Those who follow the Jewish practice of keeping kosher—and others with dietary restrictions—are the target audience of a new home-based bakery called Fleur de Sel Kitchen. Self-taught baker Liora Formey accepts orders for parve challah, babka, cupcakes, apple tarts, rugalach, cake balls, and chipsticks (a cross between a cookie and biscotti) through Wednesday morning each week and delivers them on Thursday evenings. Patrons can also pick up the treats from her home, located off Briarcliff Road.
“Around Chanukah last year, I was looking for fresh, dairy-free sufganyot (donuts). They are not available parve,” she says. “So I made it myself, posted it online, and friends started buying the leftovers. I ended up baking about 800. I’m not going to make that year-round, so I decided I’d make fresh-baked challah and desserts.”
Born in Israel, Formey spent time in Belgium, England, and Canada, and says her baking is influenced by French cuisine, hence the name Fleur de Sel, which means flower of salt. “It’s a French artisanal salt that bakers use—everything I do is artisanal,” she says.
Formey doesn’t have a website and hopes to open a brick-and-mortar bakery one day. In the meantime, she’s accepting orders from her Facebook page. There is no minimum order; challahs cost $5-$6, babka is $10, and cookies and other desserts cost $10-$12 per dozen.
