Upon bringing freshly baked bread to our friend’s annual Lindner barbeque, my husband Arnee remarked, “There’s nothing like these old ethnic bakeries.” While most are just an olfactory gland memory now, from Beinstein’s Village Bakery in Linden, New Jersey, Pechter’s retail in Harrison, and Denberg’s Rolls in Newark, Arnee and I can attest to the goodness of freshly baked goods.

Throughout our daughter’s school years, Arnee drove to Linden, a half-hour drive from our home in South Orange, to buy the only fresh rye bread our daughter Rina would eat. See my blog post, Charlotte Russe dated December 3, 2024, at sharonmarkcohen.com.

I can recall when the owner of the Village Bakeshop, Alvin Beinstein, surprisingly discovered that his ancestors in the old country were bakers. That was probably uncovered in the late 1990s. His accented parents brought their trade to the States. Now that his parents and Alvin are gone, so are the centuries of the Beinstein family’s mouth-watering breads and pastries. See my blog post, Remember Stockings With Seams, dated July 23, 2024, at sharonmarkcohen.com.

We’re spoiled. We grew up on freshly baked bread and rolls. My friend Marie questioned how it could be any better than it was when she ate the gifted bread the next day.

The breads of my youth consisted of those from Beinstein’s and later their bakery down the road called Village Bake Shop, and during the summers in the Catskills at Katz’s, in Liberty, New York. At any of those Jewish shops no longer in existence, the loaves of bread, whether rye, with or without caraway seeds, small, medium, or large, sliced, Russian pumpernickel with black seeds on the top crust (that we always ate with baked spaghetti), pumpernickel/rye and rolls with or without poppy seeds, were baked to perfection.

My husband used to spar with my mother about freezing the bread so that it would taste as fresh as new. She unflinchingly refused, claiming, as Marie, it was just as good when left out on the counter in a bag.

To add to our bakery repertoire, we visited the Bretzel Bakery in Ireland, which is still in existence, after 150 years. (See my October 10, 2023 blog post at sharonmarkcohen.com, Ireland in a Nutshell). The question is, as with so many other ethnic bakeries, when will it end its run?

Found online, “From The Bretzel Bakery & Cafe~

"Dublin's favourite bakery delivers the city's finest breads and pastries every day. The Bretzel is built on 150 years of tradition, experimentation, quality, passion, culture, and community. We are here to feed, nourish, delight and grow baking culture and deliver an outstanding product that leaves everyone wanting more.

“The Bretzel Bakery was set up two centuries ago in the late 1800s by a Russian-Jewish immigrant who started off at a premises on Lennox Street.”

On our first visit to Ireland in August 2023, Arnee and I missed the opportunity to shop at the Bretzel Bakery as we were in Dublin on a bank holiday and the bakery was closed. That’s why it was our first stop when we returned to Ireland ten months later to babysit our 18-month-old granddaughter while her parents attended a destination wedding on the Emerald Isle. As expected, the ethnic bakery did not disappoint.

Once again, in June 2024, we stayed at the Grand Canal Hotel in Dublin and walked along the scenic canal. This time, we arrived at the bakery on a Thursday, five minutes before their 4:00 p.m. closing, and made a delicious haul.

A limited display of mouth-watering doughs crafted into all different shapes, sizes, and textures sat on the shelves at closing time.

Having just spent a month in Los Angeles with our daughter and her family, we must give a shout-out to Bea’s Bakery in Tarzana. Admittedly, we spent too much time and money there. It’s so hard to resist the treats at the waning old ethnic bakeries.

While making my purchase, I just had to teach the young male salesclerk how to pronounce “kichel,” which I brought home for my brother Stu. The bowtie shaped sugar coated treats and similar pastries shaped like and called “flying saucers” were favorites of Stu’s at Beinstein’s, as the Charlotte Russe, discussed in last week’s blog post, was of mine.

Just google “Kichel” to find more about the sweet treat. Jamie Geller offers the definition and a recipe:

“Kichel means cookie in Yiddish and although they are coated in sugar, they're not that sweet, making them the perfect complement to a cup of hot tea or coffee. (Leave off the sugar coating if kichel + herring is your jam!)

90minDuration
40minCook Time
30minPrep Time
36 cookiesServings

Ingredients

For dough:

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, such as Colavita
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For coating:

2 1/2 cups sugar, divided

Preparation

For dough: Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt together, using a hand mixer, or by hand in large bowl until combined. Slowly add 1 cup of flour at a time, mixing well after each addition until a smooth dough forms, about 15 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is no longer sticky, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap or an inverted bowl and allow to rest until dough is supple, about 30 minutes.
For coating: Sprinkle 1 1⁄2 cups sugar evenly over work surface and roll dough out into a 1⁄4-inch-thick rectangle. Top evenly with remaining sugar. Cut dough into 1- x 2-inch rectangles using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Twist each strip to form a bow tie shape. Place onto prepared baking sheets, 1-inch apart.
Bake cookies, 1 rimmed baking sheet at a time, until edges are lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely before serving. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.”
Enjoy!