We finally made it out to the Quarry Farmers Market. We have been going to the Pearl Farmers Market which is held on Saturday since it opened but this was our very first time at the Sunday Quarry Market. We were anxious to try some baked goods that we had been hearing so much about that can only be found once a week at the market. My husband was so inspired by the pastries that he wanted to blog about them.
The following post is by the big Stud aka the hubby and the baker in our house. I just took the pictures and enjoyed our morning pastries! I’m kind of sassy like that!
Laura and I went to the Quarry Farmer’s Market this morning for the first time. It is a great market and well worth the trip, but the highlight for me was the pastries from Bakery Lorraine. As Laura told one of the partners in the bakery, I am an economist but I really want to be a baker. I do not plan to give up my economist gig any time soon, but she is right in that I also share the ambition of becoming a great baker.
I have been known to bake a few loaves of bread and pastries that have drawn a few compliments, and I have certainly eaten more than my fair share of breads and pastries. With the ambition to become a great baker, I need to eat bread and pastries made by other much better bakers than me in order to learn, to provide perspective, to be inspired, and to just experience the joy of eating a wonderfully prepared pastry. This morning, Bakery Lorraine provided all of those experiences.
Eating these pastries taught me the importance of balance in flavors; provided the perspective that while my pastries are often times pretty darn good I have a long way to go to become a great baker; inspired and motivated to keep learning and trying to become a great baker in order to enjoy such tremendous pleasures from my own oven; and they gave me one of the best experiences I have ever had indulging in some amazing pastries.
While they had many offerings, we bought the apricot ginger scones, cherry frangipane tart, S’mores tart, and pain au chocolat (all are shown in the picture). They were all wonderful. The care and passion with which they were made just oozed out of them. I am usually not a big frangipane fan, but in this case, it was my favorite. Although, I am not sure saying this is my favorite means much because they were all amazing, and if I was given any of these, I would be giddy with excitement. Yes, I get giddy over really good pastries and bread. The frangipane balanced very well with the tartness of the cherries and the crust was amazing. I also have to say that the apricot ginger scone was also awesome. Making a really good scone may seem like a simple task, but I have had so many flavorless, dried out scones that it is clear to me that it takes quite a bit of skill to make an outstanding scone. The chefs at Bakery Lorraine have the skills in spades. First of all, cooking with ginger can be quite a tricky endeavor, as in my opinion; the ginger can quickly overwhelm all of the other flavors. In this case, the ginger was perfectly balanced and even enhanced the flavor of the apricot in a moist pastry that exhibited the skills of a chef with a light touch that yielded a pastry with a delightful texture. Both the pain au chocolat and the S’mores tart also exhibited the amazing balance of flavors and skills of these chefs. The crusts on the tarts were light and flavorful, and the balance of the dark chocolate with the flaky, buttery pastry in the pain au chocolat was a symphony on the tongue.
My whole family went crazy over the pastries, and they did not last long around the house. Served with some coffee from The Brown Coffee Company, the pastries were a wonderful start to the day. I highly recommend you make a trip to the Quarry Farmer’s Market and get some of their baked goods. You will not regret it. I also understand that Bakery Lorraine is opening a retail bakery in the near future, and I can’t wait. I will certainly be a frequent visitor.
Pictured are Jerry and Anne, the founders of Bakery Lorraine.
You can find their Sunday menu items posted weekly on their website www.bakerylorraine.com
More details about the weekly farmers market can be found at www.quarryfarmersmarket.com.
After tasting some of these incredible pastries, you will only want to serve them on your fine china too!
Stay Sassy Y’all.
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