The village baker's wife : the desserts and pastries that made Gayle's Bakery famous

510 Pages·2004·4.65 MB·English

by  Gayle C. Ortiz

Copyright © 1997, 2004, 2008 by Gayle Ortiz, Joe Ortiz, and Louisa Beers
Front cover photograph by Maren Caruso
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except brief excerpts for the
purpose of review, without written permission of the publisher.
Ten Speed Press
PO Box 7123
Berkeley, California 94707
www.tenspeed.com
Distributed in Australia by Simon and Schuster Australia, in Canada by Ten Speed Press Canada, in New
Zealand by Southern Publishers Group, in South Africa by Real Books, and in the United Kingdom and
Europe by Publishers Group UK.
Cover and text design by Nancy Austin
Photography by Jonathan Chester, Extreme Images, Berkeley, California
Illustrations by Ann Miya, Santa Cruz, California
Gayle’s postage stamps designed by Joe Ortiz
Adaptation of Candied Orange Peel, Cobbler Crust, and Clay’s Puff Pastry from Chez Panisse Desserts, by
Lindsey Remolif Shere. Copyright © 1985 by Lindsey Remolif Shere. Reprinted with permission of
Random House, Inc. and Lescher & Lescher, Ltd. Adaptation of Mission Fig Crostata, from Cucina
Simpatica by Johanne Killeen and George Germon. Copyright © 1991 by Johanne Killeen and George
Germon. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Adaptation of Chocolate Macaroons,
from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, by Maida Heatter. Copyright © 1995. Reprinted
with permission. Adaptation of Cindy Mushet’s Chocolate Pot de Creme, which appeared in the Baking with
the American Harvest newsletter, reprinted with permission. Profile of Pierre Hermé excerpted from an
article originally published in Food & Wine in November 1995.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ortiz, Gayle.
Village baker’s wife : the desserts and pastries that made Gayle’s bakery famous/ Gayle Ortiz and
Joe Ortiz, with Louisa Beers.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-58008-573-3 (alk. paper)
1. Desserts. I. Ortiz, Joe, 1946– . II. Beers, Louisa.
III. Gayle’s (Bakery) IV. Title.
TX773.078 1997
641.8’6—dc21
96-40240
CIP
eBook ISBN: 978-0-30780944-5
Hardcover ISBN-10: 1-58008-957-7
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-58008-957-9
v3.1
This book is dedicated to the memory of my mom, Fern Tomlinson,
who taught me that creativity is as easy as apple pie. And to my
father, Jack Tomlinson, whom we have to thank for the bakery’s
success. We wouldn’t have gotten so far without his help. He’s
always there for us.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: Before You Start Baking
About Ingredients
Essential Equipment
Professional Bakers’ Tips and Techniques
Part Two: The Recipes
Croissant
Danish Pastry
Puff Pastry
Pies and Tarts
Cookies
Muffins, Cream Puffs, and Other Bakery Goodies
Cakes, Icings, and Decorations
Gayle at Home
Holiday and Other Festive Desserts
Part Three: Resources for Bakers
Equipment and Supply Sources
Baker’s Dozen Book List
Monthly and Bimonthly Publications
Baker’s Basic Tips and Techniques Index
A Few of Our Favorite Things
Index
Acknowledgments
BAKERS: Linda Younger, Dan Zimmer, Marcos Chavez, Christopher Love, Chris
Rominger, Sergio Sumano, and Steve Powell.
PAST BAKERS: Kelly Porter, Bonny Berry, Judith Swift, Kat Peters, Robyn
Johnson, Debra Lynn, and all others whose imprint on Gayle’s is indelible.
BAKER FRIENDS: Lindsey Shere, for giving me my first chance to bake
professionally; Johanne Killeen, Hildy Marshall, Alice Medrich, David Morris,
Tom King, Flo Braker, Norman Love, Jean-Claude and Pierrette Poilpre, the
late Cornelus Van Peski, Nick Malgieri, and Marion Cunningham, for their
relentless inspiration and help.
FRIENDS AND FAMILY: Our publisher Kirsty Melville and editor Lorena Jones, who
know how to make bakers sound like writers; agent Martha Casselman;
Louisa’s husband, Brian Beers, head of dough production, who helped prepare
the manuscript; designer Nancy Austin; photographer Jonathan Chester; artist
Ann Miya, for her patience and ability to draw our hands in action; my sister,
Joellen Alward; Goldie Hirsch and Robert and Gretchen Beers; helpers from
the start, Jay Leite and Gretchen Collins; Christie Carlson, for her constant
creative inspiration; purchaser and assistant Lisa Hindley, for technical help;
Gayle’s staff, past and present, for making it happen on a daily basis (without
you, Gayle’s would not be the place it is); and Charles Shere. Special thanks
also to all of our wonderful customers, who have been with us since the
beginning.
RECIPE TESTERS: Jodi Alward, Roxanne Areias, Sybil Breitwieser, Kristin
Brookins, Joan Carl, Barbara Castro, Jonathan Collins, Tracey Comin, Mary
Cowley, Betty Deodiuc, Nancy Edgerly, Kathy Getty, Diana Giacomaro, Cathy
Holdaway, Audrey Hull, Margaret Lietz, Laurie E. Liss, Sue Lundquist, Kate
Hartzell, Kerry Hosley, Carol Jaques, Pat Lamson, Debra Lynn, Carol Marini,
Pat McClellan, Ann Miya, Sue Porter, Judy Primavera, Barbara Rider, Kelly
Roberts, Jean Shanahan, Carol Sida, Robin Sirakides, Allen Smith, Jim