|     |  

Wildgrain

I ordered frozen, bake-at-home bread and paste subscription box from Wildgrain.

I was a little worried if I'd have enough freezer space, but it was fine. The box is huge, but it's insulated with a paper-based insulation and the was room for the dry ice when it was shipped.

I divided the cheese tortellini into two packages of 6.0 oz. each (263 cal. per package), vacuum sealed and frozen, though in retrospect that was unnecessary as I ended up having one serving for dinner.

Olive oil ciabatta

Olive oil ciabatta: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook on a rack (no pan) for 18 - 22 minutes from frozen. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.

I cooked it on a perforated sheet pan for 20 minutes at 400°F and rested on a wire rack for 20 minutes before tasting a slice. Rotate the sheet pan 180° after 10 minutes.

This was really good! I'll definitely order this again.

I had this slice, another slice, and a half glass of Bota Box pinot noir.

I let the remainder of the loaf cool on the rack for an hour before slicing and freezing the rest.

Baked another loaf 2024-01-10.

Cheese tortellini

Cheese tortellini (1/2 package, 263 cal). Boil salted water. Add frozen pasta and stir to separate. Cook 6 - 8 minutes. Drain. Serve with sauce.

I cooked for 6 minutes in a large pot, drained, then added to a sauté pan with 5.0 oz. marinara.

This was also really good and am looking forward to the other serving. I'll eventually get this again, but I'll try some of the other varieties first.

Ordered another package and ate one serving 2024-01-10. This time I split the package into three portions instead of two, which I think is a better size and still more than enough food. Nutrition facts says a package is 2.5 servings, so presumably either 2 or 3 would work. 175 cal for 1/3 of a package.

English muffins

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place frozen muffins on a baking sheet. Put in oven on the middle rack. Bake 15 minutes. Carefully remove muffins. Let sit for 5 minutes. Slice in half, and finish on a hot buttered pan.

4 per package, 200 cal. each.

After cooking for 15 minutes at 300°F and resting for 5 minutes they did not seem to be fully cooked and were kind of gummy inside.

I didn't follow the buttered pan suggestion, but I did try toasting them and buttering, which is how I'd normally prepare them.

These weren't very good. They're very dense, and I didn't like the flavor, so I'll stick with my regular whole wheat English muffins from the grocery store.

These are quite a bit higher in calories than the normal whole wheat English muffins I get at the grocery store (130 cal) as well.

Blueberry biscuits

Preheat oven to 390°F. Place frozen biscuits on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven on the middle rack. Back for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

6 per package, 240 cal each. If served with 1/2 tbsp. butter, 50 calories for the butter = 290 calories total.

These were really good, flaky and filled with blueberries! I'll get them again.

To reheat from frozen I defrosted in the microwave for 25 seconds on high, split, then toasted for 3 minutes.

Croissants

There were good! I'll get these again. They're much lighter and airier than the supermarket bakery croissants, and the smell of freshly baked croissants is a great way to start the day. I have the free croissants for life plan and I'm glad I'll get getting these in every monthly box.

Preheat regular oven to 380°F. Place frozen croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in oven on the middle rack. Bake 18-22 minutes until dark golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Made another package 2024-01-07. Ate one, used one for a ham and cheese croissant, and froze two.

Also good as a Ham and cheese croissant!

The instructions have been updated a bit:

Preheat regular oven to 370°F. Place frozen croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in oven on the middle rack. Bake 20-24 minutes until dark golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes to finish the bake.

On 2024-05-02 I tried making it in my Breville Smart Oven on a quarter sheet pan instead of my regular oven. 370°F for 20 minutes. It works!

Pretzels

I added a package of 4 Bavarian pretzels to my order. They're huge!

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put frozen pretzels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with olive oil or butter and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes.

310 calories per pretzel, 4 per package.

I only baked one since soft pretzels are better freshly cooked. It only became obvious after the fact, but you need to brush on the melted butter and salt at the same time. The pretzel is still frozen, the butter congeals quickly, so for the salt to stick you need salt as soon as you brush butter on part of it. You can't butter the whole thing then salt.

Served with hot mustard and a beer and it was good. But it's too much pretzel for one serving and less convenient to cook than a frozen Superpretzel. I don't think I'll get these again.

Sourdough bread

Preheat oven to 450°F. Put frozen loaf on middle rack without a baking sheet. Bake 18 - 24 minutes until crust is golden brown. Let cool for at least 20 minutes to finish the bake.

As with the ciabatta, I used a perforated baking sheet which makes it way easier to get things in and out of the oven.

I baked it for 18 minutes at 450°F, the short end of the time range and the outside looked good, however when I stuck a probe thermometer in the middle, it was still 40°F!

I cooked it another 4 minutes (22 total) and the outside is a little dark, and the inside is still only 55°F, but it did finish cooking while resting.

It was delicious! I'll definitely get this again.

Apple pie bites

Preheat oven to 425°F. Put frozen pie bites on a non-stick baking sheet or parchment paper. Put in oven on the middle rack. Back 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Carefully remove the pie bites. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

10 per package, 120 cal. each.

Ready to go into the oven.

After baking for 21 minutes. The parchment was a good choice since some of the filling bubbled out.

These are good! However, they are also 120 cal. each and because I had two because they're so good, it's a good thing they're a seasonal specialty (I think).

Sourdough rolls

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put rolls on middle rack without a baking sheet. Bake 10-14 minutes until crust is golden brown. Check oven periodically to make sure your rolls are not overbaking. Let cool at least 10 minutes.

8 per package, 140 cal. each.

I baked for 12 minutes on a perforated baking sheet.

These are good! They're hard rolls, not the soft squishy kind, but they have a great flavor. I'll get these again.

I was worried it would be too hard to use for sandwiches, but it actually works quite well.

2023-12-28 Order

Orange cranberry biscuits

Preheat regular oven to 390°F. Place the frozen biscuits on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack. Bake 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Carefully remove the biscuits. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Baked for 25 minutes at 400°F on a sheet pan with parchment paper and it worked perfectly!

These are good! I think I like the blueberry best, but these are a good choice as well.

230 cal. per biscuit (not counting extra butter).

On 2024-05-05 I baked these in my Breville Smart Oven on a quarter sheet pan, 29 minutes at 390°F, and it worked perfectly!

Parmesan herb biscuits

Preheat regular oven to 390°F. Place the frozen biscuits on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack. Bake 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Carefully remove the biscuits. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Baked for 25 minutes at 400°F on a sheet pan with parchment paper and it worked perfectly!

240 cal. per biscuit.

These are good, but I'm not sure when I'll eat these. They're kind of savory for a post-breakfast snack. Maybe with marinara-based pasta, but I think the ciabatta or sourdough loaf work better with that.

2024-02-21 Order

Sourdough rosemary garlic loaf

Preheat regular oven to 450°F. Place frozen loaf on middle rack without a baking sheet. Bake 18-24 minutes until crust is dark golden brown. Let cool for at least 20 minutes to finish the bake.

I used a perforated sheet pan instead of placing directly on the rack and baked for 20 minutes, rotating the pan 180° after 10 minutes.

This was really good, I'll definitely get this one again.

It was also good for spicy tuna salad sandwich!

Brioche rolls

Preheat regular oven to 350°F. Put frozen rolls on middle rack without a baking sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes until soft. Let cool at least 5 minutes before slicing. You can also slice frozen and grill them.

I used a perforated sheet pan instead of placing directly on the rack and baked for 6 minutes.

160 cal each.

These are good; I'll get them again. They worked well with a smash burger.

Chocolate chunk cookies

Preheat regular oven to 350°F. Place frozen cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in oven on the middle rack. Bake for 16 - 20 minutes until browned at the edges. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

2024-04-17 Order

  |     |