Flour & Department’s stuffed cookies.
Flour & Department
After Lauren Arnsdorff, Proprietor of Flour & Department, was laid off from her company job at eBay, she determined to show her childhood dream of opening up a bakery into actuality. Impressed by her childhood recollections and nostalgia, Arnsdorff prides herself on creating indulgent treats made with love, grown-up sensibilities, refined strategies, and the very best high quality of elements.
Flour & Branch was launched in October 2020, however as with most companies throughout the pandemic, this bakery went on a rollercoaster of a experience in efforts to open the doorways of its first-ever storefront.
Three months after Flour & Department launched its web site, they started to promote their goodies on Goldbelly, Feastin and native supply channels. By the primary 12 months, that they had been featured in publications that embrace Meals Community On-line and on Rachael Ray’s tv program. Quick ahead a number of years — which included a full rework, leaping by a lot of pandemic hoops and extra — and Flour & Department has a brick and mortar location.
Situated on third avenue in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, Flour & Department is an enthralling bakery and cafe that additionally incorporates a curated number of items.
The always-freshly baked number of goodies ranges from stuffed, over-the-top cookies just like the Nutty Butter with rum, white chocolate, macadamia nuts, and peanut butter; and artisanal “mallows” — decadent marshmallow treats stuffed with Fruity Pebbles, Captain Crunch, and entire mini marshmallows — to their well-known Mashugana Stuffed French Toast made with cream-marinaded chocolate babka and challah bread, full of peanut butter chips and cookie butter; and a number of extremely flaky French pastries just like the twice-baked frangipane croissant.
Fruity Pebble Mallow.
Flour & Department
We chatted with Lauren Arnsdorff, Proprietor of Flour & Department on her new storefront and journey to opening its doorways. Right here’s what she needed to say.
Speak a bit of about your background and what bought you into baking. How lengthy has it been your ardour?
My profession background is definitely in gross sales, advertising, loyalty packages, and monetary providers however I all the time beloved baking. Once I was a child I bear in mind waking up early to observe the Meals Community so I might copy down the recipes and observe. About 15 years in the past I satisfied myself I’d make the most effective cookie (to my requirements) and since then, I’ve created actually a whole lot of cookie recipes and different bakes.
What was the catalyst in your determination to open Flour and Department?
I opened Flour & Department in October 2020, however at the beginning of 2020 I used to be overseeing all advertising for eBay’s monetary providers merchandise full time. I used to be really laid off from eBay in January 2020, and by that point I had already been taking non-public bakery orders and would spend my early mornings, nights, and weekends baking.
It had been an aspiration to open the bakery by the tip of 2020, so after I was laid off, it felt a bit like an indication from the universe that I used to be meant to “go for it”. It felt like a now or by no means second, and my husband was and has been absolutely supportive irrespective of how onerous it felt.
Flour & Department
Flour & Department
What has the method been prefer to open it up?
I filed for Flour & Department’s LLC in January 2020, in order I used to be constructing my enterprise I needed to fairly always pivot to regulate to the rising pandemic. By October 2020 I started working Flour & Department in a industrial catering kitchen, which was solely about 200 whole sq. ft. Flour & Department operated out of that area for a couple of 12 months earlier than starting renovations to our storefront in October 2021.
Flour & Department started with delivery by way of our web site, together with native supply and pickup throughout the San Francisco Bay Space, after which expanded onto Goldbelly shortly after. We virtually instantly grew out of the area we had been in, but it surely took my husband and I virtually a full 12 months earlier than we discovered our storefront at 493 third, SF.
Flour & Department opened our storefront in December 2021, after going through main points with damaged ovens (actually all our ovens), mixers, plumbing, refrigeration, staffing, provide chain, and allowing with the town and state. I really arrange the area virtually totally alone, so in some ways it really appears like I’ve clawed my approach right here. We have simply overcome a lot to get thus far, and it has been so unbelievable to listen to our prospects inform us how joyful they’re to have our bakery of their neighborhood.
What’s the inspiration behind your menu of baked items? What are your favourite flavors to bake with?
As a result of meals is my love language and such an integral part of particular moments and holidays, my favourite baked items to take pleasure in and provides to others are these influenced by nostalgia. When designing the menu, I began with the cookies, one after the other, and actually simply performed with flavors and textures I beloved probably the most.
The bakes needed to really feel refined, but additionally acquainted, they needed to be made with the perfect elements (like Kerrygold butter, natural, and so forth.), and so they needed to feel and look like a tremendous present — whether or not to your self or others. You may discover nostalgic flavors (like PB&J), however elevated and extra crave-worthy. As soon as I had cookies set, I introduced on merchandise I like to take pleasure in myself and could not essentially discover elsewhere, together with stellar pastries. I really like to mix surprising however acquainted flavors.
What are your hottest gadgets? Discuss your well-known French Toast — how did you give you one thing so deliciously excessive?
Our Stuffed French Toast is certainly well-liked with our prospects, as are our gentle baked cookies. Our most beloved cookies are the Chipper, Salty Sombitch, and Stuffy cookies (stuffed cookies). My mother and one among my favourite brunch spots in San Diego served this Souffle french toast that I beloved, so I began making my very own french toast souffle casserole each Christmas and through hosted brunches. I knew early on {that a} model of the french toast souffle casserole could be an ideal match for the menu’s theme, however stuffing the french toast actually hit the usual.
