I T I N E R A R Y | S H O R T H O P S
What makes a wetland biologist
trade water and grass for butter
and flour? For Stephanie Smith it was
the desire to be more creative and find
a career she could do anywhere in the
world.
A Pacific Northwest native, she dove
fingers first into a world of dough. And
after completing the pastry program at
Le Cordon Blue in Seattle, Stephanie ran
the bakery for Microsoft’s catering service.
But she longed to use her skills at a
job where her hands got sticky, customers
ordered in person, and her schedule
allowed her to travel.
And such is the story of a pastry-loving
city dweller who came to own and
operate a quaint island bakery at the
edge of America — a place where the
ethos of ‘Love and Butter’ is shared in
sweet treat after sweet treat.
Get to know Stephanie better. For
extended answers visit: kenmoreair.com/
holly-bs
How are you keeping the essence
of Holly B’s alive? We want to make
sure you have the same feeling today
when you walk in the door that you had
years ago. So we’ve really tried to take
the bakery’s history into consideration.
Baked to Perfection
Q&A with Holly B’s Owner, Stephanie Smith.
Even as we’ve made physical changes
in the bakery, we kept the layout the
same. When we had new pastry cases
made, they were made by someone on
the island. Someone who knows the
bakery and could help us make them
look like a newer, updated version of
the old ones.
You use the off-season to travel.
How does baking influence this experience?
Having a passion for something
and exploring that in different
places I think is one of the best ways to
travel. That shared interest can really
help connect you to different cultures.
For me, I’m really into baking. So I
seek out bakeries and bakers wherever
I go. It’s really interesting to see the
differences. Even places that are so
similar to us, like the UK, use such different
brands. For instance, a lot of UK
products use a ‘golden syrup.’ That isn’t
something we really see here. But the
flavor is a little like honey with a hint of
molasses.
Have any destinations influenced
the items you’re making at
Holly B’s? A lot of our products here in
the U.S. draw from France and European
traditions. So while interesting, those
already influenced a lot of what we do.
But Israel and Tel Aviv. Those were two
destinations that were amazing in the
way that their products are different
than what we have.
Do you have a favorite menu
item? Croissants — especially the chocolate
croissant. Croissants in general are
a big labor of love. And I’m really proud
of how far ours have come. I think now
we make one of the best croissants
around.
We’ve done a lot of work. On training
to get the technique right. On finding
the right butter for those layers. We’re
just in a really good spot right now with
Jessica, who handles the croissants.
She’s meticulous and takes a lot of pride
in her work. They are definitely our best
seller.
Having moved to Lopez from
Seattle, how have you connected
with the local community? As much
as possible, we work with local farmers
to get our produce and fruit. We’re really
lucky to have an abundance of fruit here
on Lopez. Any of the local stuff is pretty
darn amazing. The best strawberries are
being grown right here.
In addition to strawberries and
blueberries and raspberries – we’ll get
contacted by smaller producers who
have some unique thing, like 10-pounds
of mirabelle plums. Early on I might not
have known what to do with mirabelle
plums, but I was super excited to find
out.
Holly B’s
211 Lopez Rd.
Lopez Island, WA 98261
360.622.8133
hollybsbakery.com
kenmoreair.com
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