Everything tastes great with bacon, so set your
sights for Ann Arbor, Michigan as Zingerman’s Bakery and their community of
businesses sponsor their ninth annual 5 days of Camp Bacon from May 30 to June
3. Zingerman’s has been around since
they opened a deli in 1992, known for making great sandwiches from around the
world. They went on to add their fresh
baked goods two years later. What does
this all have to do with bacon?
I had the opportunity to interview co-partners Frank
Carollo and Amy Emberling after receiving a recipe book titled Zingerman’s
Bakehouse as their 25th Anniversary. I also received samples of
their delicious goodies, most of which the book includes these recipes. There are no hidden ingredients, these are
the real things.
Zingerman’s originally started by Paul Saginaw and
Ari Weinzweig in a historic building near the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market. They featured huge corned beef sandwiches, an
exceptional array of farmhouse cheeses, estate-bottled olive oils, varietal
vinegars, smoked fish, salami, coffee, tea and much, much more. Now
there are 10 separate entities that include a Creamery, mail order, the
original deli, a coffee company, candy company, restaurant, and a Korean
restaurant called Miss Kim.
One of their signature sellers is their sour cream
coffee cake with walnuts. Probably even more
popular (not in the cook book and not always available) is the Apple Bacon
Coffee Cake. Perfect breakfast start as
you get your protein, fruit, and grain in one fell swoop. “Not your classic Jewish coffee cake,” said
Emberling.
Man cannot live by Roadhouse Bread, alone. “If you want a great sandwich, you have to
make a great bread,” said Carollo. This hearty dark crusty loaf is made with
rye flour, cornmeal, wheat and a bit of molasses. I think it would be a great vehicle for a
bowl of their cheddar ale soup. Roadhouse Bread is just one of a huge line of breads
from all over the world.
Along with baking breads, they decided to include
pastries as well leading them into non-stop progress adding a baking school as
well.
Let us turn to something savory like their line of
Hungarian foods of which I sampled the rétes (ray-tesh), better known as
strudel. They take their own fresh dough
and hand-stretch it over an 8 ft. table until it's thin enough to see through. It is then folded and layered with melted
butter and a sprinkle of bread crumbs, wrapped around fresh fillings. I chose one stuffed with cabbage arriving
with the raw dough so that I could bake it golden brown. Here were my thoughts. Although delicious by itself I prepared a
sauce made from crushed tomatoes, chopped beef and raisins. Now I would have the tastings of stuffed
cabbage! Oh yeah, they have a
traditional Hungarian potato with bacon. Bacon…!
“We started to research other parts of the world and
happened upon Hungary with a developed cuisine,” Emberley said. “There is a
large Jewish population of Ashkanazi immigrants and we decided to educate
people about the food. Aside from the
retes, we have many pastries such as our great torta cakes.”
The Creamery produces soft cheeses such as a spicy
Pimento Cheese made with cheddar and a Cream Cheese like no other. It is minus the additives. I experienced it as a cross between a whipped
cream cheese and crème fraiche. Milk
comes locally from Calder Farms and Guernsey Dairy.
“Our cherries come from
Northern Michigan, mainly Traverse City at Cherry Central,” said Emberley. “Michigan is said to be the largest producers
of chestnuts. In fact, we make chestnut
baguettes from the flour coming from the Michigan Chestnut Association.”
Bakehouse Cookbook also
features a baker’s dozen of their favorites: Just Rhubarb Rhubarb Pie;
Dinkelbrot German Spelt Bread; Bakehouse Bagels; Sicilian Sesame Semolina
Bread; Focaccia with Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onions; Somodi Kalacs
Transylvania Cinnamon Swirl Bread; Bakehouse Brownies: Black Magic, Magic, and
Buenos Aires; Hunka Burnin’ Love Cake; Detroit Style Pizza; Tunisian Orange and
Olive Oil Cake; Walnut and Current Rugelach; French Crullers; and Bakehouse
Blondies.
Incidentally, along
with the recipes, the book includes essays and brief stories on how they work
together. I do not use cook books when I
prepare food, but in this case the science of baking makes it necessary if I
want to produce the absolute best and delicious goodies. The bakery is located at 3711 Plaza Drive,
734-761 2095. www.zingermansbakehouse.com
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