As we move into 2013, visitor’s to Zingerman’s Bakehouse might be forgiven if they think they’ve been transported to a cukraszda in Budapest. Tucked among the traditionally baked breads, pastries and cakes that have been Zingerman’s Bakehouse staples for 20 years, you’ll find such seemingly exotic foods as Flodni, Rigó Jancsi, and Pogácsa.
Amy Emberling and Frank Carollo, the managing partners of Zingerman’s Bakehouse, began the exploration of Hungarian foodways three years ago. Looking for new avenues to expand their baking horizons, they made a plan to investigate the baking traditions of countries that might not be familiar to an American audience. “In choosing a baking tradition, we needed a place with a long, deep history of really great food but one that maybe doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Hungary definitely fit that bill.”
After an extensive research trip to Hungary in the Fall of 2011 Amy, Frank and co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses Ari Weinzweig were convinced that their choice to learn about Hungarian foodways was an excellent one.
What followed were a series of trips over the next year, the most recent being to Transylvania in October 2012. After each trip, they delved into history and cookbooks and drew upon what they’d learned on their travels in order to recreate for Zingerman’s guests the amazing foods they found across Hungary. In 2011, the Bakehouse debuted the Rigó Jancsi and two other tortes followed from there. Today, as many as 15 traditional Hungarian foods might grace the Bakehouse shelves on any given day, from traditional soups to breads flavored with paprika, to retés (strudels) and many desserts. They are offering Hungarian tastings as well as teaching people how to make traditional Hungarian foods in their hands-on teaching bakery, BAKE! This fall they’ve teamed up with the folks at Zingerman’s Food Tours to offer guided travel in October 2013 to the source of Hungarian food.
When asked where they’ll go from here, Amy and Frank replied that they are considering an annual trip to Hungary to study in-depth. They also intend to focus on particular areas of Hungarian cuisine like Jewish-Hungarian food, the cuisine of the Roma, home cooking, and traditional Hungarian recipes transformed by modern chefs. They also note that they are beginning to plan visits to Ann Arbor from renown Hungarian bakers, chefs and artisanal food producers.
For more information about Hungarian foods at Zingerman’s Bakehouse please contact Pete Sickman-Garner, Marketing Manager, at pgarner@zingermans.com or 734.904.0644.
Zingerman’s Bakehouse was founded in 1992 when Zingerman’s Delicatessen founders Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw decided they could bake better bread for their Deli sandwiches than they could buy locally, and they teamed up with old friend Frank Carollo to create the second of eight businesses in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. The Bakehouse added a pastry department in 1994 and in 2000 former pastry manager Amy Emberling joined Frank as co-managing partner. Today the Bakehouse is recognized as one of the finest bakeries in the country and sells bread and pastries at all Zingerman’s locations (including via mail at www.zingermans.com) and at retail locations throughout Michigan.
Source: Zingerman’s Bakehouse