Before she became the celebrated chef, author, and culinary director of Granor Farm, Abra Berens was a University of Michigan student who quite literally stumbled into Zingerman’s Deli. On a long walk through Ann Arbor in 2002, she tripped over the door jamb, was helped up by a kind Deli staffer—and handed a sample of our Sour Cream Coffee Cake. One bite later, her life in food had officially begun.
That serendipitous moment would lead to a job at the Deli, mentorship from Chef Rodger Bowser, and eventually a career rooted in seasonality, farming, and hospitality. Today, Abra’s work at Granor Farm and her acclaimed cookbooks—Ruffage, Grist, and Pulp—continue the lessons she first learned at Zingerman’s: that great food starts with great ingredients, and that every loaf, cake, and jar has a story worth telling.
Abra handpicked a collection of her favorite Zingerman’s products, for Zingerman’s Mail Order. We were pretty thrilled to see her celebrate two Bakehouse icons—Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Roadhouse Bread.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
This Zingerman’s Bakehouse classic has been delighting Deli guests for decades—and it’s the very first thing Abra ever tasted here. The cake is rich, buttery, and beautifully balanced, made with Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter and lush, tangy sour cream. Inside, a ribbon of brown sugar, toasted walnuts, and Indonesian Korintje cinnamon swirls through the tender crumb.
For Abra, this cake isn’t just a Zingerman’s staple—it’s a symbol of the generosity and craft that define the community. “This is OG Zingerman’s at its finest,” she says. “I’ll never forget that first bite—it’s what started my entire journey in food.”
Roadhouse Bread
If the coffee cake represents the sweetness of Abra’s Zingerman’s beginnings, our Roadhouse Bread reflects what she’s come to love most about food today: the deep connection between farms and flavor.
Developed for the opening of Zingerman’s Roadhouse, this naturally leavened loaf is made from a blend of organic grains—wheat, cornmeal, and freshly milled whole rye—with just a touch of molasses. The result is a burnished crust, an earthy, aromatic crumb, and a flavor that’s both familiar and complex.
“This loaf shows the Bakehouse’s dedication to regional and stone-milled whole grains,” Abra says. “The regional grain economy is so incredibly important—and thankfully, it yields very delicious end results.”
For Abra, Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Roadhouse Bread aren’t just foods; they’re touchstones—reminders of where great food begins: in craft, in community, and in a shared commitment to deliciousness. And those are just two of the seven carefully selected items in her Collaboration Gift Box! Check out her other flavorful favorites or swing by our Bakeshop to try the Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Roadhouse Bread for yourself. You just might find that they’re favorites of yours, too.
Lindsay-Jean Hard's passion for sustainability and education at the University of Michigan went on to inform and inspire her in many ways from going to extreme lengths to recycle at a post-college job to creating her cookbook, Cooking with Scraps, a labor of love inspired by her Food52 column of the same name. Today, she strives to convince everyone she meets to try eating banana peels and works to build and connect new communities as a marketer at Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
