A Visit to The Bread Lab

One of the most exciting innovations at Macrina in recent years is our focus on the flour we use in our naturally leavened breads. The central resource in our search for the most flavorful and nutritious wheat is the nationally renowned Bread Lab, an extension of Washington State University. Located an hour north of Seattle in Skagit Valley, Bread Lab is run by Dr. Steven Jones. He is devoted to bringing grain agriculture back to our region. A hundred years ago, fields of grains filled the Skagit Valley, but as industrial wheat brought the commodity price down, farmers shifted to more valuable crops. Commodity flour—the inert, shelf-stable white flour were all familiar with—became commonplace throughout America early in the 20th century. The shift away from regional wheat and local stone-ground milling resulted from the roller mill, an industrial method that produced a more uniform shelf-stable flour at less cost. Growers bred wheat for the new mills. Yield, not flavor, was the key metric. As a result, our nations wheat crops were rapidly homogenized. Community flour mills that once processed locally-grown wheat—there had once been more than 2,000 throughout the country—mostly vanished. Wheat, once cultivated into various strains that thrived in the particular microclimate, was reduced to a handful of hard red winter wheat strains. In the name of efficiency, most farmers abandoned the flavorful and nutritious strains of wheat and grew what fetched the highest price. America got cheap flour and Wonder Bread. The rise of artisan bread in America that started in the 1980s challenged the dominance of the ubiquitous pre-packaged supermarket loaf. More recently, the popularity of home bread baking and sourdough starters is a turn back to the days when many homemade loaves were common. This pre-industrialized turn is reflected in a new generation of farmers and artisan millers interested in a tastier, healthier, and more sustainable approach to growing and milling wheat locally. Many of them, like us, turn to Dr. Jones. Macrina has partnered with the Bread Lab for years, uses locally-grown and milled wheat developed by the Bread Lab, and Leslie Mackie, Macrinas founder, has been a member of their advisory board. Earlier this year, our leadership team visited to talk with Dr. Jones and his team of researchers. Dr. Jones is working on developing organic grain to plant in the fertile Skagit Valley,” Leslie said. The farmers produce huge amounts of potatoes, cabbage, and more and need a good rotation crop to break disease cycles and to restore vital elements to the soil. The Bread Lab breeds grain for flavor, ease of growing in our region without chemicals, great performance for bakers like us, and great yield so farmers get a fair value for their work. Dr. Jones also intends to make the grain accessible to everyone, not just high-end bakeries. Thats supporting our local economy on all levels.” Macrina pledged our continued support for Bread Lab through their Bread Collective program. Participating bakeries make a sliced loaf that uses at least sixty percent whole wheat flour, is made with only seven ingredients (no chemicals, only real food) and is sold for six dollars or less. Our Organic Whole Wheat Loaf, sold in our cafes and grocery stores, is our Bread Collective contribution. A portion of the sales of this loaf helps the Bread Lab in its mission to bring together a community of people across the wheat ecosystem, from bakers to brewers, to experiment with the flavor, nutrition, and functionality of wheat. After a delicious lunch prepared by the Bread Lab team of whole-grain pizza and a salad of local greens and pickled Skagit vegetables, we returned more inspired than ever to continue to innovate with the locally-grown hybrid heirloom strains of wheat developed by Dr. Jones. Its an exciting time to be baking bread! 

All photos courtesy of @WSU_Bread_Lab Instagram. 

Macrina for the Holidays 

De-stress your holiday gatherings by letting Macrina handle the baking. Whether it’s a holiday dinner or brunch, appetizers or desserts, we’ve got you covered. 

Great food and holidays go hand-in-hand. So does stress. You want fresh handmade baked goods, but don’t have time to do all the baking, cleaning, organizing, and decorating. For over twenty years, we’ve helped people gather around the table for fun, memorable meals. Whether it’s a holiday dinner, a festive brunch, appetizers, or desserts, we’ve got beautiful, great tasting items that will please your guests. We make it easy to serve a perfect meal and still have plenty of time to spend with family and friends.

Holiday Dinners 

Holiday Porcini Stuffing Mix, Roll Trays (Porcini Harvest, Buttermilk, Rustic Potato), Raisin Pumpernickel Loaf

Brunch 

Winter Pear Crown, Holiday Quiche, Holiday Brie, Cinnamon Roll Tray, Pecan Sticky Buns, Mini Squash Harvest Loaf, Pumpkin Muffin, Cranberry Apricot Nut Loaf, Panettone, Chocolate Pecan Babka

Appetizers 

Crostini, Holiday Brie, Smoked Trout Spread, Roasted Artichoke Spread, Fig and Olive Tapenade, Sweet and Spicy Nuts

Desserts 

Maple Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Pie, Brandied Orange Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Eggnog Cheesecake, Mini Gingerbread Spice Cup, Brown Sugar Shortbread, Chocolate Yule Log, Gingerbread Cookies, German Chocolate Cake, Mocha Almond Torte, Mini Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Cake

Order online for pick-up at one of our cafes! Orders must be placed by noon, two days in advance. Pickup available at the café of your choice.

Pecan Sticky Buns

Perhaps no pastry requires more napkins or inspires cravings more than homemade pecan sticky buns. They’re warm, gooey and soft in all the right places—and absolutely delicious.

After years of customer requests, we’re launching our own based on Leslie’s recipe for her homemade brunch favorite. We make them by layering our slightly sweet and pillowy brioche dough with toasted pecans and cinnamon sugar, tightly rolling it, then baking it upside down on a rich brown sugar and butter caramel with orange zest and vanilla. We invert the rolls while still warm, causing deep swirls of caramel to run through the bun leaving the pecans gooey and proud on top.

The silky not-too-sweet roll has a light, tender crumb that provides a divine contrast to the toffee-like caramel and crunch of toasted pecans.

The Pecan Sticky Buns are available individually in our retail cafés and as a four-pack. They are best served warm (5–8 minutes in a 325°F oven).

Shrimp & Crab Salad Lobster Roll Sandwich

Macrina’s Lobster Rolls are the perfect bun for a summer seafood sandwich or grilled sausage with caramelized onions and peppers. No matter how you fill these rolls, the key is to butter and grill or sauté the sides to caramelize the bread and warm it through.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4 sandwiches

6 cups water
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, divided
1 lb frozen shrimp, 16–20 size, (deveined, shell on)
8 oz fresh crab meat, cooked
2 ribs celery, medium dice
2 tsp capers, chopped
3 tsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
3 tsp shallots, finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 Macrina Lobster Rolls
Butter

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan, add the water, salt and 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Add the frozen shrimp and bring back to a boil, cooking for 3–4 minutes or until the shrimp are just cooked through.

Strain the shrimp and transfer to a bowl. Quickly cover with ice cubes to stop the cooking process. Toss and let cool for 10 minutes.

Peel the shrimp and coarsely chop them in ½-inch pieces.

In a medium bowl, add the diced celery, capers, tarragon, shallots, remaining ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Mix well. Add the crab and chopped shrimp. Stir to combine.

Cut a pocket into the top of each Lobster Roll. Brush with butter and grill or pan sauté on both sides to caramelize the bread and warm it through. Put an equal portion of the shrimp and crab salad into the pocket of each roll. Serve with your favorite chips or green salad.

Enjoy!

Darker Crust, Exceptional Flavor

Flour, yeast, water, salt. That’s it. And yet, so many varieties of bread. We’ve been experimenting with these four essential ingredients—plus time, temperature and technique—ever since we first hung a Macrina Bakery sign over the door of our original bakery and café in Belltown in 1993. That’s a lot of loaves, a great many early mornings, a mountain of flour. The one constant: our desire to make great bread.

And that means never losing your sense of wonder over the marvel that is bread.

Increasingly, we’ve added wheat from local farmers. Cairnspring Mills in nearby Skagit Valley mills it to our specifications. We’ve spent some time exploring how hydration and fermentation impact different flours and have enjoyed the results of recent bread additions to our offerings. Beginning July 15, we will bake many of our loaves at a higher temperature. The deep caramelization of the crust adds a depth of flavor that you can’t get any other way. The higher oven temperature also produces a creamier crumb and a crackly crust. The moist interior also helps the bread keep better.

When Macrina Bakery first opened, we had a small four-door electric Bongard oven. Now we have much bigger ovens and many more loaves to bake. But Leslie Mackie, Macrina’s founder, and Head Baker Phuong Bui, who has been with us since that first year, still oversee every element of our production. It’s fun to see them so excited about a loaf of bread, the way the crust crackles when you break into it, the texture of the crumb, and what one can do with just four simple ingredients.

Now Serving: Rustic Ready-To-Bake Pizza

Our growing line of grab-and-go savory items has given our customers a quick and easy way to put healthy, flavorful meals together. Our newest item is a Rustic Ready-To-Bake Pizza. 

This is not your typical frozen pizza! We form the crisp and flavorful crust from our Giuseppe dough and top it with our house tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. 

Years ago, we offered a pizzetta in our cafés, and it was a customer favorite,” says Leslie. This is an adaptation from that, and Ive been really loving this new version,” says Leslie. We made it simple so you can dress it up with your favorite toppings at home. Lately, for me, its been prosciutto and roasted asparagus. But it’s also great just as it is.” 

The pizza bakes in 15–18 minutes, depending on how many toppings you add, and feeds two. 

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake Mix

These muffins will please all of your chocolate cake-loving friends, even the most discerning gourmand. We modeled the cake on our ever-popular Moms Chocolate Cake, a mainstay at Macrina almost from day one. The raspberry and cream filling in the center is what makes them unforgettable. 

Many years ago, when we started selling cupcakes, Leslie scooped out the centers and filled them with custard, fruit or lemon curd. The simple twist became a Macrina tradition. After baking these cupcakes, you scoop out a small cavity in the center of each and add raspberry jam, fresh raspberries and raspberry swirl whipped cream. Then you top them with a chocolate ganache frosting, crystal sugar, and fresh raspberries. Half the delight is waiting for your guests to find the whipped cream and raspberry center. 

Our kit includes slightly oversized cupcake molds that give them a unique shape, setting them apart not only in taste but also in appearance from their store-bought cousins.  

With the exception of whipping cream and fresh raspberries, the items you supply can be found in most kitchens. Our cupcake mix makes these elegant festive cupcakes easy to make. Theyre suitable for any celebration—dinner parties, birthdays, Valentines Day, Mothers Day, or just a rainy day treat. 

Enjoy! 

March Recipe of the Month: Corned Beef & Cabbage Slaw Breakfast Tartine

We make our challah bread in the European Jewish tradition. The braided loaf is enriched with egg, honey-sweetened and baked until the crust is firm and golden mahogany in color. The soft, tight crumb pulls apart easily.

Our challah is a customer favorite for French toast or enjoyed with butter and jam. This recipe uses thick slices, pan-toasted in butter, for an open-faced tartine sandwich. The tender, lightly sweet bread adds a complementary texture and flavor to the combination of corned beef, Swiss cheese, whole-grain mustard and a fresh cabbage slaw with carrots and pears.

-Leslie MackieIngredients:
Serves 4

¼ cup whole-grain mustard, divided
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2½ tsp apple cider vinegar
1½ tsp honey
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
½ head green cabbage (medium-size)
1 carrot, peeled
1 Bartlett pear
2 Tbsp Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 loaf Macrina Challah Bread
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
8 slices corned beef (approx. 6 oz)
4 slices Swiss cheese (approx. 4 oz)
8 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, place 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp whole-grain mustard, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar and honey. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

Remove the tough root of the cabbage by cutting a V-shaped wedge from the base. Lay the half cabbage on the cut side and cut it into ⅛-inch slices. Using the medium side of a grater, grate the carrot. Cut the pear in half, remove the core and grate the pear with the same grater. Add the cabbage, carrot, pear, parsley, salt and black pepper to the dressing. Toss to combine. Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

Cut the challah on the bias into eight 1-inch thick pieces.

In a large sauté pan, melt 3 Tbsp butter. Over medium-high heat, sauté the challah slices on both sides for 1 to 2 minutes until just browning. Place on the lined baking sheet. Divide the remaining whole-grain mustard between the slices and spread evenly. Top each with a slice of corned beef. Cut the cheese slices in half and place a piece on each tartine.

Bake the tartines for 3 to 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Place 2 tartines on each serving plate.

In a nonstick pan over medium heat, melt 2 tsp butter. When the butter is sizzling, sauté 2 eggs at a time, flipping when whites are set and cooking to your desired preference (over- easy, over-medium or over-hard). Salt and pepper to taste. Finish cooking the remaining eggs, adding more butter as needed. Top each tartine with 1 egg. Divide the cabbage slaw evenly across the 8 tartines.

You might consider serving these with a Guinness or your favorite craft beer in honor of the Irish. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Printable PDF of this recipe here.

To Make Great Banh Mi, Start with the Right Bread 

The Vietnamese Lunar New Year, or Tet, falls on February 12 this year. The day is a significant holiday at Macrina. Our head bakers, Phuong Hoang Bui and Thanh Huyen Dang, are Vietnamese, as are many of our bakers. Artisanal French and Italian traditions influence most of our bread, and the food in our cafes hews Mediterranean with a few American favorites thrown in, but an exception is our Bui Bun, made for banh mi, which was developed by Phuong with help from the bread team.

Banh Mi, the classic street-vendor Vietnamese sandwich, is one of the best comfort foods around. In Seattle, options abound, from traditional to hybrid. The one constant, in our favorites at least, is the right bread—fresh and airy, with the right mix of crackle, spring, and chew.

The baguette was introduced to Vietnam during French colonial rule in the early twentieth century. The earliest “banh mi” were straightforward, sometimes just a smear of butter and some ham or pâté, in the traditional Parisian fashion. But over time, both the bread and toppings evolved to become the unique, zesty Vietnamese sandwich that has claimed a spot in the global hall of culinary fame. Stacked with variations on satisfying fillings like cured and cooked pork, sliced ham, chicken liver pâté, green herbs, pickled vegetables, chili peppers, and spiced-up mayonnaise, the banh mi toppings are held together by a Vietnamese-style baguette or roll. The complex flavor of banh mi is a swirl of history, complementary and contrasting flavors, and a riot of textures—crunchy and tender—that make many other sandwiches seem boring in comparison.

For years, we served a bahn mi sandwich in the Macrina cafés on our Giuseppe Panini Baguette. We filled them with tofu, roast pork, chicken or flank steak, and classic banh mi toppings. It was good, but not quite right—we needed the right bread.

We turned to Phuong, who has been our head baker for over 20 years. Phuong started at Macrina as a dishwasher in early 1994, just after Macrina opened, and quickly proved himself to be a quick learner and skilled with bread in all its phases—dough, proofing, shaping, and baking.

“Phuong took the lead on developing an authentic banh mi bun, a product we’d later name after him,” says Leslie Mackie, Macrina’s founder. “He involved many of his fellow Vietnamese bakers at Macrina, bringing the whole bread production team together, including seeking out recipes from various cousins and parents, here and back in Vietnam. After months of testing, getting special pans, and testing it with our staff, customers, we launched our Bui Buns named after Phuong.”

The Bui Bun has a crisp crust and tender, airy crumb, just right for the perfect banh mi sandwich. Moreover, the bun, its creators, and the team-oriented approach symbolize one of our core values at Macrina: celebrating diversity.

To Phuong, Huyen, our fantastic crew, and everyone who celebrates the Lunar New Year, we wish you a year full of blessings and good fortune. Thank you for everything.

 

Macrina Gift Sets: Gift Ideas That Won’t Miss the Mark

You know that feeling when someone with the best intentions gives you a gift that you’ll never use? Even as you’re saying thank you, you know where you’ll put it—the shelf in the back of your closet with the other gifts waiting for your next white elephant gift exchange. As amusing as those are, you never want to see one a gift you’ve given be the subject of so much laughter.

With that in mind, we’ve designed two gift sets—one salty, one sweet—that you won’t miss the mark. In fact, we suspect they’ll be devoured before the new year!The Macrina Mug Gift Set features our new flower-design mug, ideal for coffee or tea, a pouch of our house-made Vanilla Sugar, and four of our Brown Sugar Shortbread Star Cookies.

The Macrina Artisan Appetizer Gift Set is an impromptu appetizer party in a box. It contains our Thin-cut Rye Crostini, a Mole Salami stick made by Coro, Apricot Conserves by Project Barnstorm, and Ritrovo’s Squashed Green Olives with Truffle. One of the crostini with a thin slice of salami and a dollop of the conserves is a salty-sweet combination that will send you to the moon. The tender green olives from Abruzzo, packed in olive oil with flecks of aromatic truffle, make the perfect salty chaser. All that’s missing is your favorite cocktail or glass of wine.The Macrina Mug Gift Set

• Macrina’s new flower-design coffee mug

• House-made Vanilla Sugar

• Four-Pack of Brown Sugar Shortbread Star Cookies

The Macrina Artisan Appetizer Gift Set

• Thin-cut Rye Crostini

• Coro Mole Salami Stick

• Project Barnstorm Apricot Conserves

• Squashed Green Olives with Truffle