Leslie Mackie - More from Macrina: New Favorites from Seattles Popular Neighborhood Bakery

Copyright 2012 by Leslie Mackie

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Sasquatch Books

Cover and interior photographs: Jim Henkens

Art direction and design: Anna Goldstein

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

eISBN: 978-1-57061-836-9

Sasquatch Books
1904 Third Avenue, Suite 710
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 467-4300
www.sasquatchbooks.com

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It was Matt Galvin, one of our Macrina partners, who first approached me with the idea of writing another cookbook, capturing the culture and the exciting new recipes that have come about over the years of our partnership. With a slight lull in my schedule and a big desire to share our story, I jumped at the opportunity.

Heartfelt thanks to my collaborator, Lisa Gordanier. We had the pleasure of traveling to Hightower vineyard together, cooking together for our annual Feast of Macrina party, and spending hours volleying documents back and forth, composing the contents of this book! Thank you for your attention to detail, your great ability to translate a thought into words, and for always asking the right question to better bring out a more vivid description.

Sasquatch Books, our publishing company, is a gem with talented book visionaries, editors, designersall adding their insight to bring the best out in their books. Gary Luke, Susan Roxborough, Rachelle Long, Anna Goldstein, and Diane Sepanski: Thank you for all your great contributions to make this book the gorgeous collection of recipes and stories that it is.

Jim Henkens, our photographer, is a spectacular one-man show. He travels with his collection of props, camera, and laptop. Behold the brilliant images throughout this book. Anna Goldstein (our book designer) and Jim worked closely together to visually tell Macrinas story with wonderful results.

Lastly, my gratitude goes out to my partners, all our staff, and our customers, all of whom have contributed to making Macrina the thriving, forward-thinking business it is. It started as my baby and has grown with the creative and intellectual talents of so many over the past twenty years. It is with great pleasure I share the Macrina story!

Leslie Mackie

There is no baking professional in Seattle I admire more than Leslie Mackie; it has been an honor and a genuine pleasure to assist her in writing this book. Leslie packs more into a day than most of us do in a weekyou cant be around her for long and not catch that wave of enthusiasm and anythings possible attitude. With Leslie at the helm, Macrina is much more than a thriving artisan bakeryits a company that creates partners with many individuals, organizations, and other businesses to help build a vibrant local community.

Im very grateful to the superlative editorial and design teams at Sasquatch Books for bringing this beautiful book into reality. Last, to my mom: thank you, Edna Rose Ramseier, for instilling in me a deep respect for food. Your thoughtful, natural ability to put a meal on the table that has the perfect balance of colors, textures, and flavors has steered me well all these years.

Lisa Gordanier

Macrina Bakery opened in 1993 in a Seattle neighborhood called Belltown. Located near the ever-popular Pike Place Market, the neighborhood had seen better daysbut it was revitalizing itself and seemed full of opportunity. Our original bakery was all of 847 square feet, of which two-thirds was back of the house for bread and pastry production. Each morning, a fellow baker and I braved the 5 a.m. hour to begin loading preformed artisan breads into our hearth oven. Another baker kept our small glass case full of fresh breakfast pastries for our hungry morning customers. An old galvanized steel bakers rack was prominently placed, full of crackling bread (the sound just-baked loaves make as they cool) fresh from the oven, replenished all day long. Those were the early days of Macrina.

Fortunately the hard work paid off. The neighborhood loved having its own artisan bakery. Through our floor-to-ceiling sidewalk windows, people could watch us at all hours pulling warm loaves out of the hearth oven, or assembling cakes, forming scones, and garnishing fresh fruit tarts. In 1994 we took over a space that adjoined the bakery and excitedly opened our caf. Now customers could sit down and relax with a cup of coffee and a fresh-baked pastry or warm slice of quiche. They started asking for lunch, dinner, and brunch service. Well, of course we could do that! (I have a hard time saying no.) What a great way to introduce new breads and use house favorites in sandwiches or as croutons or French toast. The caf was bursting with customers.

Leslie Mackies Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook, published in 2003, was written as a tribute to our first ten years. I wanted to capture the magic of our busy little bakeryto share stories and inspirations, and to thank the very talented and hardworking staff we knew as the Macrina family. We shared great highs, as well as weathering the growth spurts that tested our collective graciousness. Over the next year, three key managers left to pursue new opportunities; this gave me a chance to restructure job descriptions to better support the growth we were experiencing within the company.