By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Contributor
I have always been able to cook — after many years working in restaurant management, that is. I can cook just about everything; sadly, I can’t bake anything, I am so bad that I don’t even try ready-to-bake desserts. Something will go wrong.
I was looking online recently and found a place that does baking classes, and I was intrigued. As I looked more, I noticed they have their own bakery, featuring a lot of freshly-baked breakfast and dessert items, as well as fresh-baked breads.
I took this as a sign that this should be my next place to check out: Lowder Baking Company, 4019 Fern Ave. Suite 500, Shreveport, and I am glad I did.
I went in expecting to order a few different items to try, and of course, came out with a lot more than I intended. It’s OK, none of the food will go to waste.
I ordered five different baked items, knowing I’d take a few bites of each to be able to share how good they were, and have all those leftovers for the next couple days. The ones I ordered were: the Cinnamon Roll; Caramel Apple Crumble Danish, Vanilla Bean Cruffin des Rois; Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie and the Almond Croissant.
These were some of the best pastry and dessert items I’ve had in a while.
The Cinnamon Roll was massive, rich, moist and full of cinnamon flavor while not being too heavy. The icing added the perfect sweetness to the roll.
I could live on the Caramel Apple Danish. It was the largest Danish I’ve ever seen. The caramel and apple added such a nice flavor to the freshly-made Danish. The breading was moist while holding up to all the toppings.
I have a weakness for brownies, and I like them more fudgy then cakey. This one fit that bill. It was so rich without leaving that feeling of eating something too heavy. I know now where to get some of the best brownies out there.
The Almond Croissant and the Vanilla Bean Cruffin were much more subtle on the added sweet flavors, which is part of why I ordered them. I wanted a couple of items that have some flavor, but were much more dependent on the skill of the baker. If the bake wasn’t perfect, then anyone eating it would know right away. I can tell you, these two items were perfect. I wouldn’t hesitate to order these again, and for anyone who doesn’t like things overly sweet, these are what you need to get.
While I was waiting for them to pack up my items, I saw that Lowder’s offers some frozen meals ready to put in the oven. I could not resist, considering I didn’t have any thoughts about dinner that night.
I picked Crawfish (pot) Pie. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I’ve never been a big pot pie eater, but this dish was a pleasant surprise. It was full of large crawfish tails and the filling was flavorful with a kick to it that made me refill my drink a few times. This will be an item I will have at the ready to keep me nice and warm when the temps go down. I’ll have to try some others that they carry as well.
As for taking the classes, I’m probably a lost cause on the baking, so I may just settle for enjoying what the experts make.
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net