Par-bake, short for “partially baked,” means that dough has been formed and baked until it’s about 80% (completely) baked at our bakeries, then removed from the oven and cooled. La Brea Bakery’s authentic par-bake process, from starter…to finish (even 80% finished), takes over 48 hours to make any one of breads. We allow the rich, sophisticated flavors of each loaf, oval, round, baguette and roll to develop over time…as opposed to using commercial yeasts to accelerate the fermentation process. The partially baked bread is then shipped to various locations around the world and finishes baking off at its final destination.

Par-baking ensures that customers receive the highest quality authentic La Brea Bread possible. The La Brea Bakery bread that customers take home is just-out-of-the-oven fresh and reliably delicious as if we finished baking the products at our own bakeries. Just remember, the process of baking La Brea Bakery breads is the same, we simply ensure authenticity, quality, consistency and freshness by allowing breads to be finished baking at their final destinations.

To begin, bakers mix the dough using the very same organic starter that went into the first loaves of La Brea Bakery bread in 1989. The same starter that La Brea Bakery Founder Nancy Silverton made over 15 years ago lives on in these starter tanks at our bakeries in Van Nuys, CA and Swedesboro, NJ. This is the key ingredient in every single one of La Brea Bakery’s legendary loaves…and it can never be duplicated. After kneading the dough by hand, they mold each individual loaf and place it in the oven to bake until 80% done. Using proprietary equipment, the loaves are frozen to retain flavor and texture, and sent to their final destination where they are finished.

Par-baked breads taste just as good as La Brea Bakery’s shipped finish-baked breads (some awards have even proved they taste better!). This is because founder Nancy Silverton and bakers spent considerable time and energy perfecting a technique that ensures the inimitable flavor and texture of their award-winning bread is in every loaf. From the distinctive crust, to the airy and chewy body of the bread, the par-baked loaves feature the remarkable taste and texture of the conventionally baked breads. In fact, in a taste test conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle, La Brea Bakery’s par-baked baguette won over local, conventionally baked breads.

Internationally! Restaurants, cafes, gourmet grocery stores, and supermarkets.

Wherever the bread is sold or consumed! That’s the beauty of par-baking – the bread that the customer buys or enjoys on the spot is our bread, our recipe, our technique, our ingredients…just out of the oven.