Baker, No Bakery

When pastry chef Chris Martin set out to make conchas — a Mexican pastry with a brioche-like dough and crispy top — she made 14 versions before nailing the textural contrast of the ones she grew up eating in California. “When I first switched to Latin pastries from French pastry, I needed to make sure that the conchas were right,” Martin explains, “that it was the version that I wanted and needed to represent because I’m not Mexican; I’m Nicaraguan.”

As the owner of bakernobakery, a pop-up panadería in Charlottesville, Martin employs the same rigor in developing all her Latin-inspired pastries. Take, for instance, medialuna — a soft, sweet Argentinian croissant that she recently elevated with smoked pepita praline and lush, dark chocolate gianduja. Baked goods honoring her Nicaraguan roots include chocomint polvorón — a soft sugar cookie made with chocolate and garden-grown mint — and pan de manjar — a sweet bread filled with guava and coconut pastry cream — both of which are catering menu staples.

In addition to exploring the Latin diaspora for technique-driven pastries and flavors, Martin finds creative inspiration and satisfaction in supporting local, Hispanic-owned farms. She works with Encanto Homestead, which grows apples, pears, grapes, and peppers, and Crazy Farm, a Charlottesville City Market vendor that she turns to for berries and stone fruit, like the peaches she spun into a seasonal caramel ganache for filled conchas. (To learn how to fill conchas, she spent hours cross-referencing YouTube videos on Mexican panaderos and Chinese dim sum makers.)

“It’s fun to be able to tie in those layers — Hispanic growers and Hispanic pastries — and [have] people who get really excited about what I’m making,” Martin says. “Especially because it’s something that’s familiar to them but then they’re also like, ‘Wait, what? These are our peaches that are now in this ganache that are inside this concha?’”

Seasonal conchas, along with other pan dulce and cookies, are in rotation at Martin’s pop-ups, pick-ups, and at the Crossroads Food Court and Convenience Store at the University of Virginia. For Martin’s latest creations, events, and pick-ups, follow @bakernobakery on Instagram.