An Open Letter. Break Bread

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 8:53am

December 15, 2009

An open letter to:
The Secret Service & The Party Crashers; Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker; Glee Club Singers & Football Players; Barack Obama & Joe Wilson; The Mac Guy & The PC Guy; Rosie O’Donnell & Tom Selleck; Brett Favre & Wisconsin; Wall Street Execs & Everyone Else; Martina Navratilova & Andre Agassi; Sons-In-Law & Mothers-In-Law; Introverts & Extroverts; Mike Tyson & Evander Holyfield; Itchy & Scratchy; Ohio State & Michigan; Yoko & The Remaining Beatles; Tori & Candy Spelling; Optimists & Pessimists; The Right & The Left; Lou Dobbs & CNN; People Who Are Always Right & People Who Are Never Wrong; Michael Lohan & Dina Lohan & Lindsay Lohan; Eric Mangini & Bill Belichick; Vampires & Werewolves; Kanye West & Anyone with a TV; Hallmark & Paris Hilton; Those Who Think It Tastes Great & Those Who Insist It’s Less Filling; Bart Simpson & Sideshow Bob; Insomniacs & The Inventor of the Car Alarm; Jessica Simpson & Perez Hilton; Red Sox Fans & Yankees Fans; Billy Corgan & The Smashing Pumpkins; Nerds & Dweebs; Rosie O’Donnell & Donald Trump; Prius Drivers & HUMMER Drivers; Batman & The Joker; Mariah Carey & Eminem; Guys Named Beau & Guys Named Bo; Joe Lieberman & Democrats; Popeye & Bluto; Bill Gates & Steve Jobs; Those Who Install Toilet Paper Over & Those Who Prefer it Under; Don Draper & Roger Sterling; Skiers & Snowboarders; Teenagers & Parents; Bud Selig & Pete Rose; The FiOS Guy & That Other Cable Guy; Indie Film Snobs & Summer Blockbuster Fans; Importers & Exporters; Iceman & Maverick; Conformists & Nonconformists; Freudians & Skinnerians; Housewives in Orange County & Housewives in NYC; Jan & Marcia; Mimes & Anyone with Eyes; TOS Trekkies & TNG Trekkies; People Who Are Going Back to Cali & People Who Don’t Think So; Michael Moore & George W. Bush; Early Birds & Night Owls; Sarah Palin & Tina Fey; Those That Need a Square & Those Who Haven’t Got a Square to Spare; Goth Girls & Homecoming Queens; Big Dog People & People Who Put Dogs in Handbags; Noel Gallagher & Liam Gallagher; Fashionistas & People Who Wear White After Labor Day; Susan Boyle & Sharon Osbourne; Lord Voldemort & Muggles; “Pink Hats” & Real Sports Fans; Slobs & Their Roommates; Dick Cheney & Hunters; Financial Planners & Spendthrifts; Magic Johnson & Isiah Thomas; Rosie O’Donnell & Elizabeth Hasselbeck; and Benjamin Netanyahu & Mahmoud Abbas.

Break Bread.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Recipe

Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:10am

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding
Makes 4 - 6 servings

Oven: Pre-heated to 350*F
Bake time: 30 minutes for individual molds and 45 minutes for larger molds.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup orange juice
8 slices cinnamon raisin bread (or soft white bread), cut into 1" cubes
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (pure)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon*
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Combine the raisins and orange juice and allow to set for 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine the bread cubes with the melted butter then spread them on to a cookie sheet and bake until just golden brown. Set aside to cool. Brush with melted butter either a 2 quart casserole or 6 individual ceramic ramekins. Place the bread cubes or in the buttered molds. Combine the milk, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract with a whisk, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is homogenous. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes in the molds and allow to set in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Place the bread custard molds onto a cookie sheet and put into the oven for 30 minutes for individual molds and 45 minutes for larger molds. Remove the molds from the oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving.

* Omit if using cinnamon raisin bread.

Answers to your questions

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 2:10pm

Hi everyone,

Thanks for responding to our update asking what information you’d like to get from our Facebook page. We got a lot of suggestions, but even more questions. We tried to answer your questions as open and honestly as possible … here goes:

1. Will Panera start offering coupons or a nationwide rewards program?

We're always looking for new ways to reward our customers but don't have specific plans we can share right now. We’re giving this one a lot of thought!

2. Is Panera considering offering a drive-thru or curbside pick-up option?

We have many drive-thru locations and more locations are being built or retrofitted all the time. You can find those drive-thru locations on panerabread.com. No plan for Curbside, but we'll definitely pass along your suggestion.

3. Is Panera planning to offer a delivery service?

Most locations offer delivery for catering, with minimum purchase (usually $100). Next time you’re in Panera, ask a store manager for details on our catering option called VIA Panera.

4. Are there any plans to build a Panera in…

We love that so many people want us to open a Panera in your neighborhood. You’ve all given us quite the location-wish-list! Because you all seem so interested in our plans to expand, we’re going to try to post updates on where new stores have opened each month.

5. Will Panera continue to offer new organic food items?

We always want to offer the best-tasting, freshest-food available. The best answer we can give you right now is, definitely maybe. We’re always on the hunt to find the best ingredients, we hope that’ll include more organic foods in the future.

6. Does Panera have any plans to offer a smoked salmon cream cheese?

Actually, we used to offer smoked salmon cream cheese, but not many people bought it. Sorry this one didn’t work for us.

7. Will Panera bring back the Bristo Steak Salad?

While we’re not planning to bring back the Bistro Steak Salad, we do have plans for something similar that we’re testing now, we think Bistro fans will like it as much or more. Stay tuned!

8. Would Panera consider creating competitions with other local Panera locations? Ex: fastest prep time.

That’s a fun idea! We’ll share it with the team here and see what they think

9. Does Panera have any plans to offer a gluten-free menu?

We get this request a lot. Here's the situation, while we offer things on our menu that do not contain gluten-containing ingredients, we are, after all, a bakery. Even though we are very careful, we cannot give you a 100% guarantee that the item you order will not come into contact with wheat or other gluten-containing ingredients. To offer a truly gluten-free menu, we'd have to create an entirely separate kitchen. If you want to review the products made without gluten, email us through Contact Us on our website (www.panerabread.com) and we'll send you the list, or simply check out the ingredients for the item you'd like in the Menu & Nutrition section of panerabread.com.

10. Does Panera have any plans to offer a vegan menu?

No, right now we don’t have plans for a dedicated vegan menu, however, we do have some vegan options on our menu. If you go to PaneraBread.com, you can check out our ingredients, and if you have specific questions, contact us.

11. Is Panera considering offer a potato salad or pasta salad option in addition to chips?

No, we’re not planning to change our side options right now, but so you know, you can choose from chips, a baguette or an apple. Stay tuned though; we have some new menu items coming out that we’re pretty sure you’ll love.

12. Does Panera have any plans to bring back the creamy tomato bread bowls?

Creamy tomato soup lover everywhere, prepared to be happy! The Creamy Tomato soup will be back on the menu this fall. It’s a seasonal item. And, so you know, you can order any of our soups in a bread bowl, year-round!

13. Are there any plans to bring back the I.C. Mocha Chip drink?

Sorry, we’re not bringing this one back. But, if you liked that drink, we think you’ll like our Frozen Mocha or Frozen Caramel. Both are every bit as tasty as the IC Mocha Chip.

14. Are there any plans to offer a low-calorie frozen coffee drink? The one offered has 200 calories more than Starbucks.

Thanks for the suggestion, we’ll share this with the folks who create our recipes and see what we can do.

15. Would Panera consider opening a 24hour location?

We couldn’t open a 24 hour location because we use the hours that we’re not open to bake all our fresh bread and baked goods. At the end of every night, we donate all our baked goods to local charities, and our bakers stay up all night baking everything fresh, so that means that everything from your morning bagels, to your afternoon cookies are baked fresh, that same day!

16. Would Panera consider offering a “free mug club”?

Another fun idea. We’ll pass this idea along to the people who come up with these concepts and see what they think.

17. Does Panera have plans to offer more healthy options?

Health Magazine actually just gave us the honor of Healthiest Restaurant for Food on the Go! We set up our menu so you can dine as indulgently or as wisely as you wish. There are a lot of healthy options on our menu now; Strawberry Poppyseed Salad, all-natural chicken, no added trans fat menu, fresh ingredients, low-fat soup choices, fruit cups, smoothies, substituting or eliminate high-cal sauces, choose different salad dressing or get it on side and use sparingly, change bread etc. Check out our website for a list of nutritional information for each of our products.

18. Would Panera consider starting a book club?

We have heard that some people have started their own book clubs and meet at Panera. We love that. We want everyone to feel free to use our bakery-cafes to meet with friends, or to just come by and read on your own. We don’t have any plans for a Panera Book Club right now, though.

19. Would Panera consider offering a daily special?

We’ve got no immediate plans for this, but we’ll share the idea with the people who work on our menu items.

20. Are there any plans to add another Veggie sandwich to the menu?

We don’t have anything in the immediate future, but we’re always updating our menu. We’ll pass along this suggestion, too.

21. Is Panera considering offer nut-free cookies or sugar-free pastries/baked goods?

We offer some nut-free cookies: Chocolate Chipper, Shortbread, & Oatmeal Raisin, but we also offer many products with nuts, so we cannot guarantee there’s no cross-contact, so you’ll want to consider that if you have nut allergies. Right now, we don’t offer any sugar-free pastries or baked goods. We’ll keep you posted if that changes.

Panera Bread's Notes

An Open Letter. Break BreadDec 15, 2009

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding RecipeNov 12, 2009

Answers to your questionsAug 4, 2009

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