Meet Back Alley Bakery in downtown Hastings, Nebraska!
“We are bread people! You can tell by the hard work we have put into making each loaf perfect. From milling our grains to growing our sourdough starter, we strive to create fresh and wholesome bread.”
Back Alley Bakery has been firing up their handmade, wood-fired, brick hearth oven since 2003. About 20 types of sourdough breads are baked daily in the hearth and sold to folks in the Hastings area who crave good, wholesome and tasty food.
Using local, organic grains like wheat, rye and oats Back Alley creates loaves like a 9-grain sourdough or Russian rye sourdough. They mill (grind) certain grains in the bakery to get the maximum flavor and health benefits.
“We provide wholesome food using natural and organic ingredients from local producers and suppliers in order for us to be socially, economically and environmentally responsible.”
Baking bread leads to breaking bread with others, and we all know food is the great connector. Back Alley is all about their community – from using a sourdough starter that is unique to their location, to pizza nights and special events, they are here for you!
Where you can find Back Alley Bakery:
609 West 2nd Street, Hastings, NE
Mon-Fri 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Sat 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Website: https://www.backalleybakery.com/
Back Alley Bakery on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/backalleyne
Back Alley Bakery Offers:
- Freshly baked sourdough bread using local, organic ingredients
- Homemade breakfast and lunch specials
- Pizza night on Thursdays
- Sweet treats – their bakery case is amazing
- Catering
- Call-in orders, pickup and delivery available
Sourdough Delights & catching the wild yeast
- Sourdough is a leavening agent made from wild bacteria and yeast (fungus) naturally found on grain and in our environment.
- “Add liquid to flour, and this wild yeast is activated and starts to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. This growing army of gas bubbles, effectively trapped by gluten within the dough, are what ultimately make sourdough bread rise.” King Arthur Flour
- Leaven is what makes bread rise – other leavening agents are commercial yeast (specific strains of yeast), baking powder and baking soda.
- The holes in a good loaf of sourdough are created from carbon dioxide which is a by- product from the yeast activity.
- Try making your own sourdough starter and bread – this is a great guide!