The Model Bakery shares time-tested recipes (2024)

My favorite baking book had just about bit the dust, the cover fallen off, the pages splotched with cocoa and dribbled with melted butter, and the best recipes are all but indecipherable. I was thinking it might be time to retire “Fanny Farmer’s Baking Book,” which taught me to make pies, snickerdoodles and the monkey bread I still have to bake at the holidays.

(Note to new moms and dads: Think carefully about what you bake in those first years, because it will become a tradition and 25 years later, you’ll be greeted with, “What, aren’t you going to make monkey bread?” No new idea, however scrumptious, will be acceptable over, for example, monkey bread.)

I was wondering how hard it might be to find a readable version of “Fanny” when a new book arrived on my desk, which just might usher in a new era of baking.

Three years in the making, “The Model Bakery Cookbook” is a home-grown guide to good things, written by Karen Mitchell and Sarah Mitchell Hansen, the mother-daughter team that operates the valley’s thriving bakeries in St. Helena and Napa. Their collaborator for the project was Rick Rodgers.

The new book contains 75 recipes for their most popular offerings, including their memorable English muffins, of which Model Bakery sells and ships 800 to 1,000 each day. Other recipes cover the categories of breads, sweet yeast creations, quick breads, cakes, pies and tarts, and classic cookies.

It took three years, explained Hansen, because the real challenge was scaling down company recipes to a reader-friendly size. Not everyone, after all, wants to bake 1,000 muffins.

“We think most of the recipes people really could bake at home,” Hansen said. “Some, of course, are more complicated, like the English muffins.”

For the record, these plump, free-form muffins, which in no way resemble supermarket things, require making a yeast “biga” 12 hours in advance, and several hours of mixing and rising before they are cooking in melted butter on a skillet. There are some things one still prefers to buy at the shop.

On the other hand, other breads, like the dinner rolls, focaccia, ciabatta and even the pain au levain, made with wild grape yeast starter, get such carefully detailed instructions that an inspired baker, experienced or otherwise, is likely to succeed.

In between recipes for the cream current scones, cheese danish, morning glory muffins and brandied pumpkin pies, the authors share stories of a baker’s life.

Mitchell recounts how she grew up in Portland, Ore., “in a family of good cooks” that included her Auntie Emma, who owned a well-known restaurant called Berg’s Chalet. Auntie Emma’s recipes inspired some of Model’s products, including the Berries and Cream Cake.

After traveling around the U.S. and Europe with her, John, then a Marine pilot, and Mitchell eventually found their way to the Napa Valley in the 1970s.

In 1984, she was operating a catering business out of a back alley, and coveting the site of what was then the St. Helena Bakery on Main Street.

“The bakery products available in the Napa Valley in the early 1980s were San Francisco sourdough breads, often made from mixes,” she writes. “There were almost no artisan breads. Having traveled throughout Europe, I had fallen in love with European baking and was determined to bring European artisan baking to the Napa Valley. ... I had no idea how big the project would become.”

When the bakery became available, and Mitchell found herself the owner of the sole bakery in the upper Napa Valley and went to work transforming the 100-year-old building into a place that could create the products she was dreaming of baking, while retaining the charm, historical detail and “the feel of a 1930s cafe ... fortunately my husband is a building contractor with an MBA,” she notes.

“How the bakery got it’s name is a complete coincidence,” she writes. During construction when a friend dropped by to check up on the progress, “he mumbled something like ‘Ah, the model bakery.’ We asked what he meant. He explained that the bakery was known as the Model Bakery in the 1930s. We adopted the name instantly.”

Twenty years after the new Model Bakery opened to swift and continuing success, Mitchell’s daughter, Sarah, joined the family business, and was onboard when they were approached by Steve Carlin, who was developing the Oxbow Public Market in Napa. As a result of their conversations, the second Model Bakery opened in Napa in 2008.

“Mom still likes to go into the St. Helena bakery and make sure everything is running,” Hansen noted.

“Our baked goods are intentionally simple, with familiar old-fashioned flavors,” Mitchell writes. “Homespun is another way to describe their comforting taste and visual appeal. I have amassed a gold mine of recipes. They began as simple working recipes and have been refined and improved over the years.”

And now they are sharing them with fans.

As I was working on this story, I got a call from my son in Los Angeles, and when I told him I was writing about the new “Model Bakery Cookbook,” his ears, I could tell, perked up. “Really?” he asked.

Don’t worry, I said; a batch of cookies is on its way south. Some things, after all, are as good as monkey bread.

As we talked about the old-fashioned and Old World appeal of Model Bakery products, from chocolate chip cookies to crusty baguettes, owner Sarah Mitchell Hansen and head baker Eli Colvin raised another issue high on their priorities: the search for high-quality ingredients.

What has happened to flour in recent years is not only alarming, said Colvin, but he believes it might explain the explosion of gluten intolerance, which is used to describe a range of conditions including celiac disease and wheat allergies.

“It began with Wonder Bread,” said Colvin. “It was industrial food.”

Production of highly processed, inexpensive baked goods has accelerated, he said, with pressure on farmers to grow high-yield, highly resistant wheat.

“Mass-produced wheat is bioengineered,” he said. “It’s part of the whole industrialization of food — profit at all costs.

“It might be that ‘gluten intolerance’ is a misdiagnosis,” he speculated. “I have my suspicions that what people can’t digest are these wheats. We are seeing the effects. And this is just flour.”

How the wheat is processed is just as important as how it is grown, he added. And then, there is the baking. In mass-produced breads, no matter how healthy and natural a product may claim to be, he noted, “it goes from the mix to the bake in one hour.”

This speeded-up process prevents real fermentation, the process traditional yeast breads go through during rising. “This is what breaks down the wheat and extracts nutrients.”

It’s the same way with other products, such as yogurt, which was once produced in a traditional way but has been transformed into an entirely different creation by mass production.

Colvin is among the North Bay bakers, like Mike Zikoski of Sonoma and Craig Ponsford of San Rafael, who are working to establish a network to identify farmers and millers who are producing traditional flour that they can use in their bakeries.

“It’s my push now to farmers, bakers and chefs that we need to get together and start a dialogue about wheat similar to the ongoing dialogue about the risks of canola oil,” Colvin said.

The questions arising about the health effects of mass-produced flour is “why we are researching ancient grains,” added Hansen.

“It’s a push-back,” Colvin said. “But there are a lot of smoke screens out there.

“Bread is a basic,” he added, “but I think people have gotten to the point where they don’t know what the real thing tastes like.”

It’s something he hopes to change with the breads he is baking at Model Bakery, said Colvin, who has been a baker for 20 years.

“The question is raising awareness. The word is getting out. It’s a direction that Sarah and everyone at Model Bakery is excited about.”

While these ingredients are more costly than mass-produced flour, Hansen added, “it’s a question of getting the public educated about wheat and what we are trying to do with our ingredients. You have to engage in what bread is. If you are used to store-bought bread, if what you grew up with is store-bought, sliced bread, (our bread) is a different thing.”

“The jury is still out as far as the science,” Colvin added, “but we have seen people who are unable to eat mass-produced bread who are able to eat our breads.”

“People get it with tomatoes,” Colvin said. “There’s a tomato that looks like a tomato, and there’s one that smells and tastes like a tomato. Their difference is harder to grasp with bread.”

“But people are really wanting to come back to traditional ways,” Hansen concluded. “We are seeing it — with gardening, preserving and baking as well as support for our products. It’s a question of education, but it’s happening.”

From "The Model Bakery Cookbook"

Serves 10 to 12

1 recipe white cake or Auntie Emma’s Buttermilk Cake (recipe follows)

1/2 cup simple syrup (recipe follows)

1 recipe vanilla butter cream (recipe follows)

Filling

1 quart (455 g) fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or a combination

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

1 Tbsp. sugar

Apricot glaze:

1/4 cup (100g) apricot jam or preserves

1 Tbsp. water

Auntie Emma’s Buttermilk Cake

1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the pan

Unbleached all-purpose flour for the pan

2 3/4 cup (355 g) cake flour (not self-rising)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) buttermilk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups (3550 g) sugar

4 large eggs at room temperature

Position a rack in the center of the over and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly butter three 8-inch cake pans that have 2 inch sides. Line the bottoms with parchment paper or wax paper rounds. Dust the insides of the pans with all-purpose flour and tap out the excess.

Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a medium bowl.

Stir the buttermilk and vanilla together in a glass measuring cup. Beat the butter in a large bowl on medium speed (or with a wooden spoon) until butter is smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in the sugar and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until very pale in color and light in texture, about 4 minutes (or 10 by hand). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until absorbed after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with two equal additions of the buttermilk mixture, mixing just until smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth the tops. Rap the pans on a work surface to disperse any air bubbles.

Bake until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cook in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Invert and unmold onto the racks and peel off the paper. Turn the cakes right side up and let cool completely. The cakes can be stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Simple Syrup

Makes abut 3/4 cup.

Nothing more than sugar and water boiled together into a light syrup, this sweet liquid is brushed onto cake layers to prevent them from drying out and provide extra flavor. Cakes with butter-based batters harden when refrigerated and the syrup moistens them so they can be served chilled.

You will only use 2 to 3 Tbsp. for a cake, but make the entire batch and use it to sweeten iced tea or coffee.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil, without stirring, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Let cool completely. Transfer to a covered connection and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Vanilla Buttercream

A couple of caveats: Make sure the cooked meringue is beaten until it is absolutely cool. The butter should be at cool room temperature, malleable but not so soft that it becomes shiny. Basic buttercream can be flavored, so it is a workhorse.

Makes about 4 cups.

1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar

5 large egg whites

2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Combine the sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Choose a saucepan that will hold the mixing bowl snugly. Add about 2 inches of water in the saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low.

Put the bowl in the saucepan over the water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Whisk constantly by hand, scraping down any splashes of egg white on the sides of the bowl with a heat-proof spatula, until the mixture is hot to touch, white in color and the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. The idea here is to stir and warm the whites while dissolving the sugar, not to whip the mixture.

Affix the bowl to the mixer and fit with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture forms stiff, shiny peaks and is completely cool, about 10 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium. Beat in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting until each addition is absorbed. Increase speed to medium high and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla.

The buttercream can be made up to one day ahead, transferred to a covered container and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature, then beat the mixture until fluffy before using.

To assemble the cake:

Make the filling:

Reserve 5 or 6 of the best-looking berries for a garnish. Hull the remaining berries and cut into a 1/4-inch dice. Spread the diced berries on paper towels to drain.

Whip the cream and sugar together in a chilled medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold in the berries.

Using a long, serrated knife, trim the tops of the cake layers so they are flat and even. Place one cake layer on a

7-inch cardboard cake round. Brush on one-third of the simple syrup. Spread with half of the cream mixture.

Top with another cake, brush with half of the remaining syrup and spread with the remaining cream mixture.

Top with the final cake layer, trimmed side down and brush with the remaining syrup. Transfer 1/2 cup of the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch plain round tip. Set aside at room temperature.

Transfer the cake to a decorating stand. Frost the top and then the sides with a thin layer of buttercream.

Refrigerate until the buttercream is set, about 30 minutes. Return the cake to the turntable and frost with the remaining buttercream, giving it a smooth finish. Holding the teeth of a decorating comb against the frosting on the side of the cake, rotate the cake to create ridges. Refrigerate for at least

1 hour, up to one day.

Make the glaze: Bring the jam and water to a brisk simmer in a small pan over medium heat, stirring often. Cook, still stirring, until thickened, about

1 minute. When you drop some of the glaze from the spoon, the last drops should be very thick and slow to fall. Strain through a wire sieve into a small bowl.

Transfer the cake to a cake platter. Arrange the reserved berries on top of the cake in the center. Brush the berries with the warm apricot glaze; you may not use all of it.

With the buttercream in the pastry bag, pipe a scalloped border around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

From "The Model Bakery Cookbook"

Makes 16 muffins

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. fine sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and shredded

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut, plus 1/4 cup

1/2 cup dark raisins

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line 16 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together into a medium bowl. Combine the carrots and apple in a small bowl.

Beat the vegetable oil and sugar together in a large bowl with a handheld mix set on high speed until light in color, about 2 minutes. (Or whisk by hand for 2 minutes.)

One at a time, add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating them with two equal additions of the carrot mixture and mixing just until combined after each addition. Mix in the 2/3 cup coconut and all of the raisins.

Using a No. 16 food-portion scoop with about a 1/4 cup capacity, transfer the batter to the lined muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut over the tops.

Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack. The muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.