What you’re looking at is the first baking test of Aunt Erma’s Mandel Bread from our co-pack manufacturing facility.
This is the first time anyone outside the family has had access to the recipe for Aunt Erma’s Mandel and baked a batch without our supervision. The results are encouraging. There are some size and flavor issues. In their test, the mandel bread pieces were larger and thicker, giving the finished product a ‘cakey’ sort of texture, and there is a distinct after taste. Not that it’s a bad taste, just different. Right now were trying to determine where the flavor deviation comes from. Oven temp too high? Different brand of vanilla? or maybe there was some other product in their oven at the time and there was some flavor migration. The good news is that for a first whack at it it was pretty close, with some minor adjustments we should be ready to take a swing at a big push for the jewish holidays.
I also wanted to mention my friend Souheil at Ms. Cotti in Cleveland Ohio. Souheil makes a really great alternative to regular biscottis, a softer and tastier version in a bunch of different flavors. I found Souheil back in 2008 when we were just starting to look for mandel bread manufacturers. Some day, we hope to go national, and Souheils manufacturing facility could be the perfect fit for out of state mandel bread production. Check out his products and and don’t forget to tell him you heard about Ms. Cotti from Aunt Erma.
Team Mandel Blog Development Countdown
I can’t believe it, but after all this time we’re finally getting a baking test this week from a co-pack baker who is willing to take on Aunt Erma’s Mandel Bread!
The place can produce the volume we need to handle the big push for the jewish holidays, up to 100 cases. And they’re kosher! Up until now, Aunt Erma’s Mandel Bread has only been able to claim “100% kosher ingredients” because the last two rental kitchens we’ve used were not kosher. If the new place works out, we’ll be faced with new challenges. First, we’ll need to get a sticker promoting the fact that we are kosher. Second problem, in order to run Aunt Erma’s mandel bread thru a sealer, we needed to add a tray internally to the box. No big deal except that we can’t fit 16 pieces in that box with the tray and the seal wrap. So 12 is a nice round number. Now we have to adjust the nutritional panel (another sticker) to reflect the total number of servings per package and total pieces in the box. For those of you noticing, the online pricing has been reduced, and the packaging now says “12 pieces.” But I feel so bad about the ridiculous cost of shipping everybody ordering a 12 piece box online actually gets a 16 piece box.
Team Mandel Blog Development Countdown
Our tried and true Whole Foods Store still continues to do good business. Whole Foods Beverly Hills, our first Whole Foods market has been consistently going through 1 to 2 cases a month of Aunt Erma’s Mandel Bread. They just ordered another case in less than a month. I’ll drive by tomorrow to see if they’re sold out, or just running low.
As we inch our way towards the Jewish New Year in the beginning of September, we have some evidence that Aunt Erma’s could be a year round product, in the right store. September will be an interesting month, if sales go through the roof in Beverly Hills like they did last September, we’ll have some real numbers to show.
We’re still faced with the ‘finding a baker’ dilemma, and we haven’t had a response from our sticker shocked Whole Foods regional buyer.
Meanwhile, thanks to Michel Algazi’s fantastic LA Fine Foods Group, we were able to get some samples in front of our regional Costco last Tuesday. As always, we are waiting for response.
But if you need some fresh baked mandel bread, truck on down to Crescent Avenue in Beverly Hills this weekend, they will be restocked with mandel bread in our new longer shelf life packaging. (Still all natural!)
Three generations of Mandel Bread eaters. My son Noah on the left, my father Milton in the middle and me
Team Mandel Blog Development Countdown
