. I agree with you, the bread lacks ooomph. They took the place of the Mayfield Bakery in Town & Country, which while not nearly as famous, was much better.

I guess we had been to a few similar restaurants in ranking, Le Bernardin and such, always very classic.

" I don't convert the prices other people talk about into Canadian dollars - it would be meaningless and useless "

Thanks for replying. For an audience that's 90+% American, your citing dollar figures without clarifying "which dollars" they are is misleading. The difference is that your amounts on their face sounding like high prices, are actually low prices. Few Americans know or pay attention to the US/Canadian exchange rate so your familiarity with it isn't shared.

Zalco, have you been to the French Laundry? It deserves its hype. Our other experiences with 2 and 3 Etoile restaurants have been in Continental Europe. Rather than urban ones, we've particularly enjoyed ones in rural/semi rural settings. Some have rooms and it can be a real experience to stay in such places. Needless to say, breakfast the next morning can be as memorable as dinner the night before.

After Manresa my husband was in the, Never again camp, except for classic food. With your recommendation though, I will convince him! (seriously) Thank you.

Keep an open mind and ask around. Attaining stars can be a pursuit in itself, there are lots of great restaurants to find and enjoy. A fine meal should be an experience of all senses. And one that, honestly, many people have trouble understanding, perceiving and enjoying. Great service is not having your water glass filled as you put it down, as an example.

Skipped down to add that Trader Joe's organic baguettes used to be around $2. I think they're around $3 now. They sell them ready to crisp up in the oven. I buy one as a treat now and then. Reminds me of the Cuban bread from Ybor City.

About the only bread we've been eating for some time now is homemade.

And I'm rarely satisfied with restaurant food. I guess that makes me a food snob too 😄

Elmer its not fine dining which my husband was turned off to, it was a specific class of restaurants like Manresa, Baumé, places with any whiff of molecular cuisine and a lot of talking from waiters.

Table staff are supposed to unobtrusively present the experience, not be part of it. It's very different in Europe.

I'll have to try Trader Joe's baguettes next time I'm in there. I think I've only bought one or two of their loaf type breads and didn't really like them.

I just picked up a loaf of Rye bread from the grocery store bakery, $1.25. I prefer my own home made bread....and my father was a chef. I grew up eating well. Restaurants are often just ordinary....not great....I prefer my own cooking...and...left overs.

“I think I've only bought one or two of their loaf type breads and didn't really like them.”

Kath, I’ve been shopping at TJ’s since the late 70’s and could count on one hand the times I’ve bought ”regular” loaf bread there. Just never found a good one but do enjoy their various forms/sizes of ciabatta.

" For an audience that's 90+% American, your citing dollar figures without clarifying "which dollars" they are is misleading. "

They shouldn't be - not with a handle that identifies my location.

" your amounts on their face sounding like high prices, are actually low prices. "

No, they're actually high prices. In Canada. Where I live and shop. If some Americans can't think that someone from outside of their country is using the Internet and has taken the step to put their location in their handle, I'm not going to do a bunch of mathematical conversions to make their understanding easier.

I like TJ's baguettes and ciabatta in a pinch. Their selection of organic artisan bread has diminished. I have bought their organic Oat and Honey bread (I think it's called) when I don't want to have to go to a 2nd store for sandwich bread. But it's often thawing on the shelf, indicating it's being shipped frozen, and their bread molds unbelievable quickly, just like their cheese. It's good stuff but has to be used quickly.

Olychick - we keep our bread and rolls in the freezer because we don't eat them soon enough before they go bad. It's hard to find bread that we like without tons of preservatives and sugar/HFCS and I'm not into baking. Our nearest Trader Joe's is about an hour round trip on the best of days, so we don't shop there unless one of us has a medical app't in Hyannis.

Seagrass, I will often freeze baguettes before a company meal, then pop them in the oven frozen to heat They come out as if freshly baked. I really dislike sliced bread kept in the freezer or refer, tho It always seems stale.

Oly - I always toast or griddle any bread/rolls we freeze, so usually that solves any problems.

I don't like bread in the refrigerator either. When I first started buying my organic Super Bread from Traders, the checker would always tell me to do that as it will mold because it has no preservatives. I never did and it never molded but I eat the whole loaf in seven days. Then it's time to buy a new one.

I have always been told not to keep bread in the refrigerator, because it will go stale faster, but it's OK in the freezer. I always freeze bread - when I buy unsliced bread, I cut it into thirds (usually) or half, and then freeze them that way, taking out a portion as I need it. It only takes an hour or two to defrost.

Bread is one food that takes well to freezing - as long as it's wrapped well. Freezing it when it's freshly baked and cooled is best.

My homemade bread goes in the fridge after 24 - 48 hours or it goes moldy in our hot and humid climate.