Last night I attended the Beaujolais Nouveau Party hosted by our dear friends at Five Forks Market. This is the second year we have baked all the bread for this event to accompany bottomless bowls of a special peasant stew being served (SOOO good!) as bottles of this year's wine were being uncorked at everyone's table. Beaujolais Nouveau, originating in France, is celebrated annually on the third Thursday of November as a time to commemorate the end of the harvest; to sit back and enjoy the fruits of all that labor alongside friends and family.
Next Thursday we will be celebrating the end of harvest ourselves and giving thanks for all that is good. I have much to be thankful for this year...the health and happiness of my family, the company of good friends, the purpose and productivity of my C&C team, and the community of people that propel this dream venture forward by sharing in our love of good bread.
Next week we will be helping friends of C&C give thanks of their own by baking miche /meesh/ loaves to be gifted forward. It is the classic French bread rooted in history and tradition that is centuries old. In villages across France, when the baker fired up the communal oven, all the townsfolk brought their dough to him/her for baking and the resulting miches weighed anywhere between 4 and 12 pounds. These large loaves kept their moisture better and would be enough to feed the families for days or weeks until the next baking day.
We were originally planning to start accepting holiday miche orders just for Christmastime but we are able to bake a limited amount of these loaves alongside our bulk orders if you'd like one for your Thanksgiving table next week. You will be able to pick up your order Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday at Artale & Co. If you are a CSB member, just send me a note and we will be able to deliver the miche to whichever location you normally pick up your bread on Wednesday. Here is the link to our online shop where you can place your order from now until noon Sunday - http://www.crustncrumbles.com/shop/