Leslie Mackie first opened the Belltown café in 1993 with a 10-year vision for her bakery. With a tremendous amount of ambition, dedication and community support, Leslie's dream quickly blossomed into reality."The first 10 [years] were extremely busy (lucky us!) and hectic, as we were always challenging ourselves to do our best and tweak to improve our systems," she says.This week we're celebrating 20 years of connecting with the community through food by introducing our Raisin Pumpernickel Loaf.

“The Raisin Pumpernickel is a bread that I have wanted to do for a long time,” says Leslie. “I've wanted to use a local wheat and believe in the additional nutritional qualities of whole-milled flour.”Featuring Williams Brothers Hard Red Winter whole grain flour, coarse rye flour, cornmeal, raisins, and pumpkin seeds, this bread is the perfect balance of sweet and earthy. Leslie incorporates some Macrina Casera starter in the recipe to connect it to the heart of our bakery.Because of its starter, caramelized crust and dense crumb, our Raisin Pumpernickel has an exceptional shelf life of four days. Leslie recommends serving it thinly sliced with a bit of unsalted butter, mild triple-crème cheese or soft Brie.Easily enjoyed year-around, we're making this bread a menu staple. Find it at any of our cafés and take some of the celebration home with you."It has been a wonderful anniversary week," adds Leslie. "I am very proud of all the staff and management team that keep this dream alive!"

Every week about 15,000 pounds of Russet Norkotah potatoes arrive on our doorstep. From there, they are mashed (peels and all), mixed with unbleached flour, yeast, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt, and then crafted into one of our biggest selling breads: Rustic Potato.These spuds get their start as seedlings under the watchful care of Mattawa's Wahluke Produce, nestled in the arid Columbia basin. Wahluke Produce is owned by the Christensen family, who has farmed the area for three generations. Even though it is a fairly new potato variety, the easily adaptable Russet Norkotah is a staple on this farm. Light in texture and full of flavor, they are a baker’s dream for whipping up perfect potato bread.Eventually these potatoes find themselves on your table in the form of a sliced loaf, lightly toasted, and slathered with sweet preserves; a basket of warm, soft rolls, passed among family; or perched on a party tray as petite sliders sandwiching your favorite fixings.Here are Macrina, we believe that good things are even better when they are shared. And, our potato bread is a perfect example of the communal bond from farm to table.

Living gluten-free should never mean missing out on delicious baked goods, settling for a less than stellar product, or paying more for your treat.We tested recipes around the clock to improve and expand our gluten-free pastry offerings, and in the process found that we didn't have to sacrifice flavor or texture when making baked goods without gluten.The magic is in our flour. Owner Leslie Mackie worked diligently to create this special flour, which combines brown rice and sorghum flours instead of garbanzo bean flour often found in commercial gluten-free flours. We use this signature flour in all of our *gluten-free offerings, and even those of us who can tolerate gluten enjoy these treats."The highest compliment we are getting is that they don't taste like gluten-free items," adds Leslie. "Many like the Fresh Fruit Muffins even better than the all-purpose flour original!"Anyone who’s tasted our Ganache Cupcake, Gluten-Free Biscuit, Macaroons, Torta Gianduja or Banana Cake will tell you how great they are, but we’ll let you be the judge. Pick up one of our gluten-free treats today and see if you notice the difference.

*Our gluten-free items are made in a gluten-friendly environment, so there may be cross-contamination.

Did you know that the same Vanilla Sugar swirled inside our Morning Roll can also be found on the condiment bar in all of our cafés?In our early days, we received many customer requests for flavored syrups to go with our coffees, teas and lattes. Our Vanilla Sugar seemed like the obvious accoutrement as it is made with fine ingredients readily available in each of our bakeries and superbly compliments our beverages. We perfected the proportions of subtly spicy, Madagascar vanilla and granulated sugar to deliciously enrich the Caffè Umbria coffee we serve.This delicate beverage addition became so popular that we decided to package it to sell in the cafés. Now, you can stock your pantry with our famed Vanilla Sugar to enjoy in your coffee or tea at home. And, like our Morning Roll, it’s a wonderful addition to baked goods too.

Our Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies are a holiday favorite and great for gifting. Crisp and flavorful, they come in a variety of styles to match each celebration, be it Christmas, Valentine's Day, and even Father's Day. Simple ingredients go into our melt-in-your-mouth cookies – flour, sugar and butter – making them the perfect base for any dessert. Adorned with crystal colored sugar for a playful treat or paired with roasted nectarines and vanilla bean ice cream for a decadent summertime dessert, these cookies are quite versatile.We recently swapped the brightly colored sugars used on some of our shortbread cookies for locally sourced, naturally colored sparkling sugar from India Tree. Using concentrated colorants derived from edible plants instead of potentially harmful synthetic dyes, India Tree strives to provide the most wholesome sparkling sugars, gel pastes, and sanding sugars, and their subtle color perfectly suits our rustic party profile.Just in time for Father’s Day, we will be at the Queen Anne Farmers Market on Thursday, June 13^th, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with our delicious Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies and decorations in tow to help you craft the perfect miniature masterpiece for Dad. Gift boxes, tags and ribbon will be provided to package your cookies. See you there!

As the weather turns warm this time of year, we can’t help but notice another change in the air. Once laced with the spicy scent of stoked fireplaces, our neighborhood now harbors the aroma of backyard barbecues. Maybe more so than other regions of the country, Seattleites embrace summer like a best friend they haven’t seen in ages.Grocery lists are readied and shopping baskets fill with the goods of summer. But, there’s one thing that’s often overlooked or purchased haphazardly: the burger bun. Consider the bun with its hollows and crust to hug its contents, be it a grilled portobello or juicy hamburger, a slippery tomato slice or crisp onion ring. Any old brand just won’t suffice.Packed with hearty ingredients that you can pronounce, like whole-wheat flour and cracked wheat berries, our Wheat Cider Bun is a virtuous compliment to organic vegetables, grass-fed beef, or Dungeness crab salad.This is the time for outdoor living. Are you ready?