THE BAKESHOP

When did Abby Jane open?

After numerous construction delays on top of a global pandemic, the bakeshop finally opened on January 21, 2021.

Where are you located?

The bakeshop is located about five minutes outside of the town of Dripping Springs, very close to the intersection of Fitzhugh Rd and Highway 12. We share an entrance on Fitzhugh Rd with our neighbors Treaty Oak Distilling and building buddy, Barton Springs Mill. Once you turn off Fitzhugh, follow our signs straight all the way to the back of the property. You'll see our building on the right!

How is the bakeshop related to Barton Springs Mill?

Call it close friends! Mill owner, James Brown, invited Abby to open the bakeshop inside his new mill location, which started operating in winter 2019. While the bakeshop and the mill are separate companies, our purpose here at Abby Jane is to showcase the best of Barton Springs Mills' products. As such, we only use 100% freshly stone-milled flours right from our next-door neighbor in all our baked goods.

Do you teach baking classes?

No, we do not. Barton Springs Mill does, though! Head on over to their website www.bartonspringsmill.com and select the >Learn & Do< tab to check out their current offerings!

Do you sell Barton Springs Mill flours?

Barton Springs Mill does not have a retail store open to the public. However, Abby Jane has a dedicated BSM retail shelf with *almost* the full lineup of their products. We do not stock whole berries (or kernels) here at the bakeshop. Nor do we have all of the flours available in 5lb bags. However, if you shop online through our BSM page here, we can make sure to source your order directly from the mill. Online store pick-up is available during the bakeshop's regular opening hours.

Can I find your baked goods anywhere else?

Abby Jane wholesales our baked goods to a select few local partners. Right now we sell to  Tillies at Camp Lucy (Dripping Springs, TX), Summer Revival Wine Co. (Dripping Springs, TX), and Confituras Little Kitchen (Austin, TX).

Interested in learning more about a wholesale partnership?

Shoot us an email to info (at) abbyjanebakes.com

Do you offer delivery? Shipping?

At this time, Abby Jane does not offer local delivery or shipping for our baked goods. The one exception of course is our merch! Just make sure to select shipping as your preferred fulfillment method on our online store. All merchandise is shipped via USPS.

Are you accepting stages/externships?

As a young company, we are still very much riding the rollercoaster of opening a new business. All this to say, there are not enough hours in the day! We consider externships and stages on a case by case basis. You're free to reach out and inquire.

THE SERVICE

Can I order ahead?

Sure thing, you can place an order on our online store under the Daily Menu tab. We update our inventory numbers each day before we open (8am on Thurs/Fri and 9am on Sat/Sun). If you see that an item is sold out online, you can give us a call to see if we have any more in stock at the bakeshop (we keep a small buffer reserve).

What if I want to place an order multiple days in advance?

If you would like to place a future order, please consult our dedicated catering page. You'll find the pricing for our current menu offerings and there is an inquiry form at the very bottom of the page where you can submit your order.

Do I need to have a reservation to visit the bakeshop?

Definitely not! Abby Jane is a counter-service restaurant. We have tables inside the bakeshop that are all first-come, first-served seating. We also have some picnic tables in our covered patio as well as the adjacent oak grove.

Why is everything sold out in the afternoon?

Essentially, we bake one batch of our goods fresh each day. When we run out, unfortunately we really run out. You may see us preparing ingredients in the back for the next day's bake but we don't have extra hidden inventory! Running a bakeshop in the first few years is a bit of a guessing game. We try to hit the mark to ensure that we make just the right amount but practice makes perfect.

So what do you do with the extras?

At this time, we donate all our excess loaves of bread to the fine folks at Helping Hands Dripping Springs. This food pantry operates out of the Methodist Church just down Highway 12 from us. Pantry distribution occurs on Wednesdays from 1:30pm to 3pm and on Thursdays from 5pm to 6:30pm.

THE BREAD

What breads do your offer?

We have 5 breads that we sell every day: our Big Country Sourdough, Olive Sourdough, Seeded Sourdough, Sour Pan Loaf, and Baguette. We have a rotating weekly schedule of breads we offer on other days (listed below) as well as specials on the weekends (TBD).

   Thursday - Ancient Harvest, Japanese Milk Bread

   Friday - Challah

   Saturday - Cinnamon Raisin Swirl

   Sunday - Focaccia

What is naturally-leavened bread?

A naturally leavened baked good is made using a wild yeast to leaven or 'rise' the product as opposed to a commercial packaged yeast. Natural leavening requires a longer fermentation process whereas commercial yeast acts much more quickly! Our sourdough artisan breads are all 100% naturally leavened with Abby's longtime partner, a sourdough starter called Shiva.

Some of our other loaves, like our baguettes, use a hybrid mix of Shiva in addition to a commercial yeast. So while it is in part sourdough, we would not refer to it as being naturally leavened.

Is your bread whole wheat?

For the most part, no. Most of our breads (like our sourdoughs) use a 65% extraction flour. This means that once the whole berries pass through the stone mill, the milled product is then sent through a sifting machine. Barton Springs Mill can control exactly what amount of the total weight of the grain they sift out (mostly in the form of bran). A 65% extraction means that 35% of the total weight is removed.

Why are your sourdoughs so dark?

For starters, our stone-milled flours preserve a lot more of the bran than the commercial roller-milled flours that a lot of bakeries use. And then on top of that, here at Abby Jane we bake in the French tradition of 'bien cuit', which simply translates to "well done." This style of baking coaxes out the depth of caramelized flavor in the grain and offers a beautiful textural contrast between the crusty exterior and the soft interior.

THE GLUTEN

Do you make gluten-free products?

Short answer, no! We do not specialize in gluten-free baked goods. However, there are some unique factors to what we do here at the bakeshop...

We are committed to using ancient and heritage grains, whose genetic structure has not been processed, hybridized, or modified in the way that modern flour has. As a result, it is much easier on the digestive system than modern wheat. In addition, the stone-milling process at Barton Springs Mill preserves much more of the nutritious goodness in the grains. And then finally, the wild fermentation process in our sourdough breads is also inherently more friendly to your gut health.

Many of our customers who experience gluten intolerance say they can enjoy our products without trouble! But, it's important to keep in mind that each person can have a very different digestive response. As a rule, we do not recommend eating our baked goods if you are celiac!

Do you use any gluten-free grains?

Due to our commitment to Barton Springs Mill, we do not outsource any gluten free flours (like almond, oat, or coconut flour). There are a few naturally gluten-free grains occasionally available through Barton Springs Mill. These include: buckwheat, rice, and corn. At this time, we do not bake any goods using 100% of these products. (Even so, it's important to note that these products are all still processed in the same facility as our gluten-full wheats and ryes.)

Learn more about our gluten stance here.