"bakeries" news and stories

Gary Martinez, manager of Utah's hottest patisserie, hates it when you use the word "foodie" to describe Les Madeleines's customers. He and chef/owner Romina Rasmussen believe that people don't need to know the difference between pâte à choux and pâte sucrée to appreciate their shop's travel-inspired, made-from-scratch goodies, particularly their ultra-popular kouing amans (traditionally spelled kouign amann). Not familiar with these pastries? They're buttery, sugary, slow-baked round layer cakes that originated in Brittany, France in the 19th century and the name literally means "butter cake."

We recently caught up with Martinez and got his feelings on everything from the SLC food scene to Les Madeleines's growing cult status.

More from Martinez after the jump...

TLC continued seeking out the "Best Food Ever" last night, highlighting 10 Bodacious Bakeries. Unlike last week's premiere -- where the food selections were either over the top in price or concept, the Bodacious Bakeries episode sought establishments that prided themselves on organic ingredients and making sweets from scratch, all with a (mostly) modern flair. That said, it seems the producers didn't veer too far off the path regarding the cities where the bakeries were located. In other words, it's hard to believe that there's not one bakery in all of Vermont that qualifies as "bodacious," but maybe this list is just the 2010 edition.

Find a rundown of the most Bodacious Bakeries, in rank order after the jump.

Eating pork buns (cha siu baau) is an excellent way to get a taste of New York's Chinatown. These warm buns -- either steamed or baked -- are full of savory barbecue meats, sometimes with scallions.

Last weekend, a friend and I decided we would eat our way through Chinatown by trying pork buns at various bakeries. And, what started out as a "pork bun journey" turned into an exploration of both savory and sweet buns, ranging from pork to red bean.

Fay Da Bakery, at 83 Mott St., has a variety of buns that you can select yourself with tongs when you enter the shop. While being underwhelmed by their pork buns, we were blown away with their sweet topping red-bean bun. The outside of the red-bean bun is coated in a flaky layer of sugar that balances marvelously with the doughy bun and the creamy red-bean paste.

Head directly to the Golden Fung Wong Bakery, at 41 Mott St., to try some of the best pork buns in Manhattan's Chinatown. Chunks of pork are flavored with a delicious mix of soy and oyster sauce. This bakery also sells an assortment of rice cakes and melon cakes that are worth trying.

Tate's Bake Shop is a Hamptons-based company who makes cookies, brownies, cakes, and squares.

That's right. Squares. That's how quaint they are.

Inside Kathleen King's adorable yellow and turquoise Victorian-style shop in Southampton, sweet smells, smiling faces, and flowers abound. King grew up on a farm near Southampton and sold cookies from the age of 11 at her family's farm stand.

Tate's Bake Shop has a loyal following across the country. Their secret is in their simplicity. Quality products, nicely packaged, and as my friend Lora says: "By rich people, for rich people."

You can order the delicious cookies and other baked goods online here, for a wonderfully classy host gift or party favor for the holiday season.

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Here in Philadelphia, we are lucky to have a small, local chain of bakeries that is devoted to making true artisan bread. Metropolitan Bakery believes in letting bread have a long, slow rise and each one of their loaves, rolls and baguettes are shaped by hand. They've been around since 1993 and back in 2003, for their 10th anniversary, they published a cookbook that is filled with their signature recipes that have been scaled down to make them appropriate for the home cook.

The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook isn't just a vanity publication, created for the glorification of a bakery. It is a book that was obviously carefully crafted and systematically thought out, as it is really interesting to read and designed to be used. They've included recipes for all their favorite products, including their French Berry rolls and (my favorite) Millet Muffins.

In addition to the recipes, they've included picture layouts that show off their pastries and breads in all their luscious glory, along with pictures that detail how to recreate their signature twists and designs (on page 77, there are step-by-step pictures to show you how to cut, twist and fold the dough for the Cinnamon Swirl Danish). Admittedly, for those of us lucky enough to be fairly nearby a Metropolitan location, we probably won't be turning to this cookbook for much other than incentive to make a visit to the bakery, but for those of you who once visited Philadelphia and got a taste of Metropolitan pastries, this might one you could add to your collection.

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