Unforgettable Bakery + Cafe proprietor shares Haitian, baguette bread recipes

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Martina Yvette
| For Savannah Morning News
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What’s the best sandwich in Savannah? These three points lead the pack.

Dine and Dash host Martina Yvette searches for Savannah’s top sandwich and visits Finches Sandwiches and Diverses, Unforgettable Bakery and The Black Rabbit.

Savannah Morning News

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic brought the baker to light in most of us. Especially out of fear that basic household items are out of date. Local restaurants like Unforgettable Bakery + Cafe have also redesigned their menu by introducing the artisanal baked goods into their store for customers to purchase.

The owner Belinda Baptiste was introduced to French bread-making by her colleague, the French chef Edouard Waffalaert. With her ingenuity, she adopted traditional bread recipes by using a healthy variety that didn’t use eggs, milk, and butter in most breads.

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Behind the wooden parlor doors that lead to the quaint kitchen, you’ll find loads of fresh whipped cream, sauteed onions made for the Belinda crab cake sandwich, and massive mixers that combine fresh ingredients into Haitian bread and French baguettes.

While these freshly made on-site breads are the newest addition to the bakery, customers can testify how much they enjoy them like they’ve been part of the cafe for 12 years.

Perhaps the newest skill Belinda has mastered was always in her genes. Although she got a late start on the art of cooking in her early 20s, she said the art of making bread was common for her family, who all grew up in Haiti. The family often had freshly baked bread prepared for the community and household. She attributed most of the baking skills to her father.

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Belinda’s knowledge in bread making encouraged her to use ingredients that use healthy fats and are vegetarian. To make their signature Haitian bread, the process begins with a sourdough starter. This starter mixes 60 grams of water and flour for seven days and forms the basis for most of the store’s breads.

For Belinda, the art of making bread keeps bringing her back to Soup Joumou, or Haitian Independence Day, which takes place every January 1st. The holiday symbolizes the overthrow of French slave masters and celebrates the triumph with Haitian soup. A once forbidden dish for enslaved Haitians that breaks bread as a side dish on this Independence Day is a secondary luxury to the freedom of many Haitians.

Belinda and Chef Tamara Curtis stay true to their roots and create newer bread recipes that combine fruits, oats, nuts and Haitian spices. So far, they have put a brioche, breakfast bread, and Haitian coconut bread on the menu. All items, including the sourdough starter, are made to order and can be picked up at the cafe. They are also available at Forsyth’s Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Belinda said her goal is “to let families make memories by baking together”.

Martina Yvette produces the Dine and Dash videos for Savannahnow.com. Contact them at adashofthat1@gmail.com.

More: Two Savannah friends create a cookbook with Downtown and Tybee flavors

When you go

What: Unforgettable bakery + cafe

Where: 238 Eisenhower Drive

Hours: Wednesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Forsyth Farmers Market)

Contact: 912-355-6160; unforgettablebakery.com

PHOTOS: For more photos with this item, visit SavannahNow.com/Lifestyle/Food/.

RECIPES

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Dine and Dash: Haitian bread by Belinda Baptiste

The owner of Unforgettable Bakery + Cafe in Savannah shows how to make Haitian bread.

Savannah Morning News

Haitian bread

Courtesy Unforgettable Bakery + Café. Small batch.

Small series ingredients:

• 2 pounds of bread flour

• 2.5 ounces of brown sugar

• 20 grams of salt

• 15 grams of yeast

• 4 ounces of butter or olive oil or coconut oil (I use coconut oil)

• 20 ounces of warm water

Big Batch Ingredients:

(Makes 20 loaves)

• 6 pounds of bread flour

• 10 ounces of avocado oil cold

• 7 ounces of brown sugar

• 60 grams of salt

• 45 grams of yeast

• 50 ounces of water + 16 ounces of sourdough

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients except salt.

2. Add butter. Mix until granular for about 10 minutes.

3. Add water and salt to form a batter. Knead for a good 10 minutes. The more you work the dough, the tastier and more elastic it will be. Let it sit in a bowl covered with a clean kitchen towel in a warm place for 45-60 minutes. The dough should be twice as big.

4. Knead, shape and bake in a baking dish for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

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Dine and Dash: French baguettes by Belinda Baptiste

The owner of Unforgettable Bakery + Cafe shows how to make French baguettes.

Savannah Morning News

French baguette

Courtesy Unforgettable Bakery + Café. Small batch. Small batch.

Ingredients in the order in the mixing bowl:

• 630 grams of water

• 1 avocado, optional

• 14 grams of yeast

• 1 kilogram of flour

• 23 grams of salt

Directions:

1. Beat on 1 for 10 minutes, then add salt and best of 5 minutes on 1, then 5 minutes on 2.

2. Divide the dough by 12 inches and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

3. Roll in baguette and let rise until doubled

4. Bake for 20-22 minutes at 425 degrees.