Trader Joe's Everything Tuscan Pane

I've been making a lot of bread in the past year. It wasn't necessarily the events of 2020 - I have been on a quest for sometime to conquer bread, one of the most intimidating things for a home baker. It's the yeast and the variability of time, temperature, moisture, and the combination of different ingredients. Oh right and the patience. You need patience for bread. Or at the very least sleep, Netflix, work, studying, or whatever it is that can occupy your attention while you wait for the dough to rise. It's definitely not instant, but man are the results worth it. 

This bread is a recent find at Trader Joe's. I'm not sure how long it has been around, but this is my third time repurchasing it in the last month or so. In fact, it has inspired me to attempt pane, a rustic Italian bread, one day when I can get around to it and remember the fact that the poolish/sponge has to be done the night before. Planning your day around homemade bread only works when you remember and actually have the time for it. 

Also side note - is it not silly to include "oven-baked" in the product description? Aren't all breads baked...in an oven? 

Y'all. White bread tastes so good. I could never foresake it completely. Gluten too tastes so good. I could never forsake it completely. 

1) Right off the bat - this bread tastes like it's on a different tier compared to regular grocery store-shelf bread. It has that artisanal quality, whatever that means. It's definitely more rustic and has a deeper flavor that tells you someone used a sponge - which means there was some sort of pre-ferment that was used to make this bread. Don't ask me the details. I love to make bread and have the patience for the making part, not so much the nerdery/science part. Ask me again when I'm done with my masters. 

2) The funk/flavor is not as pungent compared to a sourdough but it is noticeable and appreciated.

3) One of the downsides of buying bagged bread is that you have no idea how fresh the loaf is. Granted, I usually am not thinking about getting the freshest bread when I buy a conventional loaf-on-the-shelf. Also during a pandemic season, I'm not going to be that jerk that thumbs through every single loaf to find the freshest one. The first loaf of this bread I purchased tasted pretty fresh and the other ones were noticeably more stale. Not like stale stale..but like..old. Kinda like how a 40 year-old is objectively NOT OLD but next to a 16 year-old..well not exactly a spring chicken. (I am now closer to 40 than I am to 16...soooo 40 is no longer old to me HAHAHA) Not a deal breaker though because that's why toasters exist!

4) I have well-documented love for everything bagel seasoning. I put EBTB (though confession - at this point I buy it in bulk from Costco and reuse it in my TJ packaging. SHHHHHHH). I put it on many things. Including everything bagels. So why not on regular bread? Seems reasonable. 

5) I would argue that the everything bagel seasoning on an everything bagel is more noticeable than this bread, perhaps because the seasoning-per-surface-area is much less with this pane loaf than a bagel. There's really no way to improve this, except buy sprinkling your own EBTB on an actual slice. Which might be excessive but I've done it. Let's just acknowledge that the everything bagel seasoning on this bread doesn't really add too much flavor - it's sprinkled on the top to let you know it's there but it's not really doing much.

6) Everything seasoning aside, what I like about this bread is that it isn't too dense. It has an airy crumb and a nice crust. You're basically halfway to a loaf of sourdough...minus the sour, which is exactly what A likes. 

7) This is the loaf I would make for myself. Will make for myself. Will practice to make for myself. When I have the time. Maybe. But I haven't...because it's $2.99 at TJ's and gets the job done. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Everything Tuscan Pane. Fancy artisanal rustic white bread. With everything bagel seasoning for show. Take my money. 8 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Yep.