We’ve always made our own bread at Arrows. Maine’s artisanal bakeries are rising in number now, but it hasn’t always been easy to get people to warm up to the small local bakeries. In America, your Starbucks coffee is always the same, and that burger at the fast-food joint is always the same as well. As Americans we tend to feel comfortable when we know just what we’re going to get and expect it to be that way every single time. Not us. Twenty-five years ago when a few strong-hearted souls said gee, I want to have a bakery like I experienced in France, the banker ran in the other direction. Now, it has caught on and through pure Yankee self-reliance we have dozens of artisan bakers, such as Matt James and Alison Pray, owners of The Standard Baking Company in Portland. Their baguettes, boules, and brioche are legendary, along with their chocolate croissants and their famous “morning buns.” Along with bakeries like Beach Pea, Notre Dame, and When Pig’s Fly, they’ve been a part of ensuring that the bread we eat on our home table or in a restaurant is fresh, wholesome, and delicious every time, even if it doesn’t always look the same. While there are small bakeries all around now, we had to make our own breads, a legacy from back in a time when the only bread we could get here was massed produced and we had no choice. One of the most alluring things about arriving at Arrows is the smell of freshly baked bread, right along with the scents of the smoker roasting up some oysters.

Of course, desserts come from the baker’s oven as well, and Maine desserts are so simple, you don’t have to be a master pastry chef to make an apple crisp or a blueberry pie. Mainers just used what was around the farm to make sweet concoctions, such as hasty pudding, pumpkin pie, fritters, and those sweet treats from European history—plum pudding, gap and swallow (a pudding with maple syrup), and flummery. There were legacy desserts from Britain in custards and puddings, and the simplest and most “Yankee” of all desserts, Indian pudding made with cornmeal, molasses, and cold whole milk, invented when getting enough to eat meant using whatever was plentiful or stored in the cellar. In those days, sugar was scarce so maple syrup, honey, and molasses were the sweeteners. Now, we don’t have those constraints because ingredients are cheap and easy to find, but the simplicity of this tradition still resonates for good cooks.

CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

WE’VE BEEN TRAINED TO THINK THAT CERTAIN VERY LARGE COMPANIES ARE THE only cranberry producers around, but we have bogs all over backyards here in Maine, including some right near Arrows. We tend to think of cranberries as only for Thanksgiving or as juice, but when used in this cake, they’re terrific. Upside-down cakes are fun because they’re an easy way to make a tart Tatin without all of the effort and caramelizing. Bake it in a pan and when you flip it out, you have all this great caramelized fruit that becomes almost a fruit sauce for the fluffy cake. It’s a perfect way to use our local ingredients.

MAKES 1 10-INCH CAKE

½ pound (2 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon un salted butter, divided

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided

1 pound cranberries

½ cup granulated sugar

5 large eggs

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease a 10-inch round, 1-inch-deep cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and pour it into the cake pan. Sprinkle ½ cup of the brown sugar evenly on top. Place the cranberries on top of the brown sugar. In a large bowl, beat the remaining 12 tablespoons butter until smooth, about 4 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and the remaining ½ cup of brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl as needed. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter mixture, mixing in gradually until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the orange zest. Gently spread the batter over the cranberries. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the cake from the pan by running a thin knife around the edge and invert it onto the cooling rack. Peel off the parchment and let the cake cool completely.

SHORTCAKE with BERRIES

NOTHING SCREAMS SUMMER LIKE SHORTCAKE WITH BERRIES. MOST GO RIGHT FOR the classic strawberry shortcake but in a state where blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries grow right by the side of the road, why not take advantage of what’s outside the door? Just take a look at what’s in season and offer this treat with our Maple Whipped Cream (page 229).

YIELD: 6 TWO-CAKE SERVINGS

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar, divided

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cold butter, cubed

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk, a bit at a time until a soft dough is formed. Roll the dough out to ½-inch thickness and cut with 3-inch round cookie cutters. Place the cakes on a cookie sheet and brush with cream. Bake until lightly brown, about 15 minutes.

Toss the berries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Split each short cake in half horizontally. Place two halves on the plate and then top with berries. Top with the remaining halves to create a sandwich. Add a dollop of whipped cream on top of each sandwich.

PEACH COFFEE CAKE

PEOPLE DON’T THINK OF MAINE AS A PLACE WHERE STONE FRUIT GROWS, BUT there are actually very good peaches here and they are perfect with this coffee cake. Have it at breakfast or brunch, but try it for dessert with our Blueberry Crème Frâiche Ice Cream too (page 226).

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup shortening

2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

Six peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in the shortening. Remove ½ cup of this mixture and save for the topping. Blend the buttermilk and baking soda in a bowl and add to the dry ingredients. Layer the peaches at the bottom of a 9-inch pan. Pour the batter over the peaches. Melt the butter and drizzle on top. Add the ½ cup of reserved topping mixture to the brown sugar. Mix and sprinkle over the cake. Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

DOWN-EAST SIZZLERS

MANY SUMMER VISITORS ASSOCIATE MAINE WITH FRIED SEAFOOD, BUT ACTUALLY some of the earliest known fried dishes and foods weren’t fried clams but such confections as these sizzlers, much like a dumpling. One thing that’s very important about frying sweet things is to start with clean oil no matter what. You don’t want your lovely sweet sizzlers tasting like fried clams.

YIELD: 12 SERVINGS

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1½ teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

⅓ cup milk

1 egg

1 cup finely chopped apple

1 cup canola oil

½ cup warm maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in the butter until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the milk and egg. Stir until it forms a dough. On a floured board, roll the dough until thin, about ¼ inch thick. Cut into 4-inch circles. Place a heaping teaspoon of apple in the middle of each circle. Moisten the edges with water and fold in half, pinching closed. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or a heavy-bottomed pot to 325°F. The oil should be about 1 inch deep. Drop the sizzlers into the hot oil, working in batches, and fry until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Drain well on paper towels and then serve with warm maple syrup.

OUR INDIAN PUDDING

WE COULD WRITE A WHOLE BOOK ABOUT INDIAN PUDDING AND ITS NEW ENGLAND roots. Most Yankee cooks agree it’s a staple, although there are variations. In Rhode Island you’ll see white corn meal and elsewhere tapioca. Some use sweet apples and pears, others raisins, all of which float to the top and create a sweet juice. Every recipe has the basics—molasses, cornmeal, and milk. Every school child knows that Native Americans taught the early settlers to raise corn and that molasses came from the Caribbean following the great Triangle Trade. All of this history makes Indian or “injun” pudding one of the oldest recipes in New England cookery. There are many variations even within Maine, but we think our version measures up with the best.

YIELD: 8 SERVINGS

3 cups milk

½ cup yellow cornmeal

¼ cup dark molasses

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Combine the milk and cornmeal in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and whip in the cornmeal mixture. Pour the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Cover with foil and bake slowly for about 2 hours until the pudding is set. Serve warm.

OGUNQUIT BEACH S’MORES

DON’T DROP THESE IN THE SAND! OUR TOWN HAS ONE OF THE MOST PRISTINE fine-grained white sand beaches in New England, but you don’t want these covered in it. There’s something very romantic about sitting around the fire on the beach on a late summer night telling stories and making s’mores. With all that gooey marshmallow and chocolate, they are truly easy squeezy but don’t squeeze too hard. What else do you make where it’s ok to be messy? For our s’mores we go all out and make our own graham crackers and marshmallow, and you can, too, or just buy good-quality graham crackers and marshmallows at the store and get to the beach faster.

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

GRAHAM CRAcKERS

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup unsalted butter, slightly softened

⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

MARSHMALLOW

4 (1-ounce) packages powdered gelatin

⅓ cup water

1¼ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

6 large eggs, separated

¾ cups confectioners’ sugar

¾ cup cornstarch

S’MORES

12 ounces quality dark chocolate

Marshmallow

12 graham crackers

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKERS: Whisk together the flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until softened and then mix in the sugars. Stir in the honey, egg, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing well after each addition until blended. Divide the dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into an 8-inch square, about ¼ inch thick. Using a knife, trim the sides of the dough to leave a 7-inch square.

Reserve the scraps. Divide the dough into 9 even squares and place them about 1½ inches apart on the cookie sheets. Re-roll the trimmings and make 3 more squares, to total 12. Bake the crackers until lightly browned around the edges, about 10 minutes. Let rest on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer them to wire racks to cool.

FOR THE MARSHMALLOW: Sprinkle the gelatin into 6 ounces cold water. Let stand 1 minute. In a heavy saucepan, bring ⅓ cup water, the granulated sugar, and corn syrup to 240°F. In a large bowl whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. (Freeze the leftover egg yolks for use in sauces or other recipes.) Pour the cooked sugar down the side of the bowl into the egg whites. Dissolve the gelatin in a hot pan and add to the sugar and egg mixture. Whip until stiff and fluffy, about 7 minutes.

Spray the bottom and sides of a parchment-covered baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray and spread the marshmallow mixture evenly, but do it gently so the marshmallow doesn’t deflate.

Combine the confectioners’ sugar and the cornstarch. Using a fine mesh sieve, sprinkle some of the mixture over the top of the marshmallow. Reserve the remaining mixture for additional sprinklings. Let stand for 2 to 4 hours to dry. Add more of the sugar and starch mixture to the top and invert the marshmallow. Remove the parchment paper and dust the bottom with the sugar and starch mixture. Cut into squares. Gently toss the cut pieces in the sugar and cornstarch mixture to coat completely.

FOR THE S’MORES: Place a square of chocolate on one graham cracker. Heat the marshmallow over a fire or put under a broiler. Place the marshmallow on the chocolate and then top with another piece of graham cracker. Squeeze.

THE WAY WE SHOP

IF YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR MIND THAT YOU’RE CRAVING CHICKEN, just leave it at that. With that one idea in mind, go to the grocery store or farmers’ market and see what’s fresh and in season. Wing it! Whatever is in season will go well together whether it’s an herb, a green, or a vegetable. Find what catches your fancy instead of bringing a list. If you must have a list or are trying a new recipe, write an outline just like you did in sixth grade for your first paper so you can adapt. If the recipe calls for leeks and they look horrible or are too expensive because they’re not in season, get some spring onions. Don’t be afraid to explore your options.

Buy in season. Don’t buy raspberries in January, they can’t be from here. Just think about where things are coming from and when. Corn is the summertime, carrots are coming in long into the winter in some areas, including in Maine. The seasonal foods will taste better, and buying seasonally means buying economically. How many times have you dropped your jaw in shock when you looked at the price tag on strawberries in December?

Now, if you’re really using this book, you will have raspberries in February because you bought them in season and froze them or you have potatoes and onions in the root cellar along with those pickles you made from the summer cucumbers and beans.

Don’t be afraid to ask the butcher or fishmonger for advice. Tell them what you want to do and they can tell you which meats would be best and steer you toward meats and fish that are from local sources as well as fresh and tasty. Once you’ve developed a relationship with your butcher, he’ll go out of his way to let you know when there is something special to build a meal on.

APPLE-RHUBARB CRISP

CRISPS AND GRUNTS, COBBLERS AND SLUMPS—ALL NAMES FOR ONE-DISH BAKED desserts, usually involving fruit. They might be simple, but they’re so delicious. Rhubarb is actually one of the first crops to come up in the Maine garden each season, and it grows like a tropical plant. You can’t eat the leaves, but the long stalks are sweet and tangy. These sorts of dishes are great for when the garden takes over and you have too much of one fruit. Freeze your berries and rhubarb and use them all year long.

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

FRUIT MIXTURE

6 apples, peeled, cored, and diced

6 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ cup hot water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

TOPPING

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

FO R THE FRUIT MIXTURE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the fruit mixture ingredients in a large bowl and then place in a buttered 12 x 9-inch baking dish.

FOR THE TOPPING: Combine the ingredients in a bowl and then work in the butter until it resembles coarse meal. Top the fruit mixture with the topping and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden on top.

BAILEY’S ISLAND BLUEBERRY TART

THERE IS A FAMOUS BRIDGE CONNECTING ORR’S ISLAND TO BAILEY’S ISLAND, in fact it’s the only cribstone bridge in the world. The bridge design allows the large tides to flow freely through it so that boats have an easier time getting through the channel opening. We just think it’s beautiful and when we first started going to that area, just an hour or so away from Ogunquit, we loved it because we felt like we were truly “Down East.” We used to go to a restaurant called the Log Cabin, and they had the best blueberry pies made by one of the waitresses who worked there. We took friends up there all the time. On one trip we hit a blizzard halfway up but kept going anyway. When we came out we were in a full blown Nor’easter and had to skid home. In the Bailey’s Island Pie, the crust was light and flaky and not overdone, and there weren’t many spices either, allowing the blueberries to shine. In our rendition we tried to duplicate these textures and flavors and by making it into a tarlet is to make it just a little more elegant.

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

CRUST

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons shortening

1 large egg

FILLING

1 pound blueberries

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

CRUMBLED TOPPING

8 tablespoons (1 stick ) unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup all-purpose flour

FOR THE CRUST: Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and shortening and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 20 seconds. In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Gradually pour the egg into the dough and process for 15 seconds or until the pastry holds together. Add water, if necessary. Do not process more than about 30 seconds. On a floured work surface, roll the dough to fill a 10-inch tart pan and press into the pan at both the bottom and the sides.

FOR THE FILLING: Place the blueberries, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water. Add to the blueberry mixture. Boil again and then remove from the heat.

FOR THE TOPPING: Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add the vanilla and then the flour. Pour the blueberry mixture into the tart shell and top with the topping. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly brown. Let cool until just warm to the touch.

WILD FOR BLUEBERRIES

MAINERS WILL MAKE ANYTHING WITH OUR SWEET LITTLE WILD Maine blueberries from pie, crisps, and cobblers to jams, ice cream, and even vodka. Our sixty thousand acres of wild blueberries have adapted to our harsh winters and grow without much tending all over the state, ready for harvest in August, when blueberry festivals abound.

Rich with antioxidants, the blueberries were used extensively by the Native Americans for nutrition, healing, and flavor. It was likely they who guided the settlers into harvesting the blueberries using a technique of burning the fields in alternate years to cut back the crop and promote growth. You’ll still see flaming fields now but also farmers pruning the bushes to an inch high. The blueberries are indeed wild in the sense that they are not usually manually planted, but they do need a little help from farmers, who prune, fertilize, and protect the barrens from pests.

And the flavor is fantastic, delicate and tart, often sweet and crunchy. These gems are full of nutrients. It’s no wonder Mainers will find many ways to make use of them, including just eating them right off of the bush.

WHOOPIE PIES

HOW THE WHOOPIE PIE BECAME A STATE TREASURE IS A MYSTERY TO US. ONE theory holds that whoopie pies were brought north during the Depression by way of the “Yummy Book,” a recipe pamphlet first published in 1930 by Durkee-Mower, the Massachusetts company that makes Marshmallow Fluff. But they might have come to us from the Amish. According to another theory, the recipe might have come to us from one of the many local radio programs aimed at housewives during the 1930s. No matter how they arrived, they’ve been a favorite in Maine for about eighty years, and today you’ll find them stacked next to cash registers in stores all over the state. So you see, we couldn’t have a book about Maine without these decadent treats.

YIELD: 9 SERVINGS

CAKE

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ cup vegetable shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING

1 cup solid vegetable shortening

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

2 cups marshmallow crème

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

FO R THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two baking sheets with canola oil. Cream the shortening, brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix the milk and vanilla. Add the dry mix to the shortening. Mix a little at a time and alternate adding the milk mixture. Beat until smooth.

Drop the batter in ¼ cup increments onto the cookie sheets, making 18 cakes. Spread out the batter into 4-inch circles with a spoon. Leave about 2 inches between each circle. Bake the cake until firm when touched, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

FOR THE FILLING: Beat together the shortening, confectioners’ sugar, marshmallow crème, and vanilla. When the cakes are cool, spread the filling on one cake and then top with another. Repeat to make eight more whoopie pies.

RED, WHITE, and BLUE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

ANGEL FOOD CAKE IS THE ONLY TRUE AMERICAN PASTRY RECIPE, MADE WITHOUT French technique. It’s probably even more American than apple pie. It likely originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch who made and first named angel food. We see references in our early New England cookbooks to this all-American original as well. We decided to make it even more American and dress this cake up in red, white, and blue, something we came up with for the Fourth of July. The egg whites might seem daunting, but the results are worth it.

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

1½ cups superfine sugar, divided

3½ ounces cake flour, sifted

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

16 eggs, separated

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

3 cups heavy cream

⅓ cup raspberry purée

⅓ cup blueberry purée

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Sift half of the sugar with the flour and the salt. Set the remaining sugar aside. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with a mixer to thoroughly combine them. Add the vanilla extract and the cream of tartar. Slowly add the reserved sugar into the mixture, beating continuously at medium speed. When soft peaks begin to form, sift half of the flour mixture in so that it dusts the top. Fold the remaining flour in very gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Carefully spoon the batter into a tall ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Check for doneness with a wooden skewer. It should come out dry. Cool upside down on a cooling rack for 1 hour before removing the cake from the pan.

Whip the cream with a mixer until stiff. Divide into three parts. Add the blueberry purée to one part, raspberry purée to the next, and leave one as is. Cut the cake into three horizontal parts with a long serrated knife. Place the red cream on the bottom layer and top with the next cake layer. Place white cream on top of the second layer and then top with another cake layer. Finish with the blue cream.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH DONUTS with MAPLE SYRUP

MOST OF US WOULD THINK NOTHING ABOUT PUMPKIN IN A DONUT OR CAKE, BUT somehow using squash seems a bit odd. It’s really not. Squash can be wintered in the root cellar, and it’s been traditional in Maine to use them in baking instead of pumpkin. If you like to garden you’ll need a lot of space because squash grow like plants in the Amazon with curling tendrils and blossoms. It’s great to have butternut squash not only in the height of the summer but also long after the first frost comes. These donuts are a fun dessert that the kids will enjoy.

YIELD: 24 DONUTS

2 eggs

1¼ cups sugar

1 cup peeled, cooked, pureed butternut squash

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Oil, for deep-fat frying

2 cups hot maple syrup

Combine the eggs, sugar, squash, milk, butter, and vanilla in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, and ginger. Add the dry ingredients to the squash mixture. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for 1½ hours.

Place the dough onto a floured board and roll it out to a half-inch thickness. Cut with a 3-inch donut cutter. Heat 1 inch of oil in a heavy pan to 375°F. Fry a few at a time, until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve drizzled with maple syrup.

MARK’S BOSTON BROWN BREAD

BOSTON BROWN BREAD IS MADE WITH ONE OF THE CLASSIC NEW ENGLAND ingredients—molasses—and it’s one of New England’s oldest recipes, a popular dish traditionally baked with a crust so tough it wasn’t even eaten, but softened with water the next day and used to create the next batch. You won’t break your teeth with this recipe, but it’s still great to chew on. Brown bread was baked in tins long ago and still can be. The molasses gives it color and a rich, deep flavor. We like to use it in stuffing. It gives the turkey dinner a real Maine touch and it’s also great with the Warm Dandelion Greens Salad (page 209) and the Clam Chowder with Thyme (page 42).

YIELD: 1 3-POUND BREAD

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup rye flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup raisins

⅔ cup dark molasses

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the flours, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. Add the raisins, molasses, butter, and milk, mixing well. Put the dough into a 3-pound cleaned coffee can or a bread pan and bake until the dough springs back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.

SLOWER THAN MOLASSES

THE WORLD IS NOW JOINED TOGETHER BY PLANE, TRAIN, AUTOMOBILE, and the information super highway, but even before these modern conveniences, the economics of food has always been interrelated. This is certainly true of molasses, one of the commodities used in the Triangle Trade. New England made rum from the sugar and molasses that came in from the Caribbean and shipped it to Africa to buy slaves, which were, in turn, sold in the Caribbean. Whether or not New England was a part of the full triangle is unclear, but molasses was certainly used as a commodity as well as a sweetener later and before the arrival of refined white sugar.

We do know that molasses, a word derived from the Portuguese, melaco, which itself is from the Latin mel, for honey, was exported to the U.S. from the West Indies to make rum. Molasses was taxed by the British after 1733, but as stubborn New Englanders, we ignored the tax and it was reduced. Molasses was popular until the 1880s or so, but after World War I, white sugar became cheaper and overcame molasses in use and popularity.

One story we find so interesting is about the Great Molasses Flood in Boston. In 1919 a vat of molasses at the Purity Distilling Company in the North End exploded, killing 21 people and sending two million gallons of molasses rushing through the streets at 35 miles per hour. Residents today claim that they can still smell the molasses on hot muggy days.

Molasses is making a bit of a nostalgic comeback, and we use it in our stuffing, with pork, and in chewy gingerbread cookies. There are a few grades of molasses, including Gold Star or Fancy, used in baking because of its light sweetness: light molasses, with 40 percent less sugar and used in breads and cooking molasses, and a darker variety, which is great in ginger cookies. Less used in cooking is the dark and bitter blackstrap, which some use when cooking meats or more robust dishes. We think it adds a bit of history and a lot of flavor to dishes when used just right.

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

THE PARKER HOUSE IS A REAL HOTEL IN BOSTON WHERE ALL THE FAMOUS LITERARY people gathered. Although Portland is Maine’s biggest city and closer to us than Boston, when people say, “I’m going to the city,” they often mean Boston. These rolls were made fam ous at the Parker House and their light, buttery flavor makes them great with virtually anything. They’ve made quite a comeback in recent years and they’re a good alternative when you’re tired of those crunchy breads laden with nuts and fruit. Watch these soak up the melting butter and you won’t resist them.

YIELD: 20 ROLLS

3 tablespoons warm water

3 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 (0.25-ounce) package active dry yeast (2½ teaspoons)

10 tablespoons (1 stick, plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, divided

1 cup whole milk

2 cups bread flour

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

1½ to 2 cups all-purpose flour

Stir together the warm water, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan. Add the milk and heat to lukewarm. Stir together the yeast mixture, the remaining 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the butter and milk mixture, the bread flour, and salt in a bowl with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in the all-purpose flour, a little at a time, until it makes a slightly sticky dough that forms a ball.

Butter a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding in a little more all-purpose flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic but still slightly sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place in the buttered bowl. Turn the dough to coat with butter, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in the bowl in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and roll into balls. Arrange evenly in 4 rows of 5 in the pan and loosely cover with a light kitchen or tea towel. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Make a crease in the center of each roll using a floured chopstick. Let the rolls rise again, for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. Brush the tops of the rolls with the butter and bake in the middle of the oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the rolls cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove the rolls from the pan and serve.

BREAD STICKS

AT ARROWS WE START THE MEAL BY SERVING OUR GUESTS A LIGHT, SALTY BREAD stick. They’re perfect with cocktails or an ice cold flute of Champagne while gazing at the garden. Bread sticks are great right out of the oven as we serve them but also for snacks and hors d’oeuvres.

YIELD: 6 THREE-STICK SERVINGS

1½ ounces yeast

1 quart warm water

3½ pounds bread flour

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Mix the yeast and the warm water in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture and mix until a dough forms. Using a dough hook on an electric mixer, continue to mix for 3 minutes, until the dough is silky, smooth, and elastic. Place the dough in a buttered bowl covered with plastic wrap until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out the dough until it is as thin as pizza dough. With a pizza cutter, cut the dough into ¼-inch-wide strips. Lay the strips on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Bake until crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

CARAWAY BREAD

MAINE COOKS HAVE TRADITIONALLY LOVED CARAWAY SO MUCH SO THAT THEY tend to get quite romantic about it. Get a load of this quote about caraway cookies from the Yankee Cookbook: “Full of the flavor of June fields, starred with daises and washed with golden sunshine, they cling to a man’s memory all the days of his life.” We don’t swoon quite so much, but it’s still a wonderful spice. Make the starter the day before. You won’t use all of it so keep it in the refrigerator for your next baking day.

YIELD: 1 LARGE OR 2 SMALL LOAVES

STARTER

18 ounces bread flour

BREAD

1 pound, 10 ounces bread flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

FOR THE STARTER: Blend the ingredients in a bowl and keep covered overnight.

FOR THE BREAD: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water for 10 minutes in a large bowl. Add the starter, bread flour, and salt and mix at low speed with a dough hook attachment on an electric mixer until combined. Mix for 2 more minutes and then add the caraway seeds. Mix for 2 more minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and allow to rest for 4 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add more flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Butter a large bowl. Place the dough in the buttered bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm area until it doubles in size, about 1½ hours.

Punch the dough down in the bowl then turn it out onto the work surface. Shape into a loaf or divide into two small loaves. Cover the loaves with a light towel and leave at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 °F. Uncover the loaves and brush the tops with water. Place the loaves on a baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven. Bake until browned and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

BLUEBERRY-THYME MUFFINS

IN MAINE IT’S HARD TO RUN OUT OF THINGS TO PUT BLUEBERRIES INTO AND THE flavor of thyme goes so perfectly with the sweet, earthy blueberry. Everyone seems to enjoy a good muffin and in addition to the great flavor one of the things that makes a superior muffin is using old-fashioned ingredients. That means no oil, just good, fresh creamery butter.

YIELD: 24 MUFFINS

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1¼ cups sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 eggs

1½ cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

1 cup whole blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Melt the butter. Mix the butter and the eggs in a bowl. Add the butter and egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the milk and the vanilla. Mix in the thyme and the blueberries. Portion the batter into buttered muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle, 20 to 25 minutes.

THE BAKERS

A SMALL SPACE, OFF THE BEATEN PATH, IN AN ALLEY IN PORTLAND offering just a few kinds of breads and pastries in 1995 was the “starter” bakery that gave rise to what is now Standard Baking Company, a bustling enterprise housed in a former warehouse on Portland’s waterfront. It’s still a “neighborhood” bakery, even if that neighborhood has expanded with trendy restaurants and tourist activities. Alison Pray and Matt James strive to keep the feel and flavors coming from Standard. It’s all about comfort and craft.

Back in 1995 and still in 1999 when they moved to the larger space, their breads were European in style, but most people who came in had never heard of foccacia or were unfamiliar with the crusty style of baguettes the couple was selling. Their sourdough was in the French style, a pain de levain, but it was so alien to their customers they were reluctant to call it by the French name. It seemed like they were selling some sort of unrecognizable object that only a few customers remembered or appreciated.

It took time to get Portlanders used to the “new” old-world way of baking. Alison started at Clear Flour in Boston, one of few artisan bakeries in the country along with Acme in Berkeley, California; La Brea in Southern California; and Zabar’s in New York. The couple wanted to get back to Portland—they had lived there before—so they moved from Boston and launched Standard. In 1993 they were part of forming the Bread Baker’s Guild of America and later Alison was able to learn more about European style bread and pastry baking from two Frenchmen, Didier Rosada and Phillipe LeCorre, who were brought to the U.S. by the guild to teach the French techniques at the National Baking Center in Minneapolis. Those two men influenced not only her baking but also her teachings, which still resonate through many baking “generations.”

Back in 1995, many ingredients were hard to come by. The only wheat available was spring wheat, which didn’t give the bread the texture they wanted. Finally after the influence of the guild, bakers were able to get more of the winter wheat with the lower protein content needed to create just the right textures. Getting chocolate meant either settling for whatever inferior variety their supplier had or spending much more to get quality chocolate shipped to Maine.

In addition to making sure the texture is right, Alison and Matt have learned over the years that baking is a slow and gentle process and a tricky ratio. The foundation of good baking is the handling of the dough, and it’s important not to overhandle as is often done in industrial baking, where additives make the texture “feel” like handmade bread. Alison says that the only way to handle bread properly is to learn through experience and from being responsible for making judgments about the dough each and every day. Every day is different because there are variations in humidity, quality of the flour, and heat.

Alison also studied pastry under Le Corre, forty hours alone on “laminated” or layered doughs like the croissant or puff pastry. Alison and Matt started by offering their famous “morning bun,” and people were surprised that they were eating sweets because they were so used to the usual corn syrup-saturated, frosting-topped breakfast fare. Now, customers flock to Standard just for the flaky morning bun, a cup of coffee, and a baguette for the evening’s supper.

Alison and Matt say that they still see themselves as a neighborhood bakery, even though that neighborhood is evolving. There are now neighborhood bakeries all over Portland and the state and the “eat local” movement has made it easier for bakers to get the fresh quality ingredients they need. No longer do they have to get such ingredients as artisan chocolate, organic dairy, or special grains shipped in. They are being produced and crafted nearby, and the couple says locals now understand the craft of their baking as well. The couple says they feel like they’ve stepped back in time, to when people were living the “old ways,” and Alison and Matt feel they help to revive this good and healthier way of life.