I discovered Hot Bread Kitchen in the same way a lot of people probably do: I was hungover and on the hunt for the fattiest, greasiest, most delicious thing I could find in the Greenmarket. I was awake and out early on a weekend morning and feeling smug about it, but I needed to put down a layer of something absorbent before I could get serious about vegetable matter. I stumbled (no, not literally) on Hot Bread’s market booth and fixated on their nearly translucent M’smen, a traditional Moroccan flatbread that did the trick and then some (also, smen, the fermented butter traditionally used in the bread, is a wonderful fat source I never knew existed).
Even though I didn’t have the brain power to ask questions about their social justice mission on that first visit, I became a fan over the next few months as I tried their other products, which range from blue corn tortillas that actually taste like corn to fresh braided challah. Although their bread speaks for itself, the not-for-profit bakery also functions as a training program for foreign-born women interested in baking, and they’re in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to help finance scholarships so that they can pay their trainees.
Although they are getting close, they haven’t yet reached their goal of $50,000 to fund this 12-month program which includes in-kitchen training and English lessons. You have another ten days to donate anywhere from $1 to $5,000 (and if you do donate the $5,000 and need a friend to bring to the Christina Tosi baking lesson, I’ll be happy to join you.)
