Tammy & Maddy from De Pere, WI (2018 STAR BAKERS)

Baker

Tammy & Maddy

Location

De Pere, WI

Baking Challenge

Star Baker

How did this baker brighten our summer?

We were struck by how Tammy incorporated Wisconsin’s fruit and vegetation into her bakes, often foraging for wild berries. One of her bakes in particular — her “Blackberry-Eyed Susan Petits Fours” for Week 9 — utilized the fruits and flowers of Wisconsin in a compelling way. Tammy constructed decorative Black-Eyed Susans on each tiny morsel using a wild blackberry for the center of the flower. What an (artful) eye indeed, Tammy!

Our favorite Wisconsin Twist (pictured)!

Winning Tammy (and baking partner Cammy) “Featured Baker” status during Biscuits Week, their gingerbread ode to “The Disappearing Family Farm” was one of the most breathtaking showstoppers of our summer. It motivated us to meditate on Wisconsin’s farming history from a historical, cultural and economic point of view. We posed the question: What kinds of changes over time in Wisconsin have promulgated the struggles of the family farmer and the loss of this livelihood strategy since the mid-20th century?

A choice quote or piece of Star Baker wisdom:

With Tammy’s Wisconsin Week “Hunter’s Favorite Pithivier” we learned a lesson about making decorative pastry cuts and carvings. From Tammy: “For the decoration on the top, I cut in a buck that, once baked, looked more like a doe because his horns kind of disappeared. It baked beautifully and tasted excellent!” Maybe it’s even better that the doe proved triumphant, Tammy!

How did you do?

I participated in all 10 Great Wisconsin Baking challenges this summer — I’m a Star Baker!