San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Local bakery reveals treasured recipe
Long before dawn, the day’s batch of macaroons is getting started at Oakland institution Grand Bakery, a Jewish bakery that’s been in operation for 61 years. Baker Epifanio Garcia combines egg whites and sugar in a double boiler and sets it to low. Over the next five hours, the sugar dissolves into the egg whites, becoming an ambercolored slurry that gradually fills the air with the intoxicating scent of caramel.
The bakery’s crew will repeat this process over and over in the days leading up to Passover, turning out 15,000 cookies before closing for eight days in observance of the holiday.
Passover — which begins this year on March 27 and ends April 4 — is celebrated by eating only unleavened foods. According to the Old Testament, the Israelites left Egypt in such a rush that they didn’t have time to let their bread rise. So they omitted the yeast and baked on rocks to form flat crackers: matzos, which play a central role in the seder feast.
But for many, it’s macaroons that are the star of the meal — and not just any macaroon.
Grand Bakery has a builtin following for its coconut macaroons. The recipe’s origins are a mystery. Owner Sam Tobis inherited the recipe when he took over the bakery in 2017 and converted it to a wholesale business (delivery and pickup available). Garcia has been making them for 20 years, but they’ve been around longer than that.
Macaroons — not to be confused with macarons, a delicate almondbased sandwich cookie — can be made with coconut or almonds. Grand Bakery makes both, but the coconut version is an hourslong process.
Once the egg whites and sugar have caramelized, desiccated coconut and vanilla extract are stirred in. The mixture is then loosened with hot water until it’s the consistency of “wet concrete.” “You want it to be thick but pourable,” Tobis says.
The batter is piped onto baking sheets.
The piping bag’s star tip creates ridges that increase the surface area of the macaroon, for added crunch.
“It’s crispy and crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside; sweet and coconutforward,” Tobis says of his ideal macaroon.
“We’re celebrating freedom from slavery,” he says of the Passover holiday. “It’s supposed to be decadent. This isn’t a subtle cookie, it’s a sweet indulgence.”
There is no gluten or yeast in the macaroons. While Grand Bakery is kosher, the facility is not kosher for Passover because it makes bread yearround, so the macaroons aren’t kosher for Passover, either.
Tobis is revealing Grand Bakery’s recipe for the first time. He concedes that making them is a significant time commitment for the home cook. Most of that time is spent waiting for the egg mixture to caramelize.
Or, you can take the ultimate shortcut and buy Grand Bakery’s macaroons already made. They’re available at Berkeley Bowl, Draeger’s Market, some Mollie Stone’s and some Safeway stores. And, of course, online at www.grandbakeryoakland.com; $15.95 a dozen, or $17.95 a dozen for chocolate.