Howard's Bread - Essex

Love Howard 's breads for sandwiches of all kinds, hamburgers, with soups, for toasting etc. They mostly come frozen which puzzled me at first but when I followed the defrosting instructions they were delicious, with nice crusts, dough proofed well to provide that bready flavor we so love. Our family favorites are the EPI, the demi baguettes, the baps, and french sourdough but really we 've never tried one we disliked.

Love Howard 's breads for sandwiches of all kinds, hamburgers, with soups, for toasting etc. They mostly come frozen which puzzled me at first but when I followed the defrosting instructions they were delicious, with nice crusts, dough proofed well to provide that bready flavor we so love. Our family favorites are the EPI, the demi baguettes, the baps, and french sourdough but really we 've never tried one we disliked.

I go here weekly to stock up on assorted breads. You can not go wrong. They are always fresh even after freezing. The proprietor loves what she does and will gleefully explain each bread and options for serving. Worth the price. Closes promptly at 2pm.

We drive over 30 miles to get the baguettes from Howard's. The first time we tasted their baguette was at a restaurant in the Essex area. It was so good that I asked if it was made on the premises and was told it was from Howards (which I had never heard of) and that they keep it frozen and put it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. I asked if they knew if Howard's was open to the public. They said that they were. We do buy it frozen but it pretty much thaws by the time that we get home. We just refreeze it and break off chunks to put in the oven as we need them. We buy several baguettes at a time. Make sure to check their hours before going. They are not open every day nor all day.

They have great bread, but a rather limited selection. Same with their sandwiches and pastries. Their scones are not always ready in store (sometimes only available as take home dough).