An Interview with Natalie Galatzer of Bike Basket Pies

Natalie with her bike, outfitted with a basket and panniers for pie delivery

From 2009-2011, Natalie Glazer ran Bike Basket Pies, delivering small-batch hand-held sweet and savory pies by bike to San Francisco doorsteps. Having had thoughts for a similar biked baked-goods venture, and being intrigued by her adorable Bike Basket Pies recipe zine (see #2), I was interested in learning more. I got in touch with her and we had a nice phone chat about her pie baking, business, and what happens (at least for her) when a hobby turns into a job.

Natalie learned to cook from her dad, but first entry-point to baking was via boxed caked mixes--now a far cry from her pies, which were baked from scratch with organic, local, and seasonal produce sourced from her backyard, friends' gardens, and San Francisco farmers' markets. She started specializing in pies about three years ago, having been inspired by friends' curry and crème brûlée carts. She said, "It was a very DIY and convivial scene. I had two jobs at that point but neither of them were particularly fulfilling so I decided I would start a little pie stand in the way that they had a curry cart and a crème brulee cart and I sold pies in the park once or twice on weekdays."It turned out, though, that most of her friends worked during the day, and as much as they wanted to, couldn't make it to the park for lunch break pies. A friend suggested that since she traveled by bike anyway, she deliver to his office. He organized a bulk purchase amongst his co-workers, and Bike Basket Pies was born.

Bike Basket's handheld pies, baked in muffin tins

Having outgrown her home kitchen, Natalie bartered for time and space in a restaurant, set her alarm clock to midnight a few days a week, and baked through the night in order to pedal pies to the doors of hungry San Franciscans in time for lunch. Her menu boasted both sweet and savory options with some very tempting combinations, including potato, leek & cheddar pie, shaker orange, and apple kiwi. As Natalie's business grew and she moved to a different kitchen, upped her hours, and gained quite a local following (just look at her yelp reviews). She said that one of the best part of the business was her interaction with customers. "It turns out that the people who got pie delivered were very good, generous people in the first place. They know they are getting a unique, handmade product so I think that yields some interesting people."

In the end the work proved too overwhelming for a one-woman operation. She reflected, "Ultimately I’m really glad I pursued my passion, but it turns out for me at least, turning that hobby into a job was not what I want to do forever.It didn’t fit for me and obviously other people should follow what they want to do, but for me it turned baking from something that was about the process to something that was entirely about the results." Though Bike Basket Pies was a thriving business, I think Natalie's experience highlights the difficulty of running a small handmade food business and the difficulty in balancing work with pleasure, particularly for someone with diverse hobbies and career paths. Still, her risk, work, and success are undoubtedly inspiring.

A nectarine-raspberry pie glamour shot

Though she's now moved on to another food-related project--working on an organic farm in Italy--Natalie commemorated the close of her business with a fun recipe zine, making her handheld pies available to everyone, as long as your up for baking them. If you live in San Francisco, you can pick them up at a handful of bookstores. Otherwise, you can get it as an iphone app or you can place your order online, which Natalie will gladly fill when she returns from Europe in August. You can also check back here--I'll likely be trying my hand at a Bike Basket recipe (cherry pluot pie, perhaps?) very soon.

Cae's Pumpkin Pie Pops!

This post comes from my friend, former NELP student, and now guest blogger, Cae Keenan! Though I have read a lot of Cae's writing before, it was mostly in the form of lovely journal entries and creative responses. I'm so excited to read and be inspired by her baking and bit of food writing. Here's what she has to tell us about her pumpkin pie pops...

The apple pie cookies over at Smitten Kitchen are what first got us goin’ on this mini pie kick. They are awfully cute – a new twist on a wonderfully old tradition. They also fit in the palm of your hand and you can walk up and down the stairs while eating, no problem! Suddenly, ‘the pie is mobile’ idea had us braving holiday rush hour traffic for the grocery store. We wanted to add a stick, turn this apple pie cookie into a pumpkin pie pop.

A word on the crust: homemade is tops. But if you’re in a pinch, spinning from a long To Do list, or, in our case, if the number of holiday dinner guests you’re expecting grossly outnumbers the hours left ‘til they show up hungry… yes, we used store-bought piecrusts. I ain’t proud of it, but it’s the truth.

So! Two 9-inch pie dough crusts will do it. If you'd like to use homemade crust, use the Nothing-in-the-House pie crust recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Pops

(With a few adjustments, adapted from Cakespy, via Serious Eats)

For the filling:

¾ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 15-ounce can of plain pumpkin puree

1 12-ounce can of condensed milk

Also:

1 egg for glazing

25 wooden skewers, lollipop or Popsicle sticks

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together the dry ingredients. Send the sugar, salt, and spices into a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. Add the pumpkin puree, the dry ingredients, and the condensed milk. Stir to combine. Set filling aside.

We were able to make 25 mini pies from the 2 pie dough crusts. Be mindful, though, that this means cutting out 50 little circles.

2. Roll out each piecrust on a floured surface. Even though our store bought (!) crusts came smooth, flat and round, we rolled each for a thinner pie pop crust – and to get 25 pops. Once the dough reaches your desired thickness, use a round cookie or biscuit cutter (I grabbed a small water glass and turned it over), and cut out 50 circles. Gather and re-roll the dough as needed to get as many pops from your dough as possible.

To assemble:

3. Lay the 25 bottom crusts across several cookie sheets, or work in batches. Press one wooden stick into each crust. Be sure the top of the stick reaches at least ½ way up the crust. Add a spoonful of filling in the center of each crust, covering the stick. (My sister Aidan says: “A small spoonful is crucial to avoid over-spillage or bursting pies.”) Top each bottom crust with its mate, Mates! Seal the seams of each pie by pressing a fork around the edges, all 360 degrees of the pop. Score the top of each pie pop with a small knife. (Aidan calls these “air breathers,” “slits,” or “filters.” We scored a few smiley faces, too.) Whisk 1 egg in a small bowl. Brush the top crusts with the egg wash… We also sprinkled sugar for added sparkle.

4. Bake, baby, bake. About 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven, carefully transfer to wire rack. Allow to cool and for sticks to set.  

Enjoy your pie pop. Walk around, talk on the phone, play the piano with your free hand while eating!

Dewey's Bakery

In Winston-Salem, NC. Clockwise from top left: mini apple pie, red velvet whoopie pie, chocolate eclaire. Sent in by my friend Lora. Let's go!

Personal Pecan Pies: Mini Tarts with a Heart

The Durham Food and Drink Club gathered for another bi-monthly potluck installment, this one with the theme of "Tiny Foods," which I like to call "PERSONAL CUPS." I made these personal pecan pies with a heart in the middle of the tart. Recipe adapted from Bake or Break.

PERSONAL PECAN PIES

Ingredients:
-3 eggs, beaten
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 cup light corn syrup
-1/4 cup butter, melted
-1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
-1 cup pecans, chopped
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-Pastry for one double-crust pie (recipe at right)

Using the mouth of a glass, cut mini-pie crust to fit in muffin tins. Press into greased and floured muffin tins. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, and flour. Add pecans, vanilla, and salt. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Cut heart-shape with a heart cookie-cutter and place on top of filling. Bake for about 15 minutes or until done. Yields about 2 dozen mini pies.


They took their place at the table with other delicious tiny tarts, itty-bitty biscuits with pimento cheese, petit pizzas, stuffed cherry tomatoes, mini falafel(!), baby beers sipped from miniature mugs, whipped cream beat with a wee whisk, and so many other personal cups. WE FELT LIKE GIANTS!

Mini Pies Multi Plies/Multipies Miniplies, or A Pie for Everyone!

For the NELP graduation banquet (a totally delicious and beautiful feast featuring homemade ginger ale, almond shakes, delicious salads, portabello caps, homemade chips and salsa, crepes...so much I can't even remember it all) I made 75 miniature pies (and stayed up until 4am doing it). There was a pie for everyone plus some seconds! I made 3 different varieties: cranberry, apple, and pumpkin (there were also raspberry, but they burned!)

To make them I made the crust and filling as per usual (use any favorite regular pie recipe), and then cut small circlular top and bottom crusts using the rim of a glass. I greased and floured each cupcake mold of a cupcake pan and put in the bottom crust, forming it to the cup. Then I added about 2 Tblsp. of filling (as much as the bottom crust would allow and still be able to close). Then I added the top crust, and pinched the sides shut as best as possible, sometimes using my fingers and sometimes using a fork. I pricked holes in the top crust of each pie, and baked them for about 20-30 min. at 375. They popped out of the pan easier than I thought.

beautiful pie pics by Helen!

Voila! Petite pies...the personal pleasure of your own personal pie!

Apple Tarts on a Windowsill, or "Roll it, Pat it, Mark it with a B"

On Saturday we put on the "Burlington So-No Please Don't Go" Quest as a send-off for Ben and Angela in their move to Portland, OR. My house was the first sojourn of the quest and I made miniature apple pies for the occasion. They were cooling on the windowsill when Ben and Angela arrived.




On your bikes! Hooray, it's a quest!
Made by your friends who think you're the best
Down the hill for your first surprise
At the home of the girl who loves to bake pies.

table is set, awaiting their arrival

Ben and Angela in the Pie Enjoyment Zone

Hooray! You made it, we're all so sad-glad
to send off two friends so incredibly rad
this quest compressed Burlington in a montage
dance with us and eat cupcakes before your "Bon Voyage!"

11 sojourns later, we all found ourselves at Mandy and Greg's where we celebrated Ben and Angela and ate cupcakes and the rest of the apple tarts (and a pumpkin pie too!).

Sara-Paule in the Pie Enjoyment Zone

me (a.k.a. Ms. Pothole) in the Pie Enjoyment Zone

FARETHEEWELL BEN AND ANGELA...WE WILL MISS YOU EVER SO MUCH!