Ann W.
Yelp
During COVID, Zingerman's had reduced the variety of bread available, including my favorite, the Sesame Semolina. So when it announced that it was bringing back this loaf, I knew that a trip to Ann Arbor was in the cards. Early Sunday morning, while the traffic was still very light, I made a quickish trip to the famed bakery, part of a family of Zingerman businesses clustered in an industrial park off of I-94.
The bakery was re-configured differently since my last in-store visit. There is a large table topped with coffee cakes, breakfast pastries, etc, at the front (near the baking essentials) and a freezer filled with cakes against the wall towards the back. You can call ahead and do curbside pick-up. When you park, just call the bakery and a kind soul will deliver the food directly to your car. Since I had not fully planned my trip this time around, I went in, masked. But in the past, I preferred curbside pick-up.
Along with this round, still warm from the oven, sliced loaf, I also picked up a doughnut, some cupcakes, and a slice of cake. The bread would be wonderful by itself but with softened butter, it was quite the treat. The crust was covered in sesame seeds while the bread itself was firm but yielding, and oh, so, fragrant.
I must have more willpower than I thought because I was actually was able to resist inhaling the doughnut during the drive home, as is my habit. It was larger than expected and tasted of the oil in which it was fried. That is not to say that it was greasy, instead, it was firm and fluffy and actually tasted of substance. The doughnut itself seemed to be lightly, lightly glazed, and then topped with rich, dark chocolate. I loved it; it is so much better than those found in chain doughnut shops. I do wish Zingerman's would bring back their maple, bacon doughnut though. What's not to like about a bacon-topped fried pastry?
The chocolate cake was perfect for this week's Zoom dessert meet-up. The single-layer cake had a brownie-like texture and was topped with a lusciously-thick amount of buttercream. This continues to be one of my favorite cakes
Service is, as always, friendly and courteous here.