Tuesday, September 29, 2009

BabyCakes: Just Good Enough?

Good enough? Just good enough? Wait a minute now, what about my manic trek from the West Village to their location at 248 Broome Street? What about the six visits I made in the last three weeks? Or how about that time I dropped by and one of the lovely bakers recounted each item I had purchased on my previous visit (I would have stopped her had my mouth not been full of scrumptious GF savory scone). And dear reader, what about the line item I added recently to my budget just for BabyCakes?

The "good enough" superlative is not simply a cheap hook for this blog entry, its a primary component of my personal food safety philosophy.

My roommate kindly introduced me to the bakery, and a quick glance at their website left me hopeful, but confused;

Although we are 100% vegan and offer numerous gluten free products, a few of our baked goods contain spelt flour. (Separate pans, trays, utensils, sinks and sponges are used for the spelt ingredient).

We do not bake with nuts; however, some of our vendors store nuts in the same facility as our chocolate products. Additionally, all of our gluten free flours are processed on equipment that packages hazelnut and almond flours.


Also, now that the FDA has certified coconuts as a tree nut (see my investigative reporting on that topic) BabyCakes cannot claim to bake without tree nuts.

Fabulous that Erin McKenna, the mastermind behind the deliciosity -and a fellow food allergy sufferer- has instilled such consistent, clear, and safe practices in her kitchen (and has so generously shared her recipes in her latest book). However, the mention of potential cross contamination between GF flour and tree nuts left me scratching my head.

The first time I dropped by, I verified that their Bob's Red Mill gluten free (GF) flours are processed on equipment that also processes nuts. Uncertain about this risk of cross contamination, I contacted Bob's Red Mill directly and received the following brilliant response from a representative:

[W]e do thoroughly clean in between each line of products we run, first with air pressure and then by running 25lbs of product through, discarding it and running the rest of the product through.

Well that's good enough for me. I gathered all the information I could, and felt comfortable that the practices at Bob's Red Mill and at BabyCakes would be consistent enough for my nut allergy-sensitive self. I'm going to take a stand and just urge everyone who is uncertain about a packaged or processed food item to contact as many parts of the supply chain as possible when assessing a product. Companies are surprisingly responsive- and the expanded options are well worth it!

And the baked goods that inspired my drooling, rabid pilgrimage?

Well, this establishment's menu is extensive and constantly reimagines baking Gluten Free, Soy Free, Casein Free, Egg Free, Vegan, Kosher, and Refined Sugar Free.

Everything I tasted: lemon, red velvet and boston creme cupcakes, savory and sweet biscuits, and donuts exceeded their mere-mortal counterparts.* McKenna's use of coconut oil, and agave, not to mention rice flour and a garbanzo/fava bean mix adds a complex, layered flavor to each winning goodie.

Did I say donuts? Yes, GF donuts. Every other day the brilliant bakers churn out lemon coconut, chocolate frosted, chocolate coconut, cinnamon sugar and raspberry filled. All I can say? Exquisite.

Sadly, my hands were much too sticky from cramming the goodies into my mouth to bother with a digital camera (see Kathy's review at Lunchbox Bunch for drool-worthy shots). You'll just have to try them yourself. Oh and they deliver. Did I mention they have gift cards?




*Well except for the iced pumpkin loaf I had today. Honestly though, it was perfectly moist with gobs of frosting. It really just needed more spice- and McKenna professes to be a reluctant seasonal baker. It's okay, I understand, I'm from the Middle East and I didn't know seasons existed until I moved to the states.


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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

New York Style Chicago Pizza/Chicago Style New York Pizza


August hiatus stretched into September hiatus and now we are smack into fall.

But never fear dear reader, The Allergenius traffics in nostalgia, and the end of summer is rife with remembrances of meals past. From the savory to the sweet, we'll be revisiting some old faves in the next couple of weeks. As the season's harvest shifts gears we'll be looking back through the rear view mirror at some summer highlights.

Speaking of traveling metaphors, when I was packing for my recent trip to Chicago I was faced with the age old dilemma: "Computer or CSA veggies?" Let's just say the only work I faced as I boarded the plane was pondering "what constitutes local food?"













The Park Slope Food Coop my personal mecca for all things local has this to say about "500 miles to local":
At the Coop, we define local as within 500 miles, because 500 miles is approximately a one-day-truck-drive away. Arugula picked at dawn on a Monday can be packed, trucked and on our shelves by 8:00 a.m. the next day. Our 500-mile radius stretches from Quebec to North Carolina, and from the Atlantic Coast to the middle of Ohio.

My locally sourced Russet Potatoes, Summer Squash and garlic were decidedly not local in Logan Square Chicago, eight hundred miles from my Brooklyn apartment.

Does this pizza, composed of exotic Long Island veggies constitute fusion cuisine? The perfect meld of two worlds: cloying Chicago deep dish and New York thin crust? Well, no. But it does offer the perfect allergen free blend of flavors.




The Allergenius Pizza (with variations)
*I used Bittman's recipe, and I'm still working on going GF with this one, but if you have a favorite GF crust, have at it!*

Ingredients
1/2 packet active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
2 TB plus 1 tsp. olive oil
Semolina flour as needed
Pinch of sugar

** I added 2 TB chopped rosemary and 3 sliced garlic cloves

Method
Activate the yeast using about a 1/2 cup warm water and the pinch of sugar. Add together and let sit until bubbles form

Combine the yeast, flour and 2 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Begin mixing and add the remaining 1/2 cup water and olive oil. Continue mixing until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky. If it is too dry, add water a very little at a time until it acquires the desired consistency.

Turn the dough onto a work surface floured with the semolina and knead a few seconds. grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it. Add Rosemary and Garlic Cloves. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

For Toppings (and baking the Pizza)
I was recently tapped for GERD by my GI doctor and challenged myself to make a group of toppings that would cohere without tomato sauce, the following is what I came up with, not all are allergy free (I held off on the cheese), but hopefully the flavor profile and balance of dry/roasted/saucy will inspire you to make your own creation!

Ingredients
Russet Potatoes, thinly sliced
Salt & Pepper
Lemon Sorrel, whole or roughly chopped
Olive oil
3-4 eggs, over easy (make these in the last five minutes of baking, so that they are nice and fresh and runny!)

Method

Turn the dough out onto your floured surface and (literally) punch it several times. Divide it into desired portions and roll into pizzas. Brush the dough with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper before adding the potato and goat cheese, and spread oil on the surface of the sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until crust browns.

Remove from oven, top with lemon sorrel and fried egg, serve immediately.


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