Butch

Trilety introduced you to our Hungarian nut roll in her last post. And to give an update, we've finally figured out and solidified our variations to my grandma's original recipe. Woo! We spent all of last Monday in the kitchen at Barbi's farm in northwest Omaha. What a wonderful space to spend the day baking!

Grandma Butch (Henrietta Thomas) was my father's mother. My experience was that she was a strict but lovely woman. She raised four rowdy sons on her own and ended up with twenty-some grandchildren and more great-grandchildren before she passed away. She was a devout Catholic, always telling us to pray when we saw her. Pray for our parents, pray for each other, pray for the starving children around the world. I remember her babysitting my two brothers and me in the summers when we were out of school and our mom was at work during the day. She called the sofa a davenport, she made apple pies (I can still picture her hands cutting up apples), she made us take naps, and our cat was afraid of her.

Most, if not every, Christmas she made a Hungarian nut roll for the family. My dad's family would spend Christmas Eve together. When I was younger, I cared more about chocolate than nutty raisiny pastries, but over time her nut roll grew on me. I began to cherish it as a tradition unique to our family. And now I love that her recipe has been given to me. I didn't know Grandma Butch as well as I would have liked, but I would like to think that she'd be proud of me and proud that her recipe has inspired Trilety and me so much.

Henrietta (Grandma Butch) and me,  maybe 2004

As we continue to get our remaining ducks lined up for our store opening, we'll keep you updated on our progress. So many little things to do, and some big things too. One step at a time.

~Megan

Hungarian Nut Roll

Have you heard of a Hungarian Nut Roll? Well I hadn't until a couple of years ago when Megan said it may be a good item to sell in the bakery. For two years, based on the name and an incorrect assumption, I thought the nut roll was a sort of refrigerator cookie, and boy was I wrong! The Hungarian Nut roll is a sweet yeast dough that is rolled into a rectangle and spread with a filling of finely chopped walnuts and sugar, or a sweet poppyseed filling, then rolled up, baked, and sliced.

Megan and I have been practicing with her grandmother's secret Hungarian Nut Roll recipe, and in doing research on nut roll recipes I can say that I have yet to come across duplicate recipes so it seems all grandmothers' recipes are indeed secret! Megan's paternal grandmother, Henrietta Thomas, was known to her sons and grandchildren as Butch (I have loved this since hearing it years ago!) It seems Henrietta was strict, but could bake up a delicious Hungarian Nut Roll! 

Megan and I have been playing around with her grandmother's recipe, and it's been such fun experimenting in the kitchen. Do we stay with the same flour amount, or reduce it? Do we dice the apples or grate them? Do we keep the raisins or toss them? Do we add cinnamon or stick to nutmeg? After many attempts, our friends (and Doug's coworkers) are getting happy and fat!

I'm so excited that these two birds will be offering a traditional recipe from Megan's family. Both she and I have written about the connections of food before, the way our memories are coated in scent and taste; and the smell and taste of the Thomas heritage will be a cozy one indeed.

Here are some of our nut roll attempts. . . .

Hungarian Nut Roll slice and ready to be served

Hungarian Nut Roll just out of the oven

Hungarian Nut Roll with the Optional Icing!

Construction continues on the bakery, and we are getting more and more excited every day to start offering our baked goods to our friends, family, and community!

~ Trilety

Construction Begins

On Monday, March 18th, our general contractor (Kirk Larson of Barry Larson and Son, Inc) started on our renovation project in the old post office on Main Street in Elkhorn. The first day was demolition day. How fun!

Since then, we have had one progress meeting (we will have one of these every two weeks until the end of the project). The progress meetings are attended by Trilety and Barbi and myself, as well as our architect, the general contractor, and any subcontractors involved at that time.

We ran into an issue with the plumbing. It had not been updated to Omaha code since Elkhorn was annexed in 2007. The pipe service was smaller than what is now required (3/4" instead of 1 1/2"). It's not an easy or minor thing to change, and there were no records of its size which is why it was a surprise. So our plumbing will be up to code, which the city really appreciates.

Though it made a lovely office space for Hayes Environmental, it was exciting to see the building in its skeletal state. All existing walls and carpeting and even ceiling had been torn out. Duct work will go into the ceiling, drywall will lay over the new framework, and plumbing fixtures will be installed.

This is estimated to be an 11-week project which will put completion at the beginning of June. At this point there are no major set-backs and we appear to be on schedule. With that said, we understand that set-backs can and often do occur so we'll have to keep you updated on the process.

And of course some photos:

 

Thanks for checking in!

~Megan

The Sticky Bun Conundrum

Sticky buns are good, but sticking to a bad idea isn't. Megan and I had originally decided not to offer Cinnamon Rolls at the bakery. Instead we were going to offer her grandmother's Hungarian Nut Roll as an alternative, and it IS a delightful alternative! Similar to Cinnamon Rolls, the Hungarian Nut Roll is a yeast based dough that is rolled up and sliced, but it is filled with dried fruits and nuts rather than cinnamon, sugar, and butter.

"Everyone does cinnamon rolls, and we want to be a little different, so we'll offer the Hungarian Nut Roll INSTEAD of Cinnamon Rolls," we said to each other. 

This was our plan. . . . . until. . . . my friend Doug signed up to bring cinnamon rolls to a chili cook-off at work and I said I'd help him bake a batch, rather than him buying rolls from the grocery store. (He's known for his Cheez-it contributions to work potlucks I'm told). 

Close Up of Still Warm Rolls

So we warmed our yeast in the water. We melted butter. We blended our flour with butter and eggs. He kneaded. The dough rose. He patted. I rolled and sliced. He buttered the pan. The oven baked. I iced. And he was a hit at work the next day with this old school (meaning small in size) batch of cinnamon rolls.

Pan View (my great grandmother's pan)

 Long story short, we ARE going to offer Cinnamon Rolls at Two Birds Bakery. 

And here's something I learned about cinnamon rolls. . . .it seems cinnamon is an anti-fungal, meaning it's a yeast killer, thus the cinnamon is swirled between layers and not mixed directly into the dough! To think, two enemies mingling into the sweetest of treats - maybe Cinnamon Rolls will bring peace. 

Soon, pictures of the Hungarian Nut Roll will be posted, and you'll see - even visually - it'll be hard to decide, so you'll just have to try both!

~ Trilety

And Equipment

Over the past couple years we have been doing a lot of research. In order to get our loan, we had to compile a list of all equipment we would need to purchase for the bakery. And now, since we have our loan (hooray!), we are going to be pulling the trigger soon on buying some heavy-duty appliances.

Churchich Restaurant Equipment has been highly recommended to us by several restaurant owners in the area and so we started there. We visited a few weeks ago and discussed our needs with Debi Churchich. We gave her our list of needed equipment and a few days later she emailed a very thorough price quote, including all specifications of the equipment. After Trilety and I looked through the list we received from Debi, we decided on some major items such as a 3 basin sink with 2 drainboards, a 20 quart mixer, a 6 quart mixer, a stacked gas convection oven, and a big beautiful maple work table.

We also opted to put this super awesome hand sink in the kitchen. It is controlled with knee pedals instead of with handles. Like sensor activated hands free faucets, pedal sinks help to conserve water. They are also more sanitary.

More to come later. Getting pumped!

Meg

A Sneak Peek. . . .

In the last post, Megan gave a sneak peek of the barn wood that will be installed in the bakery. Since then, we've continued to make design choices. Take a look through the knot in the wood to see some of our decisions. . . . 

The style of your clothes says a lot about you. Style is a way to use your body as a palette for blending your creative tastes. The design process of the bakery is a lot like choosing a great outfit. . . . but an outfit that you'll wear for years, not hours. So for months, a group of us (me, Megan, Barbi, and the BVH team of Tom Miller, Nate Adams, and Jeff Davis) have been standing in front of the metaphorical closet trying to choose an outfit. The decisions have finally been finalized, and we're giving you a sneak peek at our wardrobe!

The durable kitchen floors will be a shade called Caribbean:

The floors in the public space will be bamboo, here's a link to the color we chose (it's called wheat, which is appropriate for a bakery!)

The tile in the kitchen will be 4x8-inch ice white glossy porcelain tile, and the bathroom tile will be 2x2-inch hexagonal tile in this lovely shade of ocean blue:

Color above, and Shape Below

We chose pendant style lights with a globe fixture that is similar, but not exact, to the photo below (we are super excited for these!)

Each day, we are coming closer and closer to starting the physical remodel of the bakery. We are a few weeks out from receiving final bids and scheduling the construction start date. . . . which means you are all much closer to the day you'll be able to stop in and enjoy our baked goods!

What's your style?

~ Trilety

Barn Wood Day

We're on our way to a brick and mortar kitchen. Our hope is that the renovation work will start within the next few months. In the meantime we are wrapping up the design work with our architects; making the final decisions about textures, textiles, finishes and fixtures. Fun! One element we've wanted to incorporate from the start of the design process is repurposed barn wood.

A fantastic designer friend of mine, Jil Bunnimit, showed me an image of a staggered wood treatment and thought it would be interesting to consider that for our bakery in some way. At the same time, Trilety's mom and our honorary third bird, Barbi, has two barns that are ready to be felled. And bingo! These birds will have a barn wood wall treatment in their bakery. Below is the design inspiration photo. The wood in our wall treatment will remain raw and rustic rather than painted.

wood treatment inspiration

A few months ago, in November, we (Trilety, Barbi and me) got out our crowbars and hammers and ripped up the side of Barbi's barn. Hard work and so much fun! Barbi bought new tools for this project. I felt so cool with my yellow crowbar!

on location

a pile of barn wood!

Trilety and Barbi

Meg and Trilety

We made a good dent that day but still have a ways to go in order to pull enough wood to cover the wall space in our bakery. Getting there, getting there!

Meg