Italian Baking Exchange!

My husband, George De Pasquale, and I were lucky enough to be able to go to Perugia, Italy, last month, and bake in a famous bakery there called Sandri.  Seattle's sister city in Italy is Perugia, and every year over the Day of the Dead weekend (Halloween for us), they have a large outdoor market.  Each of the sister cities has a booth, and this year they asked George, (since he is a baker), to bake some typical American sweets and sell them at the Seattle booth.  I assisted him in the bakery and we made chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles, and coconut macaroons.  The Italians seemed to like them and we sold over 1,000!  Here are lots of pictures of the trip….

Beautiful Perugia!

Setting up our booth.

Shopping for ingredients.

Our shopping list.

Our first day of work with Luca, head baker at Sandri.

Luca at Sandri.

Marcella at Sandri.

Delicious sweets at Sandri.

Making pasta.

Sacher tortes at Sandri.

La Signora Carla.

Oven from the 1920's!

Making "Day of the Dead" cookies.

Delivering our coffee every day!

Figuring out recipes.

Delicious desserts!

Bakers at Sandri.

Our first batch of cookies.

Setting up the booth.

Making fresh pasta!

They roast their own coffee!

Working on a "sugar car".

Making little porcupine desserts.

Bakery "laboratorio" entrance.

Carrying cookies to the booth.

At the booth.

Making coconut macaroons.

Inside Sandri's beautiful cafe.

Making lots of cookies!

With other bakers.

Out on the main street.

Working on a "sugar car".

Carrying cookies to the booth.

Discussing coconut macaroons!

The two bakers, Luca and George.

La Signora, Carla's, 80th birthday!

Up and down the stairs!

Exhausted after delivering our last batch of cookies!

German and Rita at the booth.

Outside the booth.

Carrying more cookies!

The booths on the main street.

The main street.

A band playing in the piazza.