We found a way to make our signature Mother Earth cookie even better. Last month, we purchased 25 pounds of Organic Spelt Flour, just to experiment with, and we were so pleased at the results. Now the Mother Earth cookie will be made in the smaller size, and will contain organic spelt flour instead of whole wheat flour. Come on in and try it for yourself.

According to Livestrong

"Spelt, an ancient cereal grain, is a distant cousin to wheat. It has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. Use spelt flour as a substitute for wheat or white flour when baking bread. Because spelt flour contains gluten, you are less likely to compromise the texture of baked goods. Compared to wheat flour, spelt flour is richer in many nutrients, such as protein and minerals."

"Spelt flour provides approximately 5.5 mg of niacin or vitamin B3 per 100-g serving, 5 percent more niacin than hard winter wheat flour, according to an article published in 2008 in the journal "Acta Scientiarum Polonorum." The recommended daily value for niacin is 20 mg. A 100-g serving of spelt flour meets 27.5 percent of the daily value for this nutrient. Like other B-vitamins, niacin aids in energy metabolism. It also has additional functions in the human body, such as helping to make sex and stress hormones in the adrenal glands. Niacin is also needed to improve circulation and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood."

"According to an article published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" in March 2005, when researchers analyzed and compared nine dehulled spelt samples to five soft winter wheat samples, they found that the spelt offered a higher amount of certain minerals, such as copper, iron, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus. These minerals are naturally high in the bran of the spelt grain. The human body needs these micronutrients to perform a variety of functions and to support healthy nervous, cardiovascular, skeletal and immune systems."

"Spelt flour has a high water solubility, making it possibly easier to digest for those with a wheat intolerance. Spelt and whole spelt flour offer more soluble fiber than both standard and durum wheat flours, according to an article published in "Food Chemistry" in March 2000. Soluble fiber is particularly beneficial for lowering blood cholesterol and regulating blood sugar levels."

Read the full article here.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/309814-what-are-the-benefits-of-eating-spelt-flour/

We have some very sad news to share.

Last night, Elizabeth Jean Rivera was struck by a car, as she walked across East Broad Street, in Bethlehem. She was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital and died of multiple blunt force injuries.

We're feeling the loss, and are in shock over it. Those of us knew who Liz each had a unique relationship with her. Many of you met her, here at the bakeshop, or out in the community. She had no home, but found places to keep herself safe at night. We started most days together, as she came in daily for tea and conversation. She especially enjoyed our quiche, soup, zucchini bread, and mac and cheese.

She laughed a lot, and she sure did complain about people who asked her too many private questions, but mostly she just wanted to belong to the community. In recent years, she spent most of her time on a bench on Broad Street, where she made crafts to support herself. She wanted to be self-sufficient, she valued her dignity, and I think we all respected that.

We have lots of stories about Elizabeth, and we’ll remember her fondly, as a person in our community.

Rest in peace, dear lady. We will miss you.

We hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving Day, in the good company of friends and family.

Regardless of the origin, and its place in world history, Thanksgiving is the true American holiday that doesn't focus on retail sales, or alcohol. It remains a day to share simple family traditions, whatever that means to you.

In just two days, we baked nearly 100 pies, plus countless cakes, quiche and other things. There were a few pies left, which found their way over to the Trinity Soup Kitchen.

Now we're grateful for a few days off. We took a weekend getaway to historic Annapolis, Md. touring the U.S. Naval Academy, and strolling the streets of downtown Annapolis. Of course, we took a few pictures, so here they are.

We thank you for supporting small, local business!

Gail and Dina

We would like to say Thank You to everyone who donated new winter accessories – hats, gloves, scarves, and socks – for the Trinity Soup Kitchen. Your generosity was overwhelming once again. We will still accept donations through the end of the year. Remember, the items must be new.

We also would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you are spending time with family.

Please take note of our hours this week.
11/25 Tuesday 7:30-3:00
11/26 Wednesday 7:30-5:00 (open late for order pick-up)
11/27 Thursday closed
11/28 Friday closed*
11/29 Saturday closed*

*Please visit our Pop-up Cafe at Christmas City Village , Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Have a great week.

Gail and Dina

We've received many messages asking about the fire on Broad St. yesterday morning. Our building was unaffected, but other properties sustained smoke and water damage. Still, we want to share the story from our perspective, and thank all those who braved the cold and icy conditions to help - and that should be HELP in all capital letters - someone else.

We were on our way to breakfast yesterday morning when we noticed thick smoke coming from the direction of the bake shop, but from where we were it could have been over the river and on the south side. We were a little concerned, but not worried, so we went inside to eat breakfast.

Over the last few years, I've learned the value of being connected to the community through social media, and immediately went to Twitter to see if there was discussion of a fire. I didn't see anything in my feed, so I queried the Twitterverse. "Checking in, is there a building on fire in South Bethlehem? Can see smoke from Elizabeth Ave." It was somewhat cryptic shorthand, but I knew someone would understand and reply.

About 20 minutes later, I had a response from Sarah Wojcik, a reporter for The Express-Times, "@Dina_Hall Reports of one on East Broad Street, yeah." I answered, "@Sarah_M_Wojcik Thanks."

Now we were more than a little concerned. But we finished our breakfast, paid the bill, and casually walked back to the car, noticing that the smoke was still visible, but not worse than it was earlier.

As we drove closer, those feelings of internal panic came over both of us, but neither one of us would say it out loud. Once we reached Broad St. and could see what was happening, we were obviously relieved to find that the building that was on fire was not ours. But, we were saddened to see the building burning a few doors up the street. And in that very same moment the panic subsided very quickly, and speaking for myself, turned into shortness of breath and adrenalin rush.

Gail and I both knew we should do something. But it seemed like an empty gesture. We decided that the best we could do was let the American Red Cross workers know that our door was open if any of the firefighters needed food, hot beverages, a place to get warm or use the bathroom. That small gesture turned out to be very valuable. Think about that, if you care to. When disaster strikes, we all have essential needs that must be met.

So that's the story, from our perspective down the street.

We're very appreciative of the City of Bethlehem Emergency Services and Public Works for their efforts yesterday. One more reason to be proud of our town.

Here is a link to Sarah's article about the fire.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2014/02/cause_of_fire_that_destroyed_b.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Back Door bakeshop mugs arrived in early December, and they've been selling quickly. They were such a hit that we decided to start a contest.

Here are the details:
Take a fun/unique/steamy picture of your Back Door Bakeshop mug and post it on OUR Facebook page - OR on Twitter or Instagram. Make sure you tag @backdoorbakes, so that we can find it.

We'll choose the winner during the first week of February, and they will get a $25 gift certificate.

Don't have a mug? Come and get one. There are only 10 left.

A personal note from Gail I can't thank you all enough for the enthusiasm, the phone calls and the well wishes. We're bursting with excitement over the growth of Back Door Bakeshop and we can't wait to share all that we have planned.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Here's an update on what's been happening. We have successfully moved everything from 1422 Center St. over to 92 East Broad. It was quite an ordeal since we needed to move all of my baking equipment in two days so that I could bake up right until the last minute and be ready to bake again in the new shop the next day. Leaving my old shop of five years was very bittersweet for me. That cute little building was homey and had a very cool vibe and I loved going to work every day. Although it was small, it served me well and allowed my business to grow at a nice, steady pace. I am so thankful to all the people and businesses who have supported me and happily sold my cookies and brownies and spread the word about my goodies.

Our new location has a brand new coat of paint and we're settling in just fine. There's been lots of buzz about what our plans are, so here you have it. This space will allow us to sell retail, and will have two walk-up windows for our customers to order and pick up from - kind of like a stationary food truck. Since there's no indoor seating, everything will be "to-go". During nice weather, we'll pop a few cafe tables out on the sidewalk.

Along with all of our baked goods, we'll be offering soup and sandwiches for lunch (just wait 'til you see our sandwich menu) and quiche and muffins for breakfast. Keep an eye out for our daily cakes and pies - and we're reviving the Bundt cake. Oh, and our coffee will be supplied by a great roaster based in Monmouth Beach, NJ. Booskerdoo Coffeeoffers quite a few delicious blends, and we'll be brewing it fresh just for you. We'll also have tea, hot cocoa, and other soft drinks.

So when are we gonna open? That's the tricky part and we're moving along as quickly as possible.  My brand new convection oven will arrive in a few weeks, then the city inspects our space and then we open up our windows. It's as simple and as complicated as that.

In the meantime, you can still satisfy your cravings at these local coffee shops and eateries: ReWired, Deja Brew, Hello Burrito, Barnes & Noble at Lehigh U, Mocha Mike's and Terra Cafe.

So much excitement and so much to look forward to and we're doing our best to keep you as informed as we can. In the meantime, stay connected with us on Facebook and Twitter, and contact us by phone or email if you are in need of anything for a party, a lunch meeting or just for a snack.

610-625-0987 info@backdoorbakeshop.com

IMG_0165

We're very proud to announce that we're moving downtown - to the corner of Broad and Center Streets. After five years, we've outgrown our start-up space. This is great news for our customers. The new location is more easily accessible for placing and picking up orders, and - here's the best part - we'll be able to serve retail customers as well. We'll have more information on that in a few weeks.

In the meantime, keep your eyes open for us to take the paper down and open the windows!

Our new address is 92 East Broad St., Bethlehem, Pa 18018

Phone, email and all other coordinates remain the same.

610-625-0987

info@backdoorbakeshop.com

Yummy ad

That's right, we'll have more fresh goodness coming out of the oven soon. Gail's been testing recipes for muffins, biscotti and quiche - just for starters. You can keep up with it all by Following @backdoorbakes on Twitter and Liking Back Door bakeshop on Facebook.

pumpkin muffin

The story starts at Campus Square Farmers' Market at Lehigh University. A few of the students fell madly in love with our Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. They would come up in small groups and just stare, all googley-eyed over those muffins. Well, they haven't been able to get that pumpkin-chocolatey goodness since October, so one sweet young lady called to order a dozen muffins for her friend who was feeling down. This afternoon, when she arrived to pick up her package she revealed that she had just walked more than 2 miles from the south side of town, to the north side of town, over the bridge that spans the Lehigh River, and now she had to walk back. Wow. That deserves a big hug.

mexicocoa

Remember when you were a kid and you came home from school and had a snack before you did your homework. My personal favorite was Oreo cookies and milk. I always had four of them. No more, no less. I would dunk the cookie in the milk halfway. No more, no less. I'd take a bite of the soggy part of the cookie only. No more, no less. Then I'd dunk the other half up to my fingertips and as soon as it was ready to fall away I'd pop that half into my mouth and follow it with a big swallow of milk. Now that I'm all grown up I still have an afternoon snack, only it's a bit more sophisticated and usually loaded with caffeine. For example, yesterday I had half of a Back Door Bakeshop Mexi Hot Cocoa cookie, with my own deliciously concocted beverage a Mexi Hot Mocha - dark roast coffee, a tablespoon of hot cocoa mix, two shakes each of ancho chile powder, cayenne powder, and cinnamon, then topped with whipped cream. (I usually do this in private, because occasional moans and groans have been known to leave my lips.)

Today, I finished the other half of the cookie with the same sassy beverage, only I skipped the whipped cream. Gotta cut calories somewhere, right?

25256_382673473171_57180803171_3893743_1232329_n

Being part of a vibrant community is what makes us so gosh-darn happy. We just love strolling down Main Street on a Sunday afternoon, volunteering at Godfrey Daniels on a Friday night, or enjoying tunes in the Sun Inn courtyard on a Thursday night in summer. And Back Door bakeshop supports the good work of the organizations that make our community vibrant.

Here's a preliminary list of upcoming events which Back Door Bakeshop will be a part of. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more details as they're confirmed.

South Side Film Festival Annual Fundraiser Mar. 24

Godfrey Daniels Annual Members-Only Free Concert Mar. 30

Spring on Fourth, What's on Third? Apr. 21

Chocolate Meltdown to benefit the Sun Inn Preservation Association May 20

Earth Day Cleanup Downtown Bethlehem Historic District Apr. 28

Bethlehem Farmers' Market at Campus Square Thursdays May-Oct.

Bethlehem Historic District Farmers' Market Tuesdays May-Oct

257584_10150197437648172_57180803171_7188578_2355332_o