LocalBreadBaker

Austin Baker Olga Koutseridi Supports Ukraine With Cheesecake Sales | Eater Austin

"Hidden behind a small “Bakery” sign on a Hyde Park bungalow, this cottage operation runs weekend pick-ups where customers text a number and collect brown bags with a heart on the porch. Operated by Ukrainian-born baker Olga Koutseridi, the home kitchen gained popularity during the pandemic for naturally leavened sourdough chocolate babka, lightly sweet cardamom buns, and intensely creamy, custard- or mousse-like burnt Basque cheesecakes (offered in classic, vanilla bean, chocolate, dulce de leche and seasonal flavors such as pumpkin pie). Community and charity are central to the endeavor: after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine she held fundraisers and donated proceeds to groups including Liberty Ukraine, Tu Mariupol and Obnimi Sobaku, even coordinating with local bagel shops to secure 200 pounds of cream cheese during supply shortages and raising roughly $14,000. Running a cottage baking business from a small home kitchen while working full time and raising funds has been challenging amid Austin’s high rents, but she continues to obsessively refine recipes (the cheesecake took about 100 bakes), plans a Patreon to preserve and share Ukrainian food culture and family recipes, and has seen her work featured in national and international outlets." - Maria Geary