clark street bakery

clark street bakery swedish buns

Some of y’all might not know, but I was actually born in Sweden! Although my family is not technically Swedish (my parents were just living there while my dad was doing his fellowship to become a doctor), I always say we are “wannabe-Swedes”. My parents speak the language, my brother just did a masters program there, and we’ve been back to visit numerous times over the years. Plus, we all tend to thoroughly enjoy Scandinavian cuisine! That’s where Clark Street Bakery comes in- it’s been one of my absolute favorites since coming to Los Angeles, and I love the nod to my “homeland”.

Clark Street was started by Zack Hall back in 2014. After spending the summer at his wife's family's town working in a wood-fired bakery in the Swedish countryside and falling in love with the craft, Hall returned home to become a full-time bread baker. Clark Street has since grown into a full fledged bakery offering plenty of Swedish delights in addition to more traditional French pastries, as well as freshly baked sourdough. I love stopping by for breakfast or lunch, or simply a quick coffee and pastry to-go. Offering everything from kanelbulle (Swedish cinnamon buns) and kouign-amann to seasonal salads and sandwiches, you’re sure to find something up your alley. I personally can’t pass up the perfectly spiced Swedish cardamom bun nor the totally flaky almond croissant (just look at those layers!) whenever I’m there. The dark rye brownie is hard to beat as well- OMG so fudgy! I’m happy to report my toddler is a huge fan as well- can you tell by the photos?!- so visits to Clark Street may just become our new favorite mommy & son activity. PS- Any local, aspiring bread bakers out there? Clark Street offers free sourdough starter with any purchase so you can bake fresh bread at home! Our starter recently died after being neglected during our move (RIP Gustafson), so I plan to pick up a fresh starter soon. I’ve been missing homemade sourdough like woah!

al fassia

First off, I want to apologize for the photos in this post. The lighting at Al Fassia is pretty dim at night, but the food couldn't be more delicious! For some of the best traditional Moroccan food in Marrakech, I cannot recommend Al Fassia enough. This place, which is located in Gueliz (new city) as opposed to the medina (old city) where we were staying, came highly recommended by numerous people, and I now totally understand why. We hopped in a taxi one evening and ventured out of the medina in search of some tasty, traditional eats, and couldn't have been more pleased with our meal. After seeing a colorful assortment of small plates on many other tables, we decided to start with the selection of fine salads. This consisted of beets, eggplant, carrots, and tomatoes (among others) prepared in various ways, some fresh and marinated, and others cooked down into a dip or spread. Everything was just bursting with flavor, and was the perfect complement to the freshly baked bread. I loved the beautifully hand-painted plates as well! For our entrées, we both chose chicken tagines, which seemed to be somewhat of a specialty here. Mine came with caramelized pumpkin, while my husbands was topped with caramelized onions and raisins. Both came served in their own sauce from the tagine, with a side of simple cous cous to soak up all that juicy goodness! Glory, my mouth is watering just thinking about it all again now! This was a truly memorable meal in Marrakech, one that I hope I get to experience again in the future!

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fennel seed, flax & raisin bread

 
fennel flax raisin bread5.jpg
 

My husband and I were recently gifted a sourdough starter from a good friend of ours. There is not much better than freshly baked bread in my opinion, so we have had some fun experimenting with various flours and mix-ins. My husband is definitely the better bread-baker, as he has had some prior experience, but I'm watching and learning as he goes. Baking bread is such a science, from the exact proportions of ingredients to proofing time, but it's a great feeling to pull the final product out of the oven. We like the rustic shape and uniform crust it gets from baking in our beautiful Staub cast iron pans. This bread uses a mix of bread flour and whole wheat graham flour, which adds a nice whole grain touch, but keeps it from being too dense and hearty. We mixed plump raisins in to the dough, and coated the top in fennel and flax seeds. If you want to make your own sourdough bread, but are unsure where to start, The Clever Carrot provides an in-depth, step-by-step tutorial that proved very helpful for us.

Sourdough Bread:

  • 150g active sourdough starter

  • 250g water

  • 25g olive oil

  • 250g bread flour

  • 250g whole wheat graham flour

  • 10g sea salt

  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds

  • 1 tbsp flax seeds

  • 1/3 cup raisins

  • extra flour or cornmeal, for dusting

To make the dough, combine the starter, water, olive oil and both flours in a bowl. Mix everything together by hand until just combined, and then set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Dissolve the salt in 1/2 tsp water, and fold it well into the dough mix. Re-form the dough into a rough ball. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Leave it in a warm spot to rise until it has doubled in size, which may take several hours.

While the dough is fermenting, you may stretch and fold it over itself a few times to strengthen the dough, and in turn increase the total volume of the bread. Rotate the bowl ¼ turn and repeat this process until you have come full circle. Do every 30 minutes for 2 hours. 

To cut and shape the dough, lightly flour one half of a clean surface (counter top, pastry slab, cutting board), and leave the other half clean. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place onto the floured section so that it does not stick.

To shape the dough, move it to the clean section of your surface. Fold the dough, side by side, over itself into the center. At this time, add the raisins so that they get fully incorporated. Flip the dough over and place it seam side down. Gently form your hands along the sides of the dough and rotate it until you are satisfied with its shape. Carefully coat the top of the bread with a mix of flax and fennel seeds.

Coat the bottom of your Staub pan (or dutch oven) with cornmeal or flour. Place the dough inside for a second shorter rise, about 1-2 hours, or until it looks slightly puffy.

Preheat your oven to 450F. Right before you're ready to bake your bread, make a shallow slash about 2 inches long in the center of the dough with a knife. Cover your dough with the lid, and place the pot into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid, and continue to bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until a nice golden brown crust has formed. Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door, and leave the bread . This allows the moisture to escape, leaving your bread with a crisp crust. If you prefer to take the internal temperature of your bread, it should read about 205F.

Remove the bread from the oven, take it out of the pot, and allow it to cool for at least an hour before slicing. Now enjoy the results of all your hard work!

*Adapted from Sourdough Bread by The Clever Carrot.

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