Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Author Website

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Books
  • Events
  • Work
  • Blog
  • Contact

April 19, 2015 By cheryl

Bakery Andante (Edinburgh): Visiting the Divine

Bakery AndanteA pilgrimage is in order each Saturday I’m in Edinburgh.

First, a stop for coffee in Morningside (and maybe a bacon roll), then a quick pop-in a few doors down to visit a teeny tiny bakery that’s just packed to the brim with buttery treats.

When I first visited Andante Bakery, I wondered what might be so special about it — sure, its pastries and breads always looked fetching, but I’ve had plenty of fabulous baked goods all over the world.

A little poking around, however, showed that this artisanal bakery set up by a former marketing guy who threw in the towel about six years ago to pursue his passion for baking has some serious cred. It’s won all sorts of commendations and was featured on the ITV show “Britain’s Best Bakery.”

Also, I found the name charming — the bakery’s site explains that andante is “a musical expression meaning ‘at a slower tempo’, which perfectly describes how we think bread should be made.”

Aside from all that though, what’s truly lovely about this place is, it’s simply a delight to visit …

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Scotland, Tales From the Road, Travel Tagged With: Baguette, Bakery, Bakery Andante, Biscotti, Biscuits, Breadcrumbs, Britain's Best Bakery, Cookies, Covenanter's Loaf, Croissant, Edinburgh, ITV, Jon Wood, Morningside, Scotland, Sourdough

November 27, 2009 By cheryl

Pane Siciliano: One Sexy Bread


CIMG0617

The same thing always happens when I’ve been on my weeks-long trips for book research in Singapore.

When I’m away, I find myself overcome with intense longing for something in my Brooklyn home. By the time I return, it’s all I can do to keep myself from running toward it (cue slow-motion romantic comedy music here) and getting it all hot and, well, hot.

My family home in Singapore doesn’t have an oven, you see — so when I’m away from my trusty hunk of stainless steel, a major itch to bake starts taking over.

When I returned this time, I was determined to jump back into the Bread Baker’s Apprentice challenge, where bakers around the world are making a bread each week from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.”

On the docket that week was pane Siciliano, a beautiful, golden Italian bread formed in a voluptuous “S” shape.

It seemed like just the thing to scratch my itch.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Baking, Bread Tagged With: Baguette, Baking, Bread, Bread Baker's Apprentice, Cheese, Italian, Pane Siciliano, Panettone, Pate fermentee, Peter Reinhart, Prosciutto, Recipe, Sicily, Singapore

Copyright © 2025 CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN · Site design: Ilsa Brink