The CulinaryWoman Newsletter, 3/28/21

Meet some talented bakers

All my life, I’ve been a cook, not a baker. It isn’t for lack of trying. My mother showed me how to bake cookies, cakes and apple crisp. As an adult, I’ve taken numerous classes at Bake! the baking school run by Zingerman’s Bakehouse.

I’ve studied flatbreads, and pie, and during the pandemic, I’ve made Irish soda bread, pumpernickel and sourdough, Victoria Sponge, lemon tea cake and banana bread. We’ve polished all of it off, but I’ve never felt my baking was as good as my cooking.

Luckily, I live in a city with a number of skilled professional bakers. Last week, you met Jenny Song, the owner of the Songbird Cafe, and I’ve also written about Rubina Sadiq, who doubled the size of Cakes by Rubina last year.

Now, my corner of Ann Arbor is home to two more highly skilled bakers from opposite sides of the United States.

A Mecca For Pastry

Annemarie Maldonado came to Ann Arbor last summer with her husband Louis to take part in the Dixboro Project, a multi-million dollar set of restaurants and a bakery. It is the brainchild of Sava Farah, who owns several places in town, including her namesake, Sava’s Restaurant.

Most recently, Annemarie was in charge of the commissary kitchen at Tartine, the famed San Francisco bakery chain whose croissants, cinnamon rolls and fruit cobblers draw lines down the street.

Simultaneously, Liron Egozi arrived in Ann Arbor from New York City, where she was sous chef at the Musket Room, a Michelin-starred restaurant. Despite her cooking skills, Liron has longed to devote herself to baking, which the pandemic gave her a chance to do.

I had the opportunity to interview both of them for a story about bakers in the Ann Arbor Observer, and I was impressed by the pastries and breads that these women are turning out.

Croisssants as a yardstick

Annemarie’s baking is on display at The Boro To Go, a sparkling new carry out space that eventually will be an offshoot of The Boro, the casual restaurant in The Dixboro Project. It also will hold the upscale Dixboro House, which Louis, who competed on Top Chef, will launch this summer.

Both Annemarie and Louis are playing larger roles across the Pulpo Group, the umbrella name for Sava’s collection of restaurants. She oversees all the baking and desserts, while he is in charge of menus.

Annemarie and I share a similar criteria for judging baked goods. For both of us, it’s a plain croissant. I always figure that if a baker can’t master that, then fancier pastries can’t cover up their lack of ability.

Also, I just like the simplicity of a crusty croissant, with a multi-layered, fluffy interior. It’s perfect for dunking in coffee or cappuccino, and I’ll even eat a croissant in the afternoon with tea. I consider Annemarie’s the best in town.

Annemarie has been regularly rotating the menu at The Boro To Go, which has cookies, coffee cake, tea cakes, and lots of other desserts. There is also a complete menu of breakfast, lunch amd dinner items, including pizza.

She would love to launch an ice cream program, and someday, she would like to add bread service.

A home-based baker

Only about a mile from The Boro To Go, Liron Egozi has launched The Bread Project, an ambitious home baking enterprise.

Liron, originally from Israel, wound up in Ann Arbor last summer, after The Musket closed due to the pandemic. She had always baked for friends in the city, and now was interested enough to try making bread full time.

She advertises her lineup on Instagram, takes orders via email, and sells loaves once a week, on Tuesdays.

The menu includes five types of sourdough, and eight kinds of challah. She also sells chewy Israeli style pita breads, and huge Jerusalem bagels, which are long skinny ovals, covered with sesame seeds, that can be cut in two and placed whole in a toaster.

There’s also exquisite chocolate babka, including baby babkas that are called babushka, the Russian word for grandmother or slang for a head scarf.

Liron’s breads have become so popular she’s now looking for a commercial kitchen. Down the road, she is aiming to open a bakery or a restaurant, eager to share her vision with customers.

Liron has picked the right town for that: Ann Arbor lately abounds with young entrepreneurs who are selling different types of foods at driveway pop ups around town.

Although a pandemic might seem exactly the wrong time to be ambitious, things are working out for both Annemarie and Liron, as well as the other bakers you’ve met in the newsletter.

It’s gratifying to hear their good news, and hope that as spring arrives, we’ll see more such businesses blossom.

Remembering A Culinary Friend

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of Floyd Cardoz’ death. He was a much-loved friend and inspiration across the culinary world for his magical Indian cooking. You might remember his restaurant Tabla, or spotted him on TV shows such as Somebody Feed Phil or Top Chef Masters.

When you get a minute, look at the hashtag #FloydsFood on Instagram. You’ll be touched by the memories that his admirers shared.

From Podcast To Pasta

I hope you listen to The Sporkful, the award-winning podcast hosted by Dan Pashman. I’ve been honored to be a guest on his show, and I’ve enjoyed the episodes he’s done recently on developing his own pasta.

It’s called cascatelli, and this comma shaped pasta is designed to hold a maximum of sauce. Think of it as kind of a ruffled half hoop earring.

Cascatelli is the result of Dan’s three-year journey from idea to drawing to creating the die that cuts the attractive tubes. Hear about it at Mission ImPASTAble.

You can buy some through Sfoglini, the company that produces it. (It’s so popular that there’s a waiting list, but you definitely will want to get on it.)

Visiting The Mediterranean With Milk Street

Milk Street Tuesday Nights: Mediterranean

By Christopher Kimball

I have the good fortune to be a Friend of Milk Street, the multi-media empire founded by Christopher Kimball. Last week, a book I’ve been eagerly waiting for arrived.

Milk Street: Tuesday Nights Mediterranean has 125 recipes for Mediterranean inspired dishes, many of which can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The Tuesday Night series is aimed at people who want to eat something fresh on Tuesday nights, probably after eating Sunday leftovers on Monday, but they don’t want to spend a whole lot of time doing so.

The Mediterranean cookbook has a big section of vegetarian recipes. They include whole wheat pasta with walnut sauce and Swiss chard, a gorgeous Tuscan spring vegetable soup, and green shakshuka (you can substitute tofu for eggs if you’re eating vegan).

There is a section with salad suppers including a recipe for fattoush with chicken and a tahini sumac dressing. Among main courses, the steamed salmon with fennel is delicious.

You can pre-order the book at your favorite book seller, but I also recommend visiting Milk Street’s site and picking out some other culinary treats while you are there.

I Got My Second Shot!

On Friday, I got my second Pfizer vaccine shot. It was an unexpectedly emotional moment. I looked around the post-shot waiting room, and saw all kinds of people who also had been vaccinated. I was enormously grateful to the scientists and all the health care professionals who took care of us.

Please get your shot, and let’s push for restaurant, grocery, bar and other food related personnel to get vaccinated. I’m hearing that many clinics have left over shots towards the end of the day that are being offered to walk ups. Spread the word if that happens where you are.

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Stay healthy, get the vaccine if you can, wear a mask and see you next week.