Project History
In mid-March 2020 as the coronavirus took hold, people found themselves in a strange world, quarantined at home. Households became home offices, classrooms, fitness centers, and in many cases havens for adult children returning to the safety of their childhood nest. Stuck at home, millions went to their kitchens and started baking. Flour, yeast and other baking supplies disappeared from shelves. The search for sourdough starter became an obsession for many.
I was one of the millions, but for me this was a continuation of part of my life’s work. In my early professional life, I was a pastry chef and pastry business owner. In fact, as this stay-at-home world began, I was already baking Friday mornings, trying to find a favorite challah recipe. As this search was winding down (successfully) I realized that this diversion from my work in front of a computer and the unsettling “new normal” was extremely rewarding.
I needed to continue, and focus on my baking roots – cakes, desserts and pastries. As I started looking through old recipe notebooks, digital files and dozens of baking books, I decided this should be more than simply a baking old favorites project. It was the perfect time to do what I had done with challah, work on perfecting each recipe by tweaking procedures, baking times, modifying ingredients. To share the final recipe with others, I would document and clarify each step with detailed instructions and pictures. And relay some of the stories associated with these recipes, the people, the workplaces, and the situations.
The Friday Baking Project was born.
The Process
I already had extensive experience with recipe testing. Early in my baking career I would methodically work through recipes looking for the best brioche, croissant, sponge cake, tart dough, chocolate cakes, etc. Now, years later, I began again. The goal - to find the best recipe and method for a wide range of simple and elaborate baked delicacies.
Every facet of the recipe - pre-recipe preparations, the baking pan, tools, suggested ingredient sources, procedures, exact baking times, serving suggestions are documented. Step-by-step photographs are often included.
Recipes were obtained, and often documented in small, well-worn spiral notebooks, at stops in my baking career – Patisserie Lanciani, Glorious Food, Restaurant Associates, Sign of the Dove, and of course my own Martha’s Vineyard pastry shop Seven Layers.
Baking as a Social Connection
Baking for family and friends is an act of sharing and love. As we all hunkered down at home in the early days of the pandemic, we were cut off from our usual social connections. Lunches, dinners, chats over coffee, were suddenly put on hold. My Friday baked goods became a bridge to stay in touch with those outside my pod. Loaves of challah, coffee cake muffins, pound cakes, tortes, cheesecakes, were dropped off at doorsteps, often leading to a socially distanced outdoor chat.
For my out-of-town connections, recipes and notes were sent which opened up conversations and pictures of the recipe results. With my family on the west coast, we worked through some difficulties with their challah and it was a joy to see pictures of their success.
Sharing, love, and good ingredients – the master recipe for staying in touch.
Thanks for coming along on this sweet journey.