As a chef my formal training is in therapeutic cooking and healing illness through food. As a baker, my background is more mixed... I grew up baking boxed cakes and Mrs. Fields cookies, graduated to flourless chocolate torte and spice cakes (a family favorite), and then promptly moved on to whole wheat muffins and quick breads. After my whole wheat craze, I took a sharp turn toward alternative baking: vegan, dairy-free, and/or gluten-free goods. Ironically, as life often is, at this point I also did a 6 month stint baking for a local soul food restaurant, making sweet potato pies, buttermilk biscuits, and.....super sweet sticky buns.
Now, part of what I love about baking is the comfort-food factor and the sheer joy people get from handmade treats. But the other piece of my culinary puzzle is nourishing people with nutrient dense and healing foods. Sticky buns posed quite a moral dilemna for me...on one hand, people loved them and the artisan process of rolling out yeast dough made my little baker's heart sing. BUT, I couldn't reconcile using corn syrup and white flour. Its true, I could've attempted some kind of confectionary makeover, but the boss wasn't looking for healthy treats. People wanted sticky buns, hold the agave and whole grain flours please. So, I rolled the dough and painted the butter and sprinkled the sugar. Now, sticky buns are just a sticky memory for me.
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