In search of the bakery items of my childhood

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY in the 50's . From my earliest memories there was always wonderful bread, (rye, pumpernick or corned rye) on the table. I didn't know anything about fluffy Wonder Bread until I started  school. When our third grade class toured the Wonder Bread factory it ended with each of us receiving an adorable mini loaf, complete with mini-wrapper, to take home.

Those were the days when kids went home for lunch in elementary school. I brought my still warm mini-loaf home and marveled as I slathered peanut butter on a slice and it melted. For me, a kid whose mother only used the oven cavity to store pots & pans, it was a miracle. I had never experienced hot bread before and when the peanut butter melted, I was both surprised and fascinated. Who would have dreamt that half a century later I would become a self-taught baker operating a bakery/cafe.

This blog is a throw-back to that kid. The one whose early years were filled with chewy rye bread, crunchy  onion pletsel slathered in butter and fresh bialys embracing cream cheese & lox. When I was lucky, my father brought home a chunk of seven-layer cake. I admired its architecture on par with Frank Lloyd Wright viewing Fallingwater.

With the October 15, 2011 publication of "Inside the Jewish Bakery" by Stan Ginsberg & Norm Berg, I plan to re-create the unique bakery items I fondly remember. I've joined an international  group of amateur bakers who subscribe to thefreshloaf.com, where the book first took root. We are planning to bake our way through the book, one recipe per week, and compare our results. For myself, I want to taste all of the delicious items I always saw on the other side of the bakery counter. I suspect some memories may be triggered along the way too. 

Anna (who has worked with me since she was 13) & I will be baking partners on this journey. By joining us through this blog you'll have an opportunity to learn, comment and share ideas & memories. The actual recipes will not be published; for that you'll have to buy the book, which I highly recommend.

The following week we'll bake our final version of the recipe. If you're local and would like to taste the results of that week's bake, you can pre-order some. Details to follow. Our journey begins at the beginning of December 2011.