Eat This: 8-Grain Bread from The Hungry Ghost

The Hungry Ghost

We here at Toast N Jams are huge fans of Western Massachusetts, and we are lucky enough to have a wonderful friend who lives in Northampton. She is always kind enough to offer her home and we are more than glad to visit. She also has introduced us to the joy that is The Hungry Ghost, an amazing local bakery (specializing in bread) that we make a point to visit every time we are in town. On Memorial Day weekend, Devo LT and JudyJams stopped by the shop and met this gentlemen, who showed us the bread options for the day:

Friendly Hungry Ghost salesperson.

The bread options from Hungry Ghost vary, ranging from the delicious 8-grain that we got (there was also an option of Rosemary bread) to challah to sourdough. In addition to bread, they make scones, cookies, crackers, and more. Most of their tasty offerings are made in the massive wood-fired brick oven below:

The oven!

The inside of the bakery is pretty small, but they churn out many breads daily, and have a schedule on their website. We noticed a huge stack of flour bags right when we walked in:

Giant bags of flour

The purchased 8-grain bread:

The bread, before being cut and devoured.

If you are a bread lover and happen to be passing through or staying in Northampton, make a point to stop by The Hungry Ghost (and eat lunch here)!

Eat This: Where the Toast Comes From

Here at the JudyJams household, we have the luck of living very close to an amazing Community Market, and have started a weekly tradition of buying bread at the Orwasher’s Bakery stand. From this delicious homemade bread, which ranges from artisanal wine breads to Jewish Rye to Honey Multigrain, we make excellent toast. To top it all off, the man behind the Orwasher’s Community Market stand, Jermaine, is possibly one of the nicest people EVER. Always ready with a smile and a sample of bread, Jermaine represents Orwasher’s with enthusiasm. If you live in Brooklyn, you can buy the bread on Sundays at the Old American Can Factory until May, when it returns to its outdoor location on 5th Avenue between 3rd and 4th street. If you’re in Manhattan, you can go to the Orwasher’s retail location, at 308 East 78th Street, NY, NY 10075. Below, some photographic evidence.

Jermaine, the man behind the bread magic.

Jermaine shows us the bread options.

Close-up shot of the bread selection.

The bread loaves, ready to be bought and toasted.

In a happy coincidence, Jermaine is also a musician. He plays in several bands, none of which have websites yet! Will update when I have the info.