All Angles

How good is good enough? When do you stop fighting and just go with it? When do you toss the whole thing out and start from scratch? Came close, but not yet.

Talking about bread, and the realization that we've modified every formula we have in the past few months. Clearly better products are the result. I have to start with a note of thanks to Chad White, the Certified Master Baker at Udi's. Chad came into Hi*Rise on business when we first opened, and he's been a good friend and invaluable resource ever since. This is a man so into baking he can critique both recipe and technique by looking at a slice of bread, let alone tasting, smelling, or touching it. I describe talking to Chad about bread being like trying to drink from a fire hose. So my thanks to Chad for the many conversations we've had about bread.

Instead of a litany of changes, here are a few highlights.

Baguette - discovered that in our attempts to "age" the dough for a sourdough-like flavor, we were letting the yeast create acids that were making the crust too hard. Solution - fresh starter, shorter fermentation.

Pugliese - This bread has gone from the bottom rung to the top with the simple realization that it wants to be ciabatta. More hydration, a light touch, and plenty of time to rise have made this bread more popular than ever!

Buttermilk biscuit - somewhere along the way the original formula for this biscuit get adjusted to the point of being unrecognizable. We went back to the first version and got exactly what we wanted - a light, rich biscuit that melts in your mouth!

9 Grain - our most popular bread was having growing pains. Undesirable flavors and textures were creeping in even though we hadn't changed the formula. What to do? Again, it came down to timing. How long to soak the 9 Grains? Just long enough and not a moment more.

Upshot - keep it simple. The dough will tell you what it needs, just gotta have the right ears to hear.

This is the latest email sent out to our mailing list. Thought I would share it here:

Hi from Hi*Rise
We Love to Talk In addition to this long form update, we throw out a few specials and Tweet almost daily on Twitter.com. Sign up to follow us @Hi_Rise. We're also on Facebook. Just do a search for Hi Rise and look for our logo.
A Belated Congratulations to our Lead Baker, Sammy Marquez, for winning Best Overall in the cupcake contest at A Taste of Colorado! You can get the best cupcake in Colorado almost every day (almost - if we haven't sold out), and it really is a treat. Chocolate cake and rich chocolate icing! Congrats again to Sammy for beating out nine other Colorado bakeries and cupcake shops!

New Flavors We've been serving our version of the classic Cuban sandwich for a few weeks now, and it is a definite hit! Smoked ham, roast pork loin, Swiss cheese, yellow mustard and dill pickles, all pressed together and served hot on crusty bread. No wonder its a classic!

Starting this week we have a new Pesto Chicken Panini, featuring tender chicken breast, house made basil pesto, smokey roasted tomatoes, and Provolone cheese served hot on our Italian pugliese bread, a tender white bread similar to ciabatta. This one is all about big flavors, and nothing but smiles from the lucky ones to have sampled it for us!

We're happy to debut our new 5 Spice Beef Panini, which our crew already refers to as the Pho-nini. Served on our soft focaccia, this sandwich starts with a sesame flavored mayonnaise, thin sliced roast beef, scallion, and dash of Chinese 5 Spice seasoning. If you've had Pho, you'll recognize the flavor immediately! We grill the sandwich panini-style, then finish it with fresh arugula and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.


Catering /Free Delivery many of you have already taken advantage of Hi*Rise delivery. It's free with a minimum order ($25) and available pretty much anywhere in or close to Downtown Denver. In a bind for breakfast? We can bring bagels, pastry trays, even coffee and OJ to make the morning sing!


Next Up Exciting new breakfast items are on the horizon, plus special holiday items you'll want to pre-order for your feasts!

Thanks for reading and we'll see you in the shop soon!
Thanks for supporting your neighborhood bakery! Doug and the Hi*Rise team