Bakeries On The Rise

 One of the best dreams as any home baker can have is owning their own bakery. This is happening for several  whether they've baked at home or in a well known restaurant. There is a golden age of bakeries happening and it's coming with delicious results.

New comer , food journalist Meghan McCarron who has won a James Beard award along with co-producing the web series Queer Table wrote this interesting piece in Christmas Day's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Smaller bakeries are having a Renaissance. More and more former pastry chefs are opening them up in such diverse areas from big cities like Los Angels to smaller ones in Parker,Colorado. Most of these are not in well known areas like New York's Soho. Some like Poulette, are in Parker Colorado, in a strip mall, Others have evolved from pop up kiosks to small brick and mortar places. Unlike eateries , bakeries really don;t require a lot of space. There's no need for a dining area. A few tables inside and out will suffice. There's no need for a big staff, unless the place branches out to other locations.Also being in such diverse areas brings good pastry to those who never would have had access to this. This is the case of Poulette where  vanilla bean spandauers Danish pastry filled with either custard or jam are favorites of the local Little League team.Locals are ordering honored Bretagnes for birthday parties.

Other pastry chefs nationwide are also reaping the benefits.Some like  Elaine Uykimpang Bentz and her partner moved from Chicago to Cincinnati to start a restaurant. SHe didn't want to bake however her pandemic pastries got such a following the only course going forward was opening up a patisserie.This trend has also been beneficial to obsessive home bakers who want to pursue their dreams. Jesus Brazon the owner of Caracas Bakery started at home with his sourdough loaves. It took a few tries before he [perfected the recipe. After baking success he started to share his loaves with family and friends. A friend with a restaurant asked him to bake loaves.He thought he could have a part time business selling just coffee and rolls but figured he might as well devote his whole time to running a bakery, He did have help from his chef father Manuel who taught him to make French style pastries. Now he has three locations. Another baker,Peter Mitchell, co owner of The Sour in South Dakota, He started as a corrections officer and watched enough YouTube to become a baker, Some like Deborah Yee trained in restaurants like French Laundry before starting her business.

Bakeries are enjoying a golden age. People want good croissants wherever they are. It could be a big city or a country town. 

Cupcake Mania

 Food videos are addictive.People get hooked on Italian nonnas gracefully making pasta from scratch.Others go wild looking at the latest air fryer recipes.Then there are those cupcake videos that seem to be everywhere.They take a blob of icing and turn it into a masterpiece.

The last has made me cupcake obsessed. I am now actively seeking out those short reels on Facebook. They short and I can look through three or four of them.It starts out with some unknown decorator (only hands are shown) putting a blob of frosting on a cake. Usually they're then turned upside down and the blob is flattened on parchment. The cupcake is then frozen for ten minutes. The decorating starts after this.Stencils are cut out of waxed paper and this delicately laid on top of the frosting. Another colored frosting is then smeared on this. The stencil is lifted and it could be a pretty heart or Frankenstein's or his bride's hair.One jaw dropping one was a deep blue iced cup cake and a stencil of all the continents was then layered on. These were painted in deep green and the finished top looked very much like a map.A little red heart was out at the bottom on it. This would be an amazing try. Then there are the beach ones.where there is turquoise icing smeared on a cupcake. Nilla wafers are crushed and sprinkled on one side to represent sand. Candy shells and pearls can be placed on this or lines are iced on two Pez to create flip flops.

There's another kind of decorating that has caught my eye. This is the side one. A  frosted cupcake is rolled in a pile of sprinkles or little candy nonperiels. A swirl of another color frosting is  piped in the middle .This seems like the easiest and prettiest. You don;t need the puff in the middle. The cupcakes look sweet without them. I'm also amazed by the Russian flowers ones. These have a garden of brightly colored buttercream bids on them. I have these tips but have yet to use them. To be honest I don't; know when I would have to time or even occasion anymore to make a fancy cupcake. They're nice treats but total sugar bombs.Yet I'm obsessed by these short videos. I think Facebook has the best. The how to is only a few minutes and I can go on to the next. The Tiktok ones are a bit flashy with music and some voice overs.Ive watched the You Tube ones and although they ;re very informative they're also annoying. I do appreciate what tips they recommend and how to get the right consistency but they're something about someone going on like it was a decorating class. I just want something quick and fun to watch.

Cupcake vdeos - any food video are  addictive to watch,They're an obsession. Even if you don't even set foot in the kitchen these can be fascinating.

You Tube - Your Culinary Sanctuary

 Everyone is basically house bound with all these worldwide quarantines. It's a crazy time that may get crazier. The best way to alleviate the anxiety and boredom is looking at how  to videos. It's not only a great way to pass time but also learn hacks and lessons.

For true old school comfort check out any of the Julia Child videos.Her show ran on PBS from 1963 to 1972. She was a ground  breaker with being the first woman with an extensive cooking show as well as introducing Americans to the art of fine French cooking. You can learn everything from her, from the basics as making a good Gallic omelet to creating a flavorful onion soup. There's something soothing about her teacher's voice and the way she meticulously explains techniques. Later episodes have her working with another great chef, Jacques Pepin. Theirs is a harmony that's amazing.Again it's like taking a master class in cooking. There's also that famed Dan Ackroyd Saturday Night Live  darkly funny imitation that will make you laugh during these trying times. Other chef videos to look at are again, are Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and Gordon Ramsey. If you like the older classics, then definitely watch The Two Fat Ladies and The Galloping Gourmet starring Graham Kerr for the camp and the valuable hints.

Some of my favorites are the cake decorating and the cooking and baking hacks. There are some truly amazing decorating videos out there. Some  show decorating as simple as just pressing a spoon against buttercream and then spinning the cake stand for smooth concentric circles. Others show you how to create everything from a bouquet of fondant  flowers to a cake topped with a white chocolate Mardi Gras mask complete with chocolate feathers. Be warned. You can be mesmerized by these for hours. The food hack ones are also interesting. Definitely tune into 5 Minute Hacks. This seems to come from Britain. Healthy foodies will be go made for the how to make your own pickle chips while egg enthusiasts will experiment with hard boiling their eggs with a lemon slice. Doing such softens the egg shells and makes for much easier peeling. There's one on fried avocado slices that looks interesting to try from their 35 Crazy Food Hacks video.

If you're bored or anxious then turn to You Tube. You'll enjoy the soothing tones of master chefs and go wild for the eye opening hints. It's what we need during these uncertain , crazy days,