April Quick Look – Mountain Manor Bread

Wholesome, homemade and delivered

Judy Ulrich of New Hampton had been making bread for years, giving loaves to friends and family. Then one of her breads won a blue ribbon at the Sandwich Fair, and she and her husband Bob realized it might be time to raise her bread production to the next level.
Soon Longhaul Farm in Holderness was ordering bread for their seasonal stand and Bob was delivering more bread to friends and neighbors. As the couple’s occupation in the transportation industry became less profitable with higher gas prices, they looked to expand Judy’s bread-baking capacity.

While they wait to take possession of a professional oven, Judy is making up to 30 to 60 loaves a day in the home oven, and Bob is busy delivering it to accounts in Plymouth, New Hampton, Laconia and Meredith twice a week.

Mountain Manor Bread comes in a full-size loaf ($4) and the popular mini loaves.($1). In addition, Judy makes bread bowls and dinner rolls out of any of the varieties in her repertoire.

The bread is home-style like your mother may have made, soft and slightly sweet, even the white bread variety. Other versions are more sweet – the cinnamon raisin, maple walnut and cranberry orange – but not as rich as a sweet bread. The ingredient list is pure homemade: King Arthur bread flour, honey from B-Line Apiaries in Hudson and maple syrup from nearby trees. Milk and honey make the bread soft and it stays fresh for days – Judy says that honey is a natural preservative.

-Susan Laughlin