This past week we celebrated two birthdays: my husband’s and my eldest daughter’s. The lack of special birthday requests from my husband was more than countered by those of my daughter! The meal started out easy – BLTs and other summer fare. But, with a blue theme for the day, white sandwich bread fell short. I did not want to add blue food coloring so I researched and found a dried flower that can be steeped like a tea and results in a deep, gorgeous, natural blue color. After a bit of trial and error, the results were both delicious and stunning. Blue birthday bread was a big hit! The blue tea does not impart much if anything in the way of flavor but lets the sourdough shine. I made this as a sandwich loaf for ease in slicing and making sure the sandwiches were equally sized. Local bacon and tomatoes made these special sandwiches indeed.
Over the next few weeks I will be offering different kinds of treats in addition to breads. I am planning to make a few favorite cookies and scones available to order weekly along with house bread and the bread of the week. They can also be ordered on their own, or gifted to a colleague, student, or friend! Pickup will continue to be at my home and at Hillsdale College on the 4th floor of Kendall Hall. 
This week both birthday bread and my house sourdough will be available. Both will freeze well and I recommend slicing before freezing to make thawing easier. Birthday bread is made with all purpose flour and house sourdough is a mix of bread flour, whole wheat, and spelt. Both loaves are naturally fermented without any added commercial yeast. Try them both and see which flavor you prefer!
I will be baking on Thursday, September 7th and Friday, September 8th with pickup at my home both days and the college on Thursday, September 7th. Order by Tuesday, September 5th to ensure availability of the bread you would like! Payment is by cash, check, CashApp, and by credit card through the website, hillsdalehearth.com. If you have any questions or special requests please let me know!