Flaky Pie Dough Four Ways

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Our Flaky Pie Dough is the most frequently prepared recipe in our pastry department—and has been since the day we opened our doors in Belltown in 1993! The dough is perfect for so many kinds of baking, from savory quiche to double-crusted pies to classic tarts.Now, for the first time, we are selling our Flaky Pie Dough in our cafés. The dough is frozen in discs and sold in a two-pack. Each 12 oz. disc rolls out to make a ten-inch tart or a nine-inch pie shell. Or you can use the two discs together to create a double-crusted pie.

Your imagination is the limit for what you can make with our Flaky Pie Dough. To get you started, we’ve included three inspiring suggestions and one of our favorite new recipes with an accompanying video of Leslie showing you how to make it.

Stop by one of our cafés and grab a few of these. When inspiration strikes, you’ll appreciate the time-saving benefits of having these at the ready.Banana Nutella Hand Pies: With our pie dough, simple hand-pies are as easy to make as the filling inside. Start with the mouthwatering combination of bananas and Nutella (what could be easier?) and work your way up through your favorite sweet and savory combinations. Simply roll the dough out and cut 5-inch circles. Add your filling, fold the dough over, and crimp the edges. Bake at 400°F for 20–25 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Savory Galette with Butternut squash, Roasted Pear and Gorgonzola: Shortly after opening, Leslie introduced savory free-form folded tarts or galettes, and they quickly became customer favorites. This galette is a seasonal adaptation of the one on page 203 of our first cookbook. With the pie dough already made, it’s easy to turn out an elegant lunch. Or cut the galette into small slices and serve it as an appetizer.Harvest Pie: This winter pie is one Leslie serves at her home alongside pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. It’s also one of our most requested recipes. Our Flaky Pie Crust forms the bottom crust and the top is an almond streusel. You’ll find the recipe in our first cookbook on page 249.

Macrina’s Holiday Tart: With our frozen pie dough, this festive tart is a breeze to make. It’s both beautiful to look at and makes a refreshingly delicious end to a holiday meal. The tart cranberries find balance in the sweet filling and pecans add texture and flavor. Orange zest and a dash of brandy give it some zing. Find the video tutorial below!

Ingredients:
Makes one 10” tart

One 12 oz. disc of Macrina Pie Dough

1 cup chopped pecans, roasted

3 eggs

⅔ cups light brown sugar

⅔ cups corn syrup

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

2 tsp orange zest

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp brandy

1½ cups fresh cranberries

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

Thaw 1 disc of Macrina pie dough for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. On a floured work surface, roll dough into a 14-inch circle that’s about an eighth-inch thick.

Fold dough in half and lift on to a 10-inch fluted tart pan. Drop dough into pan and flatten at base of pan and edges. With the remaining overhang, fold into the pan to create an edge that stands a half-inch above the top of the pan. With your hand, smooth the crust edge to a consistent thickness. Chill for 30 minutes in freezer.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill it with baking weights or beans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the base appears dry. Remove the beans and let the shell cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Place the baked shell on a rimmed baking sheet. Add the pecans and cranberries to the tart shell and spread them so they’re evenly distributed.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, orange zest, salt and brandy together until well combined. Pour the mixture over the pecans and cranberries. Place the tart in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. When done, the center of the tart will be set and golden brown.

Let cool for 30 minutes. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Macrina’s New Take & Bake Lasagna and Garlic Bread

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Dating back to Roman times, lasagna is the best-known baked Italian pasta. A great many variations exist, from the heavy cheese bomb of the college cafeteria to versions with béchamel in place of mozzarella.

We developed a Neapolitan-style lasagna with a distinctive Macrina flair. With the fall and winter nights in mind, we focused on the classic comfort casserole of thin lasagna noodles, an Italian sausage ragù, mozzarella, fontina, and parmesan and fresh herbs. Macrina bread crumbs thicken the sauce. Our secret ingredient is time: a long-simmered sauce so the meat tenderizes and the flavors meld, and the laborious process of carefully layering all the elements.

Because we’ve done the work, your job is simple: Pop it in the oven for an hour and eat.

And since a classic lasagna isn’t the same without a savory loaf of garlic bread with which to mop up the sauce, we’ve got that too. We spread our batard loaf liberally with our made-in-house garlic butter and topped with parmesan and herbs. All you need to do is bake it with the lasagna for the last ten to fifteen minutes until the cheese is golden at the edges, and they’ll both emerge ready to eat at the same time. (Or get a second to enjoy as an appetizer.)

Throw a salad together, open a full-bodied red wine, and mangia!

A Granola Worth Celebrating

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Granola, according to Wikipedia, was invented in 1863 by Dr. James Caleb Jackson as a food to serve at a health spa in New York. A century later, granola became a staple of the hippy culture in the 1960s and then went mainstream in the 1970s when the Quaker Oats Company, General Mills, and Kellogg’s got involved.

For most of us today, granola is a commodity—a cereal, sometimes dessert-like sweet, modestly healthy, to be eaten for breakfast or while hiking. Most commercial granola is highly flavored and fatty and often overly sweet, a far cry from Dr. Jackson’s original health food.

At Macrina, we sought to create a granola that matched our desires: healthy, energy-rich, flavorful, tasty enough to eat by the handful, and crunchy. Of course, rolled oats would be part of it, but there were so many other whole grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruits to consider. And so many oils to choose from! At our test kitchen, we assembled a grand array of quality choices and started experimenting. We kept at it: adding, then subtracting, then adding again. Baking longer at lower temperatures, then baking hotter and quicker.

Finally, we settled on a recipe we’re proud to call our own. It’s loaded with thick-cut golden oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, quinoa, pecans and dried tart and sweet cherries. Brown sugar and maple syrup add a subtle sweetness. Extra virgin olive oil and cinnamon and just enough salt add depth of flavor. It’s perfectly crunchy and addictive enough that you have to be careful when you start to eat it by the handful, but it’s not overly sweet. We even think Dr. Jackson would be as proud to serve it at his health spa as we are at the café. We recommend it on yogurt or with milk and topped with whatever fresh fruit is in season. You’ll find it in our cafés, both ready to eat and packaged in a 12 oz. heat-sealed pouch.

November Recipe of the Month – Ricotta Gnocchi with Kale & Walnuts

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Ricotta gnocchi are just as Italian as their potato cousins, but they’re easier to make, lighter and melt in your mouth. Making perfect gnocchi takes a little practice, but even imperfectly shaped, they boil into delicate, fluffy pillows. The kale and garlic sauce with Parmesan, cream and roasted walnuts is full of flavor and textures that contrast nicely with the almost ethereal ricotta gnocchi. We use corn in this recipe, but it’s endlessly adaptable to the season. Try fresh tomato in the summer or roasted delicata squash in the winter. We designed the recipe as a first course, but it’s wonderful as an entrée.

– Leslie Mackie

Ingredients:
Serves 5 as an appetizer, 2 as an entrée

1 cup ricotta, part-skim, drained overnight in cheesecloth
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp semolina flour
½ cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1¼ cups walnuts, divided
20 leaves of kale (approx. 10 cups when chopped)
2½ cups corn, or seasonal vegetable (cut into ½-inch cubes)
3 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped, divided
¼ cup + 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
¼ cup shallots, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups heavy cream
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp fresh thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place ricotta, lemon zest, salt and egg in a medium bowl. Whisk until blended. In a separate bowl, combine semolina and all-purpose flours. Sprinkle a quarter of the flour blend over the ricotta mix and use a spoon to incorporate. Add the remaining flour in 3 increments. As the mixture begins to resemble a dough, transfer it to a clean cutting board and gently knead into a ball. When the dough ball holds its shape, let it rest for 3 minutes.

Place ricotta, lemon zest, salt and egg in a medium bowl. Whisk until blended. In a separate bowl, combine semolina and all-purpose flours. Sprinkle a quarter of the flour blend over the ricotta mix and use a spoon to incorporate. Add the remaining flour in 3 increments. As the mixture begins to resemble a dough, transfer it to a clean cutting board and gently knead into a ball. When the dough ball holds its shape, let it rest for 3 minutes.
Set the ball on a floured surface and cut it in half. Roll each half into a 1-inch by 18-inch log. Dust the surface with additional flour if the dough is sticking. Cut each log into ½-inch pieces. Dust your knife with flour if it sticks when you cut.

Using a fork, slightly flatten the gnocchi, leaving little ridges. For a rustic look, gently fold the top over onto itself. Don’t stress about making your gnocchi look perfect. They will puff when boiled. The most important thing is a uniform size. Place the formed gnocchi on a rimmed baking sheet, spaced so they’re not touching. (If preparing gnocchi in advance, freeze gnocchi on the baking sheet, then store them frozen in a zip lock bag. You can boil them straight from the freezer.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 5 to 8 minutes until golden brown. Coarsely chop and set aside.

Clean kale and trim excess stems. Stack the leaves into a pile, fold in half and cut into ½-inch segments. Set aside.

Place a large sauté pan over medium heat and add ¼ cup olive oil. Add the kale and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. When wilted, add the corn and cook for another 2 minutes. Add 5 tsp of garlic and sauté until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the warm vegetables between 5 plates.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi to boiling water and reduce heat slightly to a slow boil. Once the gnocchi rise to the surface (2 to 3 minutes), turn off the heat and allow them to cook for another 2 minutes. Don’t overcook.

While the gnocchi cook, add the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the sauté pan. Increase heat to medium and add shallots. Sauté for 1 minute, then toss in remaining garlic and cook for another minute. Deglaze with white wine and reduce by three-fourths, then add the cream and 1 cup of walnuts. Let simmer for 2 minutes, then add Parmesan cheese and stir until it melts into the cream.

Using a slotted spoon, add the cooked gnocchi and swirl to coat in the sauce. (If the sauce is too thick, add a touch of the salted gnocchi water to thin). Add salt and pepper if needed. Dish gnocchi over the vegetables. Garnish with the remaining chopped walnuts and fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

New Flavor Alert: The Everything Bagel 

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In May, after years of development, we introduced Macrina’s Organic MadRy Sourdough Bagels to great acclaim. Now, to the four original flavors—Plain, Sesame, Poppy, Sea Salt—we’re adding the Everything Bagel. We coat our Everything Bagel, top and bottom, with a mix of white and black sesame seeds, blue poppy seeds, salt, fresh garlic and onion. Most producers use dehydrated onion and garlic flakes, but we were determined to use fresh ingredients.

 “We had a tough time initially with the chopped garlic burning, but after much trial and error came up with a great result,” says Leslie Mackie, Macrina’s founder.

“The well-balanced taste of garlic and onion melds nicely and doesn’t overpower the flavor from the seeds and sourdough,” says Blake Gehringer, Macrina’s Production Manager.

Our MadRy Organic Sourdough Bagels are hand-rolled, given a slow, cool 24-hour ferment, and have just a hint of rye, which adds to their depth of flavor. The caramelized crust has a glossy sheen and the airy interior has a tight, springy crumb that balances the mild tang of sourdough with just enough malty sweetness.

All of our ingredients come from the PNW:

•      The organic high-protein flour comes from just north of the border.

•      The organic barley malt powder comes from Skagit Valley Malting.

•      The organic rye flour comes from Fairhaven Mill in nearby Burlington.

We start with a significant percentage of organic sourdough starter and a smidge of yeast. After an initial rise, we handroll the bagels and give them a full day’s cool ferment. The depth of flavor you’ll taste in these bagels comes from the natural leavening and that hint of rye.  The whiff of sourdough you get when you tear one open comes from the starter. We were careful not to let the flavor dominate but wanted it to be distinctive. “It should make sense when you taste the bagel that the name has sourdough in it,” says Scott France, Macrina’s President and Co-owner, and the driving force behind these bagels. “But if you tasted the bagel without knowing the name, someone intimately familiar with sourdoughs would recognize it, but if you didn’t, you might wonder just what that mild tang was.”

The bagels are available individually or as four-packs.

New To-Go Soup

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With sweater weather fast upon us, it’s time to cozy up with a bowl of soup. Not only have we resumed selling it at our cafés, but we’re also introducing a line of favorite Macrina soups packaged for you to take home to heat and serve.

 

“I love a bowl of soup on a crisp fall evening,” says Leslie Mackie, Macrina’s founder. “The simplicity of soup on those early, dark nights, and the aroma that fills the house as it’s heating, is soul-satisfying. And there’s nothing better than dipping a buttered slice of crusty bread in soup.”

Our first two are Tomato Bisque and Chicken & Vegetable. They come in 32 oz. containers, which is enough to serve four. Add a salad and a loaf of crusty bread and you’ve got dinner.

The Tomato Bisque is silky smooth and gets its deep, rich flavor from ripe tomatoes, roasted red peppers, fennel, rosemary, and thyme. The soup is thickened with rice and gets its velvety texture from being pureed with olive oil and cream. Perfectly paired with our grilled cheese sandwich.

The Chicken & Vegetable is our version of the classic hearty soup. It’s loaded with chicken and chopped vegetables in a fragrant vegetable stock seasoned with rosemary, thyme, and garlic.

Stop in one of our cafés to grab a healthy soup and a loaf of your favorite bread. Also available for delivery through DoorDash.

Project Barnstorm: Plum Conserves

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On Leslie’s Vashon Island farm, there is one very productive Italian plum tree. The blue plums have a sweet yellow flesh that is ideal for an unforgettable fruit conserve. For those of you not yet familiar with Project Barnstorm, Leslie’s new line of fruit spreads, it’s a tasty celebration of the seasons. By picking the fruit at its peak, or buying it straight from some of the best local farmers, the fruit spreads capture the natural essence of the fruit. Leslie’s fruit spreads have less sugar than jam, allowing the ripe fruit’s natural sweetness to shine through. Opening a jar at any time of year brings summer right back.

Leslie’s Plum Conserves get a lovely dimension of flavor from just a hint of fresh rosemary. The Plum Conserves are delicious on a cornetto or yogurt fruit bowl or served as a dollop with roast chicken or pork loin.

While it may be tempting to open the jar right away, you may want to add it to your larder. Larder is a little-used term these days, but most houses built in pre-refrigeration days had one. Usually built on the north side of the house, close to the ground with a mesh window to allow air to circulate, larders were food storehouses. Because they weren’t cold like a refrigerator, much of the summer harvest was cooked and stored in sealed jars. With freezers and refrigerators, it sometimes seems that food changed from something we make to something we buy. We lost something essential in the transition. While you might not be doing the growing and jarring yourself, bolding a larder containing farm-fresh specialties will connect you to the land all winter long. There’s a special joy that comes from pulling a favorite treat from your larder and dressing up your meal with the sweet flavors of summer.

At our cafés, we have served this conserve on a Ricotta-Stuffed Brioche French Toast and have used it on a Rosemary Ham & Brie Sandwich. For the holidays, we love to serve it with Dinah’s Cheese from Vashon Island or Cambozola Black Label with our Sardinian Flat Bread. Or keep it simple and dress up a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a dollop of Plum Conserves and a few roasted almonds for crunch. This very versatile condiment will be hard to keep in your larder for long, but you won’t be sorry.

Plum Bistro: Redefining Vegan Food 

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Makini Howell makes incredible plant-based food. For her, eating vegan comes naturally. Not only was she raised in a vegan family, but her family has been in the food business for over 40 years. “It was my mom that started our company,” Makini says. “She still has a restaurant in Tacoma, and my sister actually makes the cookies for Plum.”

Plum Bistro, on 12th Avenue on Seattle’s Capitol Hill in the lively Pike/Pine corridor, is an airy, contemporary space. In pre-Covid times, first-rate servers delivered beautiful plates of food to a bustling room of diners. A glance at a stylishly arranged plate of Makini’s seared spiced tofu with fried avocado, greens, chile powder, and black bean puree, and you might think it was topped with a piece of grilled halibut. But Makini isn’t trying to replace animal proteins in any way. In the introduction to her cookbook she says, “I’m really not trying to replace anything because I don’t feel…like I’m missing anything. I’m just using other sources of protein.”

This approach has won her legions of fans in Seattle and beyond—in 2019, The New York Times recognized her as one of 16 Black chefs changing food in America. Her creative, healthy approach to food and consistently beautiful dishes have led to a steadily growing vegan food empire in Seattle.

Of course, for now, Covid has forced some closures. “We’ve had to close down our Sugar Plum, our food truck, and our Seattle Center store,” Makini says.

Fortunately, Plum Bistro and Plum Chopped (a fast-casual walkup counter next to Plum Bistro featuring hearty salads) are open for dining and takeout, with dining capacity at 50 percent. “We do a lot of family meals now, they’re affordable and conscious of the fact that a lot of people are out of work,” Makini says.

For health reasons or environmental ones, a growing number of people have started eating plant-based diets. Makini, who can make carnivores forget there’s no meat in the food, has been a significant influence. And despite the many accolades she’s received, and the many loyal fans she has throughout the city, she continues to challenge herself in the kitchen. In the introduction to her cookbook, she explains, “This idea of changing the way you taste pushes us to experiment and recraft, to look at our dishes from outside the box and try to make them even tastier, more indulgent, and more vibrant.”

Drop into Plum Bistro or Plum Chopped, or order takeout. They need your support to get through this unprecedented challenge, and our

October Recipe of the Month – Autumn Roast Chicken with Quince & Apple Cider

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The aroma of roasting chicken with the deliciously fragrant, pear apple smell of baking quince will warm your heart on a crisp, fall evening. The combination of allspice, cinnamon and chimichurri spice with the fruitiness of the apple cider adds complexity to the caramelized onions, carrots and quince. The pan drippings make the perfect au jus sauce. I recommend serving this autumnal dinner with basmati rice and a kale Caesar salad!

– Leslie Mackie

Ingredients:
Serves 4

Marinade:
1½ cups unfiltered apple cider
¼ cup white wine
2 tsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground allspice
1½ tsp ground chimichurri spice

Roast Chicken:
2 lbs organic chicken, back removed and cut into 8 pieces
1 yellow onion, peeled, cut in half and then in 1-inch wedges
3 quinces, core removed and cut into ½-inch slices*
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
¼ cup olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped

*Cutting raw quince is difficult. A quince resembles an apple, but it’s much firmer. Using a sharp chef’s knife, I make the first cut straight down, just to the side of the core. Then I turn the cut side down and repeat until I’m left with a 1½-inch square (the core). I then cut the pieces into ½-inch slices. They will oxidize and brown, so tossing them with the marinade soon a er they are cut will help prevent that. However, they brown as they cook, so a little oxidation won’t show.

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine the apple cider, white wine, garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, cinnamon, allspice and chimichurri spice. Warm over medium heat for 3 minutes and let cool. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade to later toss with the onion, quince and carrot.

Place the cut chicken pieces into a medium bowl and cover with the cooled marinade. Press the chicken pieces down until they are all submerged. Cover with plastic and allow the chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. In a separate bowl, toss the reserved marinade with the onion wedges, quince and carrots. Refrigerate until ready to roast the chicken.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Prepare a large baking dish (a 13 x 9-inch lasagna pan works well) by brushing the sides and bottom with 2 Tbsp olive oil.

Place the chicken into the pan, skin side up in a single layer. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil to the marinated vegetables and toss, then add them to the baking dish, tucking them in gaps to create a single layer for even cooking and browning. Pour any remaining marinade over the top.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the chicken is browned and cooked to your liking (chicken should reach 165°F).

Remove dish from oven and transfer the chicken and the caramelized vegetables to your serving dish. Pour the juices remaining in the pan over the chicken and garnish with chopped parsley.

Printable PDF here.

Meet Eric Holstad: Reporting and Systems Manager

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“It’s very inspirational to see the passion for the products and to see how well everyone works together here,” says Eric Holstad, Macrina Bakery’s Reporting and Systems Manager. In his role, he deals with every facet of Macrina’s operations from the executive team and sales to production and delivery.

Eric is a natural when it comes to understanding technology and ensuring that it works for everyone else. He manages the software that powers our wholesale operation and prepares key reports that our leadership team can use to optimize our performance. Eric’s analytical skills mesh well with those of Macrina’s President, Scott France. “I really appreciate Scott’s critical thinking skills and the logical thought process behind how he does things,” Eric says.

Another reason Eric is a treasured colleague is that when you have a computer or server issue in the office, he is the magician who makes the problem vanish.

Before coming to Macrina full-time in 2019, Eric worked for Pagliacci Pizza for 17 years. He started in the stores, rising to a general manager before being recruited to the office where his computer skills and attention to detail were needed.

“I love working with Leslie,” Eric says. “Her enthusiasm brings everyone along and gets you pumped about what we’re doing and where we’re going next. And our production and delivery crew is very diverse, much more so than any job I’ve had before, and I think that’s great. It exposes me to new cultures and new kinds of people. I appreciate having that in my life.”

Outside of work, one could define Eric by three deep passions: music, computers and food. He enjoys listening to music and collecting vinyl records of his favorites. “I’m a fan of music in general,” he says. “There’s no genre I wouldn’t listen to. I’m very open when it comes to experiencing music.” When he has time, he plays the bass guitar. But time is limited these days by a relatively new addition to his life: a young daughter. “It’s such a life-changing event to have a child,” he says.