Shopping @ the Panaderia

We have already introduced you to the supermarket and the feria, so today we will continue with our "Shopping @ ______" series with the local bread store (or the Panaderia).

Walking up a half block to the main street and then one block to the left is our local bread store. Out of all the places we shop, this is the store we go to EVERY DAY.

Why? Well, simply put...Chilean bread is made everyday. Chilean bread gets too hard after one day, thus Chileans buy bread everyday. Buying fresh bread is where it's at...something Wonderbread can't beat! At the Panaderia, you can buy more than just bread, but the bread is the main reason why people go there. Desserts, lunch meat, drinks, and other grocery items are sold there. My favorite dessert is called a "Berlin". It's a cream filled sweet bread pastry.

There are many different kinds of bread one could buy at the Panaderia. Our favorite is the Marraquetas (above), or as we call it, "Bullet Bread". Marraquetas can be broken into four smaller sections that look like little bullets.

Above are several other kinds of bread you can buy. It all depends on what you want to eat. If you are eating hot dogs, you buy hot dog buns. If you need dinner rolls, you buy dinner rolls. The beauty of the bread store is that you buy to the exact quantity you need. Each type of bread is in their own bin. You just grab a plastic bag and use it to pick out what you want. Each type of bread goes in a separate bag, since the price varies for each type of bread.

I recently tried a "doblada" (seen above). They are a flat bread that is folded twice.

The workers at the bread store know our family now, since we shop there often. They love the kids, of course, due to their blond hair. The other day, the cashier noticed Kristi's "little tummy" and asked when she was due. Then another time, Kristi was 30 pesos short (which is less than .10 cents), but the same cashier told her, "oh, don't worry, just bring it the next time you come." Shopping @ the Panaderia helps us become one with the community. People are watching us and we are watching them.

In the final Shopping @ post, we will tell you about the little neighborhood grocery store. Come back again to read that post.