In the grocery store the other day (traveling sans camera, so no photos!), I spotted a relatively new product in the bread aisle. Orowheat seems to have released a half loaf of bread. Instead of the nearly two pound loaves of whole wheat and other popular flavors, you can now buy just a handful of slices at a time. These loaves aren't lacking in anything but the number of slices; the height and width of the bread is the same. They seem like they are designed to appeal to singles and couples who don't run through a whole loaf of bread during the average week, as if you fall into this category, you know how irritating it can be to have to waste an uneaten half-loaf at the end of the week when it is uneaten, but past its prime.

The only remaining question is why did it take so long to come up with this idea in the first place?

Meyer lemons are a slightly sweeter version of regular lemons and are becoming more and more popular with bakers as they become easier to find in stores. The distinguishing feature of the lemons, aside from their small size and thin skin, is that they have none of the bitterness that is found in regular lemons. This means that anything they are used in, from lemonade to lemon tarts, will have a very intense lemon flavor that is not cut by an overly tart aftertaste of any kind. Jen, the Barmy Baker, took advantage of their fantastic flavor and baked up these Meyer Lemon Loaves using a recipe from Pierre Hermes' Desserts and some lemons from her small Meyer lemon tree. The loaves are only a tiny bit lighter than a pound cake and are rich with butter and sour cream. They are also spiked with a little bit of rum, which makes them seem a little bit more festive for the holidays.

Contrary to what you might expect from the name, this bread does not use any orange soda. It is based on soda bread, or Irish soda bread, which is leavened with a combination of buttermilk and baking soda. This use of a chemical leavener allows the bread to be prepared quickly, as opposed to a time-consuming yeast-raised bread. From Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, this Orange Soda Bread gets its flavor from a generous amount of orange zest that is added to a fairly standard soda bread recipe, but it offers a surprising crunch from the sesame seeds that Haalo included in the dough. The bread is not overly sweet, so it would be best served alongside breakfast or as a snack, perhaps with butter and jam, in the mid-morning.

For variations, you could switch the orange zest with lemon zest and use poppy seeds instead of sesame. Raisins are a typical inclusion in soda breads, so you could add in a small amount of just about any dried fruit, as well.

A good meatloaf makes a great dinner, but it makes an even better sandwich the next day. I like to use barbecue sauce or ketchup to complement mine, but Jennifer, at Kiss the Hem of Her Apron used soy cheese and mustard to spice up her "meat"loaf sandwich. Soy cheese? I should mention that the delectable looking "meat"loaf that she made is completely vegan, from a recipe that she put together using the vegan loaf generator. Her loaf used primarily rice and beans for the base, but the generator allows you to put together a combination of many different ingredients, including soy-based meats, if you are so inclined to try. Whatever you make your meatloaf out of - beans or beef - a sandwich is surely the best place for it to end up.

The vegan loaf generator, which we have mentioned before, is a little application that pairs various combinations of veggies, spices and binders to create veganized "meat"loaves. As strange as that may sound, many of the loaf combinations are delicious and since there are so many options, you can probably make one without having to take an extra trip to the store. But if you don't want the responsibility of selecting the ingredients yourself, there is now an automated mystery loaf generator, which automatically generates loaf combinations and names them. The recipe changes every 5 minutes, so if you don't like a given option, just hang in there and hit refresh. As the site promises, you'll never be "loaflorn" again.

When you bite into a loaf of bread, the thing that you would least expect to find is a rusty nail. A British man found exactly that, however, in a loaf he purchased from an Asda supermarket in Dorset.

Chris Lambie was sitting at the dinner table with his teenage daughter when he discovered the nail. Fortunately, though he actually bit into it, the rusty nail did not cut or injure him in any way.

Lambie contacted the local consumer protection agency and filed a complaint at the store, where he turned in the loaf. The loaf was subsequently lost by the store, which apologized profusely to the man and stated that they will be "calling Mr Lambie to discuss this with him in further detail" while they launch an investigation. The loaf came from a mix that is supplied to Asda and the manufacturer has been contacted, but no similar incidents have been reported.

You don't have to be a nutrition expert to know that whole grains are an important part of the diet. After all, labels promoting them are appearing on nearly every product in the supermarket, from breakfast cereals to cookies. One of the most difficult foods to get whole grains in is bread. While this may seem like an obvious choice, many people still can't resist buying a loaf of their favorite white or buttermilk loaf when they're shopping. Too many consumers have a negative perception of whole grain breads as being dry, hard and with an overwhelming wheat taste that seems too overtly "good for you."

Part of Real Simple magazine's online content this month is a taste test of whole grain breads, trying to identify the tastiest and most nutritious ones on the market. They only looked at the national brands, so while the bread from your favorite local bakery might be better, you won't go wrong by picking up a loaf of any of these choices when you a traveling or simply want to make a sandwich.

• Rubschlager 100% Whole Wheat or European Style Whole Grain
• Arnold Whole Grain Classics 100% Whole Wheat or Healthy Multigrain (available east of the Mississippi)
• Oroweat Honey Fiber Whole Grain Bread (available west of the Mississippi)
• Thomas Squares Bagelbread 100% Whole Wheat
• Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Natural Whole Grain Bread
• Earth Grains Extra Fiber 100% Whole Wheat

One final option is to buy bread made with "white whole wheat" flour, such as some of the buns and loaves made by Sara Lee. They mimic the taste and texture of regular white bread, but offer diners an extra dose of whole grain goodness.

 

If ever there was a dish that needed all the help it could get, it would be vegan dinner loaf. Well, Jennifer over at the blog Vegan Lunch Box has come to the rescue by creating The Magic Loaf Studio. Based on recipes she learned at a Seventh Day Adventist vegetarian cooking class, the Loaf Studio lets you choose ingredients-legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, veggies, seasonings and binders-and then formulates a recipe with appropriate proportions and directions. There is, of course, a disclaimer saying that not every combination has been tested. Still, the nearly 50 comments on her blog post about it seem positive. Perhaps some people will be converted to loaf-lovers, but I suspect that many folks will use this to expand their existing loaf repertoire. Oh, and as an added bonus, you get to name your loaf. Cute.