Giving Thanks: For Traditional American Pies

Thanksgiving is about gluttony, but it’s also about gratefully giving back to our community. For example, in my hometown, there’s an annual charity run called the Turkey Trot, which I’ve participated in a couple of times. While that’s not an option in Beijing on November 22, there are certainly alternate (and tasty) ways of helping out.

The Bread of Life Bakery, which provides jobs for disabled orphans and supports the Agape Family Life House, sells American-style cakes along with a more comprehensive range of muffins, cookies and breads than most other bake shops in the city. But with the holiday feasts of Thanskgiving and Christmas looming, it’s their pies that will be getting a lot more attention – and orders.

Bread of Life offers pumpkin and pecan, but their apple crumb pie (RMB 100), which offers a twist on the familiar formula, is the new apple of my eye. The heart of the pie, chunks of stewed and cinnamon-spiced apples dripping in thick syrup, is as delicious as ever and instead of a thick, sodden bottom crust, a paper-thin layer of flakiness offers a most minimal foundation for the pie. The strudel-crumb topping gives the dessert more crunch and sweetness than the basic butter crust I grew up with. At Home Plate, one of their distribution points, it’s served with a dollop of whipped cream that counterbalances the piping hot filling. The pie disappeared as quickly as my mouth could make it, but luckily I now have an altruistic excuse for ordering a few more of these over the next two months.

Bread of Life. Orders can be placed by phone (137 2262 2865) or email (bread.of.life.bakery@gmail.com). Some of their desserts can also be enjoyed at Home Plate Bar-B-Que.

Click here to see the November issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Lova