Patrick Mizelle (Northwest)
Edwin was the baker in the family, but after he died, Patrick began to try his hand. He is mostly interested in homely, practical baking, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. He likes the ingenuity of poor people who have created delicious things from seemingly empty cupboards and often references Mennonite and Buddhist cookbooks. He experiments with flavors and techniques, such as using natural yeast from the air to make bread.
Patrick likes recipes that use as little sugar or butter as possible, tasty but not fatal, ha ha. He says: “I have my prejudices: why would anyone put sugar in cornbread or use eating cherries in a pie, for instance — they cook up mushy and cloying.”
He mostly lets the seasons dictate what he bakes: apple cobbler or crumble in apple season, or recipes that take advantage of the long berry calendar in Oregon. Not a puritan, he will use frozen or canned things in the depths of winter and will try his hand at something extravagant from time to time (though he admits that sort of thing is easier to buy at the Harvest Grill or a local patisserie).
For Patrick, baking is more than a bit like making art, except you can eat it….and even “failures” are often not half bad. Every Sunday evening, he is glued to OPB to watch The Great British Baking Show.
A Panettone
A Focaccia
A Biscuit
A Cake
A Piece of Pie
