Twas The Week Before Christmas

Busy times. Happy times. I hope you're enjoying the holiday season and looking forward to longer days starting in a week.

This is a really brief update with three important announcements. Important if you want fresh bread for Christmas, that is!

Daily Baking on Christmas Eve #

We're open Christmas Eve. It's the first time we've ever opened on a Monday, but we want to make sure you get the bread you need for the holidays.

I know we've been pushing hard for pre-orders on Christmas Eve. It's because we're not at all sure what to make, or how much to make. We've received a TON of orders for special Christmas loaves (thank you!) but have decided to bake our daily bread as well. So if you need Orange Boot Birdseed Bread for turkey sandwiches, we will have it for you.

Since we don't have a Monday Specialty Bun, we won't be making specialty buns, although we will have soft white pull apart buns and country style buns.

We still have no idea how much to make, however. We will try our best but if you come late, you might miss out. The best thing to do is order in advance, then for sure you'll get the bread you want.

We're open from 9:30AM - 1PM on Christmas Eve. Please note that we will not be taking 'save me a loaf' phone calls on this day. Please either order in advance or prepare for 'first come, first served' on the 24th.

Soft White Pull Apart Buns #

We were always planning on making these Feast Favourites, but forgot to specifically mention it. We call them pull aparts, you might call them pan buns, but we can likely agree that they are tasty no matter what the name.

These are my all time favourite bun for sopping up gravy. Boy, I'm getting hungry just thinking about them!

Pull aparts come in blocks of 6, for $4 per block. We're making them Friday the 21st, Saturday the 22nd and Monday the 24th.

Again, we have no idea how many to make this year, so if you know you want some, how about call us in advance (584-2668) and we'll be sure to make enough!

One More Thing About Shortbread #

I am surprised that we are getting so many questions about our shortbread cookies. Mainly the question is about whether we use butter in our shortbread.

In a word, YES! This is an all butter shortbread. No shortening, oil, lard, or other gimmickry.

I should have been clearer about this in my last note. I assumed everyone used only butter in shortbread. Sorry about that.

Still With Me? #

If you're getting confused about everything we're making this December, here's a link to our daily bake schedule, some pictures of our Christmas Baking, and a special note about our shortbread.  There's an order form on each page but feel free to combine everything into one order.

Christmas Hours #

A few notes about our hours for the rest of 2012:

• We're open regular hours this week. Tuesday - Friday, 9:30AM - 6PM, Saturday, 9:30AM - 4PM

• However! We are closing at 4PM on Wednesday December 19, so everyone can attend the 2nd Ever Orange Boot Staff Christmas Party. We'll have fun but Cindy, Teisha and I still need to get to bed early -- Thursday comes quick!

• We're open Monday, December 24 (Christmas Eve), from 9:30AM - 1PM

• We're closed December 25, 26, and 27.

• We're OPEN again on Friday December 28 (9:30 - 6), Saturday December 29 (9:30-4) and Monday December 31 (9:30 - 4) so you can get your baking for New Years and stock up for January. Because...

• We're closed from January 1 - 14 for Baker's Vacation. Remember, our bread freezes well so you don't have to starve in January. Get an extra loaf or two to be safe!

That's it for now. I really think we're going to make it again this year. Your bakers are still cracking jokes and remembering each other's name. When we get extra tired we just think about all the holiday feasts that we get to be part of, then we go back to braiding loaves, or shaping stollen, or cutting shortbread. It feels good.