There’s something so simple, and yet, simultaneously special about palmiers. Crunchy sweetness. Compelling caramelization of sugar. A whole bunch of butter. The palmier is a pastry that approximates what you would get if you took the best parts of the buttery crunch of a croissant’s flaky, crunchy crust, add a bunch of sugar, and then baked it without a lot of surface area so most all of what you end up is lovingly caramelized by that magical Maillard effect. A palmier, I’m thinking, is something someone ought to write poetry about.
Palmiers are made from what bakers will know as “laminated dough,” similar in style to the croissant, but without the yeast that makes the croissant rise. In the same way that a baguette brings the maximum of crust to the bread world, a palmier, I’ve realized, does much the same for pastry. You get a whole lot of crunch and almost no soft interior. Eat one. Amy Emberling, co-managing partner at the Bakehouse, says,
They are like croissants and French baguettes and strudel to me—baking miracles. There are only a few ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, salt, a touch of lemon, and plain old water. Nothing unusual. Yet through some precise techniques, it’s possible to make these buttery, flaky, crisp, really delightful cookies.
The Palmiers at the Bakehouse have always been great. And this month they got even better. In the spirit of Natural Law #8 (“You need to keep getting better all the time”), we’ve begun using flour that we mill fresh at the Bakehouse. More flavor, more complexity, better aromatics—they’re not radically different, just that kind of a lovely little bit of better that makes the Zingerman’s food world go ‘round! (Much more on this in the soon-to-be-released pamphlet, “A Taste of Zingerman’s Food Philosophy.”)
How to Enjoy Them
The obvious thing to do with a palmier is of course to simply eat it. Great with coffee or dipped into a cup of hot chocolate. You can also crumble it over gelato. Or butterscotch pudding. If you like sweet-savory combos, you can spread one with cream cheese—killer combination! If you enjoy your salads slightly on the sweeter side, crumble one over top to add the kind of crunch you get from croutons. Break some over buttered noodles for a really nice dessert pasta.
Whatever you do with them, know that palmiers are awesome. Crumbly, crunch, butter-laden, caramelized awesomeness. If you have kids (or even if you don’t) you can turn one into a “Throwing Snowball Sundae”—put a scoop of vanilla gelato on top of a palmier so it looks like a tiny hand holding a snowball, and, if you like, top with a bit of maple syrup or chocolate sauce. (Or, if you’re more like me, you can spice up your snowball with some of that amazing Anukhazy pepper!)
The Origins of Palmiers
Historically palmiers probably date back to the turn of the 20th century, so they’re not all that old in the scheme of the culinary world. Interesting in that it’s a chocolate-less pastry that came to prominence at the same time that chocolate was going mainstream. The name palmier in French of course means just what it sounds like—a palm leaf which is what the pastry resembles visually. Palmiers appear around the world with various names and in slightly different forms. In the States, some folks call them “elephant ears.” In China, they’re called “butterfly pastries,” because, of course, they look like butterflies too. French Jews, I’ve read, serve them for Purim—they’re said to resemble “Haman’s Ears.” So you might put them on your mental list as something fun and different to do for Purim next month on Monday evening, March 6.
Given that they’re so universally loved, perhaps the palmier, like the palm leaf which it’s made to resemble, could be a universal pastry symbol of peace. Bring a bag of them with you as a peace offering; think peaceful thoughts when you eat them.
In 1982, Ari Weinzweig, along with his partner Paul Saginaw, founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen with a $20,000 bank loan, a Russian History degree from the University of Michigan, 4 years of experience washing dishes, cooking and managing in restaurant kitchens and chutzpah from his hometown of Chicago. They opened the doors with 2 employees and a small selection of specialty foods and exceptional sandwiches.
Today, Zingerman’s Delicatessen is a nationally renowned food icon and the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has grown to 10 businesses with over 750 employees and over $55 million in annual revenue. Aside from the Delicatessen, these businesses include Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Coffee Company, Creamery, Roadhouse, Mail Order, ZingTrain, Candy Manufactory, Cornman Farms and a Korean restaurant that is scheduled to open in 2016. No two businesses in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses are alike but they all share the same Vision and Guiding Principles and deliver “The Zingerman’s Experience” with passion and commitment.
Besides being the Co-Founding Partner and being actively engaged in some aspect of the day-to-day operations and governance of nearly every business in the Zingerman’s Community, Ari Weinzweig is also a prolific writer. His most recent publications are the first 4 of his 6 book series Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading Series: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business (Part 1), Being a Better Leader (Part 2), Managing Ourselves (Part 3) and the newly-released Part 4, The Power of Beliefs in Business. Earlier books include the Zingerman’s Guides to Giving Great Service, Better Bacon, Good Eating, Good Olive Oil, Good Vinegar and Good Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Ari regularly travels across the country (and world) on behalf of ZingTrain, teaching organizations and businesses about Zingerman’s approach to business. He is a sought-after Keynote speaker, having delivered keynotes for Inc. 500, Microsoft Expo Spring Conference, Great Game of Business Gathering of Games, Positive Business Conference at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the American Cheese Society. Most recently, Ari and Paul Saginaw were invited to address an audience of 50,000 for the University of Michigan 2015 Spring Commencement.
One of Zingerman’s Guiding Principles is being an active part of the community and in 1988, Zingerman’s was instrumental in the founding of Food Gatherers, a food rescue program that delivers over 5 million pounds of food each year to the hungry residents of Washtenaw county. Every year Zingerman’s donates 10% of its previous years profits to local community organizations and non-profits. Ari has served on the board of The Ark, the longest continuously operating folk music venue in America.
Over the decades, the Zingerman’s founding partners have consistently been the recipients of public recognition from a variety of diverse organizations. In April 1995, Ari and Paul were awarded the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County’s first Humanitarian Award. In 2006, Ari was recognized as one of the “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America” by the James Beard Foundation. In 2007, Ari and Paul were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bon Appetit magazine for their work in the food industry. Ari was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Cheese Society in 2014. And Ari’s book, Building a Great Business was on Inc. magazine’s list of Best Books for Business Leaders.
Notwithstanding the awards, being engaged on a daily basis in the work of 10 businesses and 21 partners, writing books on business and in-depth articles on food for the Zingerman’s newsletter, Ari finds time to be a voracious reader. He acquires and reads more books than he can find room for. Ari might soon find himself the owner of the largest collection of Anarchist books in Ann Arbor outside the Labadie collection at the University of Michigan library!
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There’s something so simple, and yet, simultaneously special about palmiers. Crunchy sweetness. Compelling caramelization of sugar. A whole bunch of butter. The palmier is a pastry that approximates what you would get if you took the best parts of the buttery crunch of a croissant’s flaky, crunchy crust, add a bunch of sugar, and then baked it without a lot of surface area so most all of what you end up is lovingly caramelized by that magical Maillard effect. A palmier, I’m thinking, is something someone ought to write poetry about. 
The Palmiers at the Bakehouse have always been great. And this month they got even better. In the spirit of Natural Law #8 (“You need to keep getting better all the time”), we’ve begun using flour that we mill fresh at the Bakehouse. More flavor, more complexity, better aromatics—they’re not radically different, just that kind of a lovely little bit of better that makes the Zingerman’s food world go ‘round! (Much more on this in the soon-to-be-released pamphlet, “A Taste of Zingerman’s Food Philosophy.”)
