Favorite Seattle bakery

[Ling]

I searched quite a few sites for the pie crust recipe...all I came across are the coconut filling recipes for the Dahlia coconut pie. Maybe I should just add 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut to my pie crust recipe? (I use lard.)

Here is the ingredients list for the coconut pie shell. As you can see, a pretty typical pie crust recipe that uses all butter, 1/2 cup coconut and two tsp. sugar. When I make this pie, I use my own favorite pie crust recipe (the one that has some white vinegar in it) and merely add the coconut to it. I like my crust better.

1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut

into 1/2-inch dice

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup ice water, or more as needed

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Thanks! I might just add the sweetened coconut to my recipe, which includes lard, a beaten egg, and vinegar. I also use some sugar in my recipe, to boost flavour and add in browning.

[VibeGuy]

I'm as much of a fan of lard in pie crusts as anyone....but unless I've rendered my own, I think most of it is too "porky" for non-savory pies....

but....

What about using some palm kernel or coconut oil as the second non-butter fat?

Eric, Who Wishes He Did *NOT* Know About The Ham/Swiss Danish-thingie at Besalu

[tsquare]

Gelatiamo (3rd and Union) got a new pastry case and the items inside look like presents - large and small. Gelato cakes, chocolate mousse cups, semifredo...they have really grown as a specialty shop. All made on premises.

Edited December 19, 2005 by tsquare (log)

[kiliki]

Has anyone tried them? I haven't had pastries from Gelatiamo in a couple of years, but I wasn't impressed then.

[tsquare]

Has anyone tried them? I haven't had pastries from Gelatiamo in a couple of years, but I wasn't impressed then.

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I have tried many. They don't make me crave pastry (thankfully since they are too close), but they do a good job with cookies and tarts, and breakfast pastry. And gelato - they have the caldo right now, which I am not greatly fond of, but might strike a chord for some - kind of mousse like, not so cold. They also are baking panettone. I like the small cookies best. Some just melt in your mouth. These are Italian, not French or American type sweets.

[Ling]

I am in Seattle again tomorrow! I might stop by Essential Baking Company, as I loved the bread they served at Union. (It had a very crunchy crust--much better than any of the bread I can get in Vancouver.)

Looking forward to trying their pastries...any favourites?

[Abra]

Whoa, that was quick! If you're taking bread home, I love the Rosemary Diamante, the Walnut boule, and the La Scala semolina with sesame. I've never had any of their pastries. Sorry, heresy, I know.

[Ling]

^I am just stopping by en route to my trip tp San Fran!

I am doing a croissant-run tomorrow instead. Hope to hit up Cafe Besalu, Le Panier, and some other bakeries for a comparison.

[little ms foodie]

Besalu is just down the road from our house and it is the best!!

Grand Central in Pioneer Square would also make a good stop for comparison round ups!

[skyflyer3]

Ling - Do try to hit Sweet and Savory in Mount Baker:

http://seattlebonvivant.typepad.com/seattl.../post.html#more

I'm in love with this place, it's so good. The owner has done pastry for 20 years, studied in Paris. I would hit Columbia City Bakery, too, but I like Sweet and Savory better, now.

Are you going to stop in Portland, too? If so, Ken's Bakery (on 21st, I think, Downtown) is a must-visit. They have the best croissants outside of Paris. And their bread! I'm so glad they're down there, or I'd be so fat.

[kiliki]

Skyflyer-what is the selection like at S and S? Is it eclairs, tarts, macarons, French patisserie type stuff?

[Ling]

I will suggest Sweet and Savoury tomorrow, but I'm not driving so I can't say for sure whether we're going. I'm not heading to Portland--just stopping in Seattle to fly to San Fran. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll take pics of our croissants later.

[skyflyer3]

Skyflyer-what is the selection like at S and S? Is it eclairs, tarts, macarons, French patisserie type stuff?

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Kiliki - The pastries are more comfort-foodie. Lemme see, each time I've gone there have been cookies, scones, and at least one specialty tart (banana cream was the last one I had, my favorite was a chocolate/strawberry/whipped cream concoction). I've also seen cupcakes, bagels, croissants, little cakes, and muffins. They also have cooking classes with a French chef coming up.

[kiliki]

Okay, thanks. Judging by how hard it is to find real French pastry (even Cafe Besalu is heavy on the American baked goods) I must be the only person in the city who craves eclairs and tarts but doesn't like things like muffins and cupcakes. *sigh*

[tsquare]

Okay, thanks. Judging by how hard it is to find real French pastry (even Cafe Besalu is heavy on the American baked goods) I must be the only person in the city who craves eclairs and tarts but doesn't like things like muffins and cupcakes. *sigh*

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Le Painier? Le Fournil? Boulangerie Nantaise? Even the Greenwood Bakery has eclairs.

[kiliki]

Thanks for the ideas but...

Le Fournil I do like. Le Panier, I've just had too many mediocre things (and a few downright bad things, like stale macarons) there. Greenwood Bakery is right by my house, but in general they are awful. Yes, they do have eclairs but other than that they are very much a standard American bakery-cookies (that taste like shortening, btw), etc. Someone told me they don't even do their own baking there, but I'm not sure if that's true. I haven't been to Boulangerie Nantaise, but if you tell me they have a great selection of pastries, tarts, etc-not just American baked goods-I will go asap. Since it's called a boulangerie I assumed that it would be mostly breads. To add to the list, Essential has some decent stuff but I've found they're often prettier than they taste.

I am pickier than most in this department, I realize.

On the bright side, I've gotten pretty good at making this stuff at home.

Edited April 7, 2006 by kiliki (log)

[tsquare]

Thanks for the ideas but...

Le Fournil I do like. Le Panier, I've just had too many mediocre things (and a few downright bad things, like stale macarons) there. Greenwood Bakery is right by my house, but in general they are awful. Yes, they do have eclairs but other than that they are very much a standard American bakery-cookies (that taste like shortening, btw), etc. Someone told me they don't even do their own baking there, but I'm not sure if that's true. I haven't been to Boulangerie Nantaise, but if you tell me they have a great selection of pastries, tarts, etc-not just American baked goods-I will go asap. Since it's called a boulangerie I assumed that it would be mostly breads. To add to the list, Essential has some decent stuff but I've found they're often prettier than they taste.

I am pickier than most in this department, I realize.

On the bright side, I've gotten pretty good at making this stuff at home.

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Very bright side. I actually agree about the quality (lack thereof). I am not crazy about BN, but I noticed they had some French type pastry.

I hope you have had some of the desserts at Crush? I tried two the other day and they were very good and different. Not French, but far from standard American. Pineapple upside cake, in theory. Coffee macaroons with caramel mousse (very sticky), chocolate disk, sea salt and a tangy cassis sauce.

[kiliki]

Coffee macaroons with caramel mousse (very sticky), chocolate disk, sea salt and a tangy cassis sauce.

!!!!!!!!!!

I have not been but realize now I must go soon. Thanks!

[Ling]

I had croissants from Le Panier and Essential recently...also drove by Sweets and Savoury but they were closed and we hit Cafe Besalu 5 minutes after they closed too!

The croissants from Le Panier are less visually appealing than the ones at Essential, but in a side-by-side tasting, I preferred the one from Le Panier. It definitely tasted more buttery. It was a good croissant, but I'm pretty sure I can find a better one in Seattle (probably at S and S or Cafe Besalu).

I also had a pastry at Essential--it was a beautiful, glossy lemon mousse dome with blueberries around the base. Although it looked pretty, it was rather light on taste--very sweet, with a rather insipid lemon flavour.

Still love the sourdough at Essential though.

[Ling]

I had breakfast at Cafe Besalu--the croissant was definitely better than the ones at Le Panier and Essential. The crumb of the croissant is airy and open, while the layers at Le Panier are more dense. The ginger biscuit was also very good--rich, moist, with a nice crunch from the sprinkling of coarse sugar. My favourite, however, was the strawberry danish. The dough they use for the danishes is richer than the croissant, and that bit of fruit in the middle is not mushy or overbaked. And the coffee was very good as well. Great spot for a cozy breakfast!

Edited May 7, 2006 by Ling (log)

[pupcart]

Ling - Do try to hit Sweet and Savory in Mount Baker:

http://seattlebonvivant.typepad.com/seattl.../post.html#more

I'm in love with this place, it's so good. The owner has done pastry for 20 years, studied in Paris. I would hit Columbia City Bakery, too, but I like Sweet and Savory better, now.

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Oh, good lord. Because I was in the neighborhood, and have been curious about it for quite a long while, I went to Sweet and Savory yesterday. Big mistake. HUGE.

I'm addicted for life.

I got an apple gallette for myself, a pain au chocolat to take home for my beloved, a sandwich for lunch (salami, cheese, sliced tomato, grilled asparagus on baguette), and a short latte to go. I hopped into my car before deciding to take one teeny tiny bite out of the pain au chocolat intended for S.O. Waiting until I got into the car to bite into that pastry was the only smart thing I did all morning, because with every bite, my ecstatic moaning got louder and louder, and then slowly faded into a whimper as I realized I had eaten all but one bite of it (Yes, I did save it for him - but it wasn't the same thing to eat one tiny bite as compared to the huge rush of successive bites...)

IN other words, the pain au chocolate was divine. I have taken a LOT of bites out of a LOT of different bakery's renditions of pain au chocolat, and I can honestly say that up until now, that pastry didn't do a thing for me, that is until I tasted the Sweet and Savory version.

Going back today for more meant driving a good 15 miles out of my way, and I arrived at 9am to learn they had already sold out for the day (they open at 7am).

That's a good thing.

Now I can pretend like I am not powerless over their pastry. (By the way, the apple gallette was lovely, too, but I really don't want to try anything else because then I will just have to have THAT every day, too!)

Edited May 11, 2006 by pupcart (log)

[Ling]

Such endorsement! I'll have to try their pain au chocolat. I haven't had many good pain au chocolat...even the one from Bouchon wasn't spectacular (but it was the best pain au chocolat I've had thus far.)

Edited May 11, 2006 by Ling (log)

[mamster]

I generally get a plain croissant, not a pain au chocolat, because it seems to me that the problem with pain au chocolat, as a rule, is that there's not enough chocolate in it. Someone needs to make an American-style pain au chocolate that is absolutely loaded with chocolate.

That said, the pistachio version at Dahlia is good, although I haven't been there in a while so I don't know if they're making it at the moment.

[tighe]

I generally get a plain croissant, not a pain au chocolat, because it seems to me that the problem with pain au chocolat, as a rule, is that there's not enough chocolate in it. Someone needs to make an American-style pain au chocolate that is absolutely loaded with chocolate.

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Too true, too true. If you ever find yourself in the train station in Rennes, the patisserie there has the best pastry:chocolate ratio I've experienced, and the pastry kicks ass over any I've found on this side of the pond.

[Ling]

I make "American-style" (i.e. stuffed with chocolate) ones at home...with homemade puff, and Valrhona Guanaja. I eat them warm out of the oven. Making puff pastry takes some time though, and I am still hoping I can find a bakery that makes something similar to this. I would even settle for less chocolate, as long as the dough isn't so bready and dry.

Edited May 11, 2006 by Ling (log)