Our volunteers have the opportunity to bake and donate two different items for our neighborhood food banks. You can choose bread, energy cookies, or both! Or mix it up: donate bread one week and energy cookies the next. Both are whole grain, delicious, and equally appreciated by food bank clients. Each donation is your choice!
Once you have gone through the new baker information videos or zoom session and registered as a volunteer, you can download the recipes for either of our program bakes.
Our Breads!
We now have three types of breads for our bakers to choose from: our original Honey Oat Sandwich Loaf, a Satisfying Whole Wheat Loaf, and a Sunflower Rye!
Our Satisfying Whole Wheat Loaf was introduced in early 2025. The objective for this loaf was ambitious - whole grain, satisfying, easier, and less time-consuming than the Honey Oat, and in every way a loaf we would be proud to donate to the food bank. Initial inspiration came from a blend of recipes from the celebrated food blog Smitten Kitchen and a recipe from King Arthur Baking. Thanks to a dozen CL testers, we gradually molded the recipe to meet our objectives. Part of the simplicity involves using only one type of whole-grain flour. Start to finish, the loaves bake and are cooling on the rack in 4 hours.
Our original Honey Oat Sandwich Loaf recipe is available in multiple leavening options, allowing you to use either commercial yeast or a natural starter or both. Folks rave about our bread. This loaf takes a little longer to produce due to the overnight pre-ferment, which can be either a poolish or a levain. It isn't more complicated than the Satisfying Whole Wheat, but it does have a longer fermentation time. You don't need experienced dough-handling skills; we'll be able to support your journey every step of the way. These loaves are a terrific way to nourish our community.
Our Sunflower Rye Loaf was introduced in late spring 2025 to honor requests from our food bank partners for an Eastern European-style rye bread. Dr. Laura Valli a native Estonian was nourished on these breads. Her passion for Rye is so deep it became the cornerstone of her PhD work with the WSU Bread Lab. Her mission is to increase the amount of whole grains consumed in the American diet, with a specific focus on rye. Initially, we focused on a higher percentage of rye flour in our CL version, but the level of baker's effort required to manage a far stickier dough led us to adjust the percentage downward. The smaller amount, 18% Rye in this loaf, studded with sunflower seeds, creates a delicious, nutty, balanced loaf. We’ve got a winner here!
Our Grab 'N Go Energy Cookies!
Find bread a little intimidating? Need something that takes less time, something you can mix in one bowl with a wooden spoon?! Our Grab 'N Go Energy Cookies are a perfect match. Made with six nutritious whole-grain flours (pre-mixed by us, and available for purchase at our online shop), you can whip up a batch of 32 cookies in just a few minutes and complete the whole project in just a few hours of baking. Choose between our Blueberry Pecan or Chocolate Cherry flavors.
Have a question? Ask away in the comments!