Zingerman's Bakehouse
A bakery, a school, a cookbook, an institution.
I first met Amy Emberling at a conference in New York City. We were returning from a morning excursion at a publishing company’s test kitchen in lower Manhattan, and I was immediately drawn to her sensibility, calming presence, and of course her passion for food. Our conversation stood out to me in sharp contrast to much of our group’s discussion that morning about avoiding certain foods for one reason or another (necessity was rarely one). Amy’s devotion to tradition and flavor were refreshing to say the least.
On our subway ride north, Amy identified herself as a managing partner of Zingerman’s Bakehouse. At that time, I knew very little about Zingerman’s and its Community of Businesses, but her role intrigued me and we connected on recipe development and other aspects of creating and sharing baking content. After the conference we stayed in touch, and began planning a way to visit each other.
I won’t soon forget my trip to Ann Arbor and Amy’s incredible generosity in taking me around to all of the Zingerman’s businesses. I was impressed by the breadth of the Zingerman’s community, how welcoming everyone was, and their dedication to producing uncompromisingly phenomenal food. Like Amy, everything about Zingerman’s was refreshingly genuine.
The Bakehouse is no exception to the Zingerman’s vibe. Every day the bakers, pastry chefs, and whole team (150 members strong) are guided by the Bakehouse mission:
The relentless pursuit of being the best bakery we can imagine.
Towards that mission, they rely on traditional recipes and processes, their talented hands, and the most flavorful ingredients they can find to produce freshly baked breads, pastries, and other treats almost every day of the year.
While these tenets have been at the core of the Bakehouse’s mission for the past 30 years or so, they’ve by no means been left to stale. The Bakehouse team continues to evolve its interpretation of what time-honored baking looks like and how to best source ingredients.
From a deep exploration of Hungarian baked goods to establishing a Bakehouse Grain Commission, the team puts the necessary time into each of its worthy endeavors to understand the history behind them. Moreover, as part of this commitment to tradition, ingredients are never secondary. Instead they’re the main characters, yielding baked goods that tell authentic, intersecting stories of regional foodways. Whether by sourcing locally grown and produced ingredients, or by milling their own flours (from locally sourced grains), the Bakehouse team makes every effort to reroot their baking in the cultures and regions that have too often been forgotten, set aside, or abused in the name of innovation or modernization.
Just as the Bakehouse team members make every effort to educate themselves, they also strive to teach their customers and would-be devotees. Bake! is the Bakehouse’s hands-on teaching bakery, and the site of dozens of different baking classes.
There is also a Zingerman’s Bakehouse cookbook — with 65 recipes of the Bakehouse’s most popular recipes — as well as several smaller thematic cookbooklets that share more of the recipes that make Zingerman’s iconic. That’s not to mention their blog with several dozen recipes, various tips and techniques, and lots to learn about the people and places, and of course the food, that make Zingerman’s the remarkably special place that it is. Plus — and I am beyond overjoyed to share this with you — on October 3, 2023 there will be a new Zingerman’s cookbook to check out: Zingerman’s Bakehouse Celebrate Everyday.
The Bakehouse cookbook gets a lot of use in my kitchen. The pie dough recipe is a personal favorite simply because it results in the best pie crust I have ever tasted. I’m also a big fan of the bagels and various iterations of brownie (page 70). But there’s really no way you could go wrong with a Zingerman’s recipe.
If you need convincing though, Amy very kindly shared a recipe with me that should be just what you need to celebrate (or ignore) a certain chocolate-oriented holiday next week. These cookies epitomize the full-flavor experience that Zingerman’s successfully achieves with each and every one of their recipes and products. Coated in coconut and stuffed with dulce de leche, they’re a one (or maybe two) bite indulgence that you won’t soon forget. And I hope they’re all the encouragement you need to explore all that Zingerman’s Bakehouse (and the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses) has to offer.
Cocoa Caramel Bites
By Amy Emberling
Makes about 2 dozen cookies Ingredients - 1/4 cup (56g) butter, room temperature - 3/4 cup (141g) granulated sugar - 1 large egg yolk, room temperature - 2 tablespoons (28g) whole milk, room temperature - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 1 cup (141g) all-purpose flour - 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoons (36g) Cocoa powder grams - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt - 1/2 cup (152g) dulce de leche - 1 egg white, room temperature - 1 cup (85g) sweetened shredded coconut Directions Heat oven to 350°F. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until creamy. Add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and mix until just combined. Using a 1/2-ounce scoop or small spoon, portion the dough and roll into 1 1/4"-diameter balls, using your hands. Gently press an indentation in each dough ball, turning it into a deep bowl shape. Using a pastry bag and plain circular tip, or a zip-top bag with a tiny corner cut off, pipe 1/4 teaspoon of dulce de leche into each indentation (see tip below). Carefully enclose the dough around the filling and pinch back together into a ball shape. In 2 separate bowls, place the egg white in one and the shredded coconut in the other. Whip the egg white until frothy with a whisk or fork. Roll each dough ball first in the egg white, then in the coconut flakes. Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, evenly spaced about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until edges feel lightly set, they’ll firm up as they cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bring to room temperature before enjoying. Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 2 months and thawed overnight in the refrigerator. Tip! How to use a pastry bag: Cut off the tip of the bag and place the chosen tip in the bottom, making sure it fits snugly, and allowing 1/3 of the tip to poke out. Hold the bag in your non-dominant hand and fold about one-third of it down over your hand. Fill the bag with your dominant hand, then twist the top of the bag closed to create pressure, pushing the dulce de leche to the tip and squeezing out any extra air. You’ll hold and squeeze from the top of the bag with your dominant hand, while your non-dominant hand holds the cookie.
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Best,
Charlotte