The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Finding comfort and satisfaction
Top baker shares key ingredients to homemade sweets
Atlanta baker Sarah Dodge has worked as a caterer, photographer, food stylist and pastry chef, with stints at Octopus Bar, Little Tart Bakeshop, Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall and the Preserving Place.
But she’s probably best known and beloved for making simple cookies, cakes and other goodies that combine technique with rich flavors and rustic homemade appeal.
Nowadays, Dodge can be found at 8ARM, a lively Virginia-Highland cafe and bakery, where she’s been filling the pastry cases with muffins, turnovers, cinnamon buns and quiche. And her perfect buttermilk biscuits are on the daily menu in the form of sandwiches, loaded with the likes of bacon, eggs and pimento cheese.
“I got into baking for a whole lot of reasons,” Dodge says. “But one of the main reasons was because it soothed my mind. I would get in the kitchen and start making things and I was instantly calm.
“I had really great mentors, like Sarah O’Brien at Little Tart Bakeshop and Rob Alexander at H&F Bread Co., and I learned that baking is to feed people. That’s what I really value. Here at 8Arm, we want people to come in and feel really satisfied and comforted. That’s where I like to go with my baking.”
Dodge, who has been known to teach classes on baking, stresses mastering basic formulas as a means to create a variety of recipes.
“I hear a lot of people talk about how stressful baking is and I just want to shush them,” she says. “The thing about baking is learning formulas so that you understand the technique. Once you gain an understanding and appreciation for the technique and tradition, the possibilities become endless and the recipes become your own, a blank canvas that allows you to create what you want.”
When we asked Dodge to share a few recipes with us, she balked at giving away the secrets to her biscuits. But she did offer three favorites that have become 8ARM dessert staples.
Her buttermilk cake is one those base formulas she changes with the seasons, adding fruit, and for different occasions baking it in different pans and adding layers.
“It’s incredibly versatile,” Dodge says. “The options are endless. It’s such a good formula to have in your repertoire.”
Dodge calls her whole wheat double chocolate chip cookies her “favorite cookie recipe on the planet.” And she likes to pair it with her creamy rich, custard-based vanilla ice cream.
“Like a bowl of ice cream and a cookie, some of the best desserts are so simple,” Dodge says. “Growing up, I was jealous of all the kids getting their soft batch cookies. My parents never let anything like that in the house. I was destined to make a cookie that realized my childhood soft batch crush.”
“This is my favorite cookie on the planet. I learned the glory of using whole wheat working for Sarah O’Brien at Little Tart Bakeshop. The whole wheat adds a fullness and robustness that makes the cookie so much more. Molasses adds a richness in flavor that is unmatched. I switch up the chocolate and do white chocolate and dried cherries or pecans and caramel. When making cookies, it’s important that all of your ingredients are the same temperature or else they won’t bake evenly or consistently.”
Preheat oven to 325 degrees, on convection setting, if available.
Add room-temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. In a mixing bowl, whisk to combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt and baking soda. In another mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses. Mix sugars and molasses with your fingers, ensuring the molasses gets broken up. In another bowl, crack eggs and set aside. In a final bowl, combine chocolate pieces. You want everything ready to make the final mix super easy.
Once everything is ready, turn your mixer to medium and mix the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the sugar mix and mix until almost white in color, about 4 minutes. The butter is absorbing the sugar, eating it, and that’s what’s going to give you the good texture. Next add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. This is also going to ensure good texture. Once well beaten, turn mixer to low. Add the flour mix and mix on low, just to combine. It’s OK if you still see a little bit of flour, you don’t want to over mix. Finally, fold in the chocolate pieces.
Spoon out dough to a parchment paper-lined sheet tray. I scoop out my dough with an ice cream scoop; it’s uniform and easy.
Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the center is set. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with course sea salt, if desired.
Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies Per cookie: 371 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 4 grams protein, 49 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 20 grams fat (12 grams saturated), 60 milligrams cholesterol, 209 milligrams sodium.