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The Port Chester Blog Of Record

The Port Chester Blog Of Record - Brain Harrod Editor / Publisher

Saturday, February 17, 2001

02/17/01 Arnold Bread's History in Port Chester

From Arnold's website, here is the history of this wonderful bread...

In March 1940, Dean and Betty Arnold baked the first two-dozen loaves of Arnold bread in a brick oven at the rear of a small house in Stamford, Connecticut. Placing their trust in superior ingredients, like unbleached spring wheat flour, honey, butter and eggs, they developed the golden rich bread that would soon become a leading premium brand with an international reputation.

Mr. Arnold established a baking business of his own because of a serious allergy to flour. After graduating from Columbia University, he worked for a large baking company until his allergies grew too severe to continue. In January 1940, with only $600 in severance pay, he and his wife, Betty, moved in with his uncle on a farm in Armonk, New York, and began baking.

Always believing there was a need for a better loaf of bread, Dean and Betty took their unique recipe and stoked up their first brick oven. Soon, the whole family was involved as relatives helped to slice, wrap and hand deliver the bread from house to house. By 1941, business was booming and the bakery needed to expand. Though he didn’t have a financial statement, Dean was granted a bank loan on the taste of his bread alone and moved the bakery to Port Chester, New York.

The growth continued. While vacationing in Florida in the 1950s, Dean and Betty heard complaints from relocated New Yorkers that they were not able to get quality premium bread like Arnold. So in 1959, the Arnolds took over a 24,000 square foot plant in Riviera Beach, Florida, and brought their bread to the sunshine state.

In the sixties, they built the largest bakery under one roof in the world, including the largest brick oven anywhere, in Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1971, Dean Arnold retired, but his famous recipes and techniques live on.

UPDATE:

Today, Arnold is a part of Bimbo Bakeries USA and the love of baking continues.

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