food& drink
Blueberry yuzu scones, sourdough liège waffles, salty chocolate chip cookies, peach passion fruit crostata di marmellata, chocolate cake and strawberry frangipane tartes are just some of the goods that Oona is known for.
Now, you can catch Oona – and her mother/dedicated assistant, Joyce Connelly (who also made the cross-country move) – every Wednesday and some Saturdays at the Carrboro Farmers Market, selling a delightful assortment of sourdough loaves, sourdough milk bread babka, seasonal jam cookies, snacking cakes, blueberryyuzu scones and Liège pearl sugar waffles. The latter was developed by Oona’s dad in the Belgian frites restaurant that her parents opened when she was a kid and was later converted into a sourdough-based recipe by Oona. “It’s an homage to him and the restaurant I ended up working in,” she says. Oona rotates cakes, buns and cookies based on what fruit is seasonal. She also does custom and special orders. “I don’t sell them at the farmers market, but if someone asks for a birthday cake, I can make a pretty good one,” she says. To make the perfect sourdough, Oona starts her process for Wednesday markets by feeding the starter on Monday nights. She then mixes the dough – by hand! – early Tuesday morning and shapes and freezes the loaves. On market days, she wakes up bright and early at 4 or 5 a.m. to start baking. “I intersperse with music depending on what I’m doing,” Oona says. “If I’m doing the dishes, I need music, and if I’m mixing dough, I need someone to tell me the news.” For now, the baker is focused on the present. And she doesn’t plan on changing much. “For years, I was just dying to get into Carrboro Farmers Market, so now that we’ve hit that stepping stone so recently, I’m just really happy,” Oona says. “The part I like is the baking, and I don’t really see myself giving that up. And I’m happy with the level we’re at right now.” CHM 72
chapelhillmagazine.com
September/October 2024
A
Y