Rose Gates took up baking in 2023 as a form of therapy after a series of life setbacks, including losing her job and being injured in a hit-and-run accident while working as a gig driver. Baking brought her comfort and a sense of peace. However, soon she found herself baking more than she and her husband, Asher Berke, could eat.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
She started selling the extras to friends and then people she met at Felix’s Atlanta and Oscar’s Atlanta bars. “I was making things that would play to people’s sense of nostalgia. Brown butter Rice Krispies Treats. Chocolate chip cookies. Oatmeal cream pies. Crinkle cookies. And bagels. I let the customers drive what I was making.”
The demand for her treats and her desire to open her own business led her to launch Hi Honey Bakery in October 2024. She built her bakery around the theme of “sweetening the day, one treat at a time.”
Word of her baked goods spread. The manager of the Oakhurst Farmers Market invited her to set up a booth and it wasn’t long before the East Atlanta Farmers Market reached out as well. She put her store online. And began selling at Cryptid Creatives pop-up markets.
Puff pastry items are her bestsellers and she offers three or four different versions each week. Gates didn’t train as a pastry chef but found inspiration in the books of baker Claire Saffitz. She adapted her rough puff pastry recipe from “What’s for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People” by Saffitz (Clarkson Potter, 2022) and that recipe has become the backbone of her business.
She and Berke live in East Atlanta where they have a small urban garden, Mulberry Farms, and grow much of the produce Gates uses in her baked goods. “We have 60 tomato plants, 40 pepper plants, eggplants and blueberries, carrots, corn and beans and our garden’s namesake, a mulberry tree.”
They share gardening responsibility, but Gates is the baker, working alone and making everything in her commercial kitchen in Decatur. Her business has grown enough that she’s hired people to staff the farmers market booths.
Gates supports her fellow farmers market vendors, buying things that she doesn’t grow like the peaches for her peach crinkle cookies. But generally it’s the summer produce direct from her garden that inspires her baking plans for the week.
For example, when her summer tomatoes are ripening, her tomato-topped focaccia is a big seller. Her focaccia recipe produces tall squares intended to be sliced for sandwiches filled with summer produce like peppers, crisp herbs, arugula and more tomatoes. “Personally I love a caprese focaccia sandwich filled with tomatoes, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and a bit of basil and a little mozzarella.”
She finds her customers are seasonally focused as well. When tomatoes are not in season, she said their interest in the focaccia just dies away. And she turns her attention to the bounty of fall when squash, apples and sturdy greens fill Hi Honey’s galettes, hand pies and tarts.
RECIPES
Rose Gates of East Atlanta’s Hi Honey Bakery shares recipes for three of her bestselling treats made with summer produce.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Hi Honey Puff Pastry Southwest Galettes
“This is the exact method we use at Hi Honey to make laminated, flaky puff pastry by hand. Slicing and grating the butter produces flaky pastry and the method doesn’t require a mixer,” Gates said.
The key to success is keeping the butter and dough cold throughout the pastry-making process so the layers stay distinct and bake up crisp and flaky. The dough requires several folds and may need to be chilled in between each folding, but when finished it can be refrigerated for up to a week until you’re ready to bake. And she’s found that freezing the galettes after filling helps them keep their shape during baking. The scraps of dough left after cutting rounds can be layered, chilled and rolled out, then cut into squares, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and baked for a cook’s treat.
This is a dough that works for sweet or savory applications and Gates uses it for tarts and turnovers as well as galettes. Small individual serving-size galettes are a standard menu item for Hi Honey Bakery. In summer, Gates offers galettes like those made with this recipe, filled with summer vegetables seasoned with Southwest flavors.
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
- 3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 cup ice water, or as needed
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon room-temperature water
- Southwest Galette Filling (see recipe below)
- Place butter in freezer for about 15 minutes until firm, but not frozen solid.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
- Using the large holes on a box grater, grate 1 1/2 sticks of butter into flour mixture, tossing frequently using your hands or a fork to keep shreds of butter from clumping. When all butter is grated, work quickly and toss everything again, being sure all shreds of butter are separate.
- Using the slicing blade on the box grater or a knife, cut the remaining 1 1/2 sticks of butter into 1/8-inch thick slices. Working quickly, add the butter to the flour mixture and very gently toss everything together, being careful to break up the slices of butter as little as possible.
- Drizzle in ice water a little at a time and mix with a fork until the dough just starts to come together. It should still be shaggy and a bit rough, not fully smooth.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 1/2-inch thick 12-by-8-inch rectangle with the long side facing you. Use a bench scraper to fold one-third of the dough toward the middle, then fold the remaining third toward the middle, like folding a letter. Your dough will now have three layers. This is your first fold.
- Gently press down on the dough, rotate it 90 degrees, lightly flour the top and roll again into a 1/2-inch thick 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Repeat the folding process. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the rolling and folding step for a total of five folds, resting the dough in the refrigerator between folds if the butter begins to soften.
- Once you finish the folds, cut the dough in half and wrap each piece individually. Chill for at least 1 hour before using, or freeze for later. (Transfer frozen dough to the refrigerator to thaw overnight before baking.)
- When ready to bake, remove dough from refrigerator and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make egg wash: whisk together egg and room-temperature water.
- Roll 1 portion of dough 1/8-inch thick to make a 12-inch square. Cut out 4 (5-inch) circles. Transfer circles to prepared baking sheet and fill center with a heaping 1/2 cup Southwest Galette filling. Using a pastry brush, brush edges of circle with egg wash, then gently fold edges over the filling, pleating to create an edge. Repeat with second portion of dough. Put baking sheet in freezer for 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Bake galettes directly from freezer until the filling is hot and the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Makes 8.
Per galette: 668 calories (percent of calories from fat, 54), 14 grams protein, 65 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams total sugars, 6 grams fiber, 41 grams total fat (23 grams saturated), 112 milligrams cholesterol, 464 milligrams sodium.
Southwest Galette Filling
Gates created this smoky, herbal combination to highlight fresh summer vegetables.
It’s important that the filling be cooked until all liquid is reduced so the filling will not leak in the galette. If you like, and have it on hand, stir in 1/2 cup refried beans to help thicken the mixture.
- 1 cup finely diced fresh tomatoes (about 1 large tomato)
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or bacon fat
- 1 finely diced yellow onion
- 1 finely diced red bell pepper
- 1 finely diced orange bell pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
- Combine diced tomatoes and a pinch of salt in a colander. Toss gently and set aside over a plate or in a sink to allow some of the liquid to drain.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil or bacon fat. Add onion, red and orange peppers and saute until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in drained tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to reduce moisture. Stir in cumin, chile powder, smoked paprika, pepper and remainder of the salt.
- Add corn and black beans. Cook until heated through and liquid evaporates, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Stir in lime zest and juice, cilantro and parsley.
- Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature. The filling should be firm enough to scoop and hold its shape. If not, heat again to reduce more moisture.
- When mixture is the right consistency, stir in queso fresco. Use immediately or, if making ahead, cover and refrigerate up to overnight.
Makes 4 1/2 cups.
Per 1/2 cup, using olive oil: 120 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 5 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams total sugars, 4 grams fiber, 4 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 269 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Hi Honey Bakery Peach Crinkle Cookies
When Gates started her bakery, chocolate crinkle cookies were one of the first things she sold. “I love the look of crinkle cookies and as I paid attention to what other bakers were offering, people just weren’t making them. Now I have a different crinkle cookie for every season.”
She finds making them with fruit is a little more difficult than with cocoa but a plus is that when you make these with fresh fruit, they’re not overly sweet. Almond extract enhances the flavor of the peach.
Plan ahead when making these cookies. The dough should be refrigerated for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Because these cookies spread when baking, Gates recommends baking only six per baking sheet.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 very ripe large peach (about 1/4 pound), peeled and pitted, divided
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, if needed
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- Melt butter and allow to cool slightly while working with peach.
- Chop the peach into fine pieces. Transfer 1/2 cup to a large bowl and set remainder aside. Add sugar to bowl. Rub mixture with fingers to start releasing the peach juice. Let sit 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.
- Whisk melted butter, eggs and almond extract into sugar-peach mixture, then fold in flour mixture. Add reserved chopped peaches. Taste mixture and add lemon juice if needed to enhance the tartness of the peaches.
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator.
- Put powdered sugar in a small bowl.
- Scoop out a 2-tablespoon mound of dough and place it in the powdered sugar. Turn to coat all sides and shape into a round as you are coating it. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing no more than six cookies per sheet.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until puffed, crackled and set at the edges. Do not overbake.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.
Makes 16 cookies.
Per cookie: 207 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 3 grams protein, 33 grams carbohydrates, 19 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams total fat (4 grams saturated), 38 milligrams cholesterol, 85 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Hi Honey Sandwich Focaccia
Focaccia makes excellent sandwich bread and Gates offers this recipe scaled to produce a tall, sandwich-worthy loaf when baked in a 9-by-9-inch baking pan. The recipe is easily doubled if you’re serving more than four people.
Olive oil is a key ingredient in this recipe and Gates stresses it’s important to use an extra-virgin olive oil whose flavor you like. She prefers San Giuliano.
This loaf is best served the day it’s made.
- 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring work surface
- Heaping 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
- 3 tablespoons plus 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- Chopped herbs such as parsley or rosemary (optional)
- Flaky salt, for finishing
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt. Add water and 4 teaspoons olive oil. Stir together with a rubber scraper until there are no dry patches in the dough.
- Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and knead by hand until dough becomes smooth and elastic. It will be a little sticky.
- Pour 2 teaspoons olive oil into the original bowl and transfer dough to the bowl. Turn dough so all sides are coated with oil and use masking tape on the outside of the bowl to mark level of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm area, about 80 degrees if possible, until dough has doubled in size, about 90 minutes. Be careful not to let the dough rise too much.
- Pour remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a 9-by-9-inch baking dish. Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides with oil.
- Deflate the dough by using your fingers to gently press down on the dough. Transfer to oiled baking dish and turn dough so all sides are covered with oil. Gently stretch to fill baking dish. Lightly cover the dish with plastic wrap and let dough rise 45 minutes to an hour or until it has doubled again.
- While dough is rising, heat oven to 450 degrees.
- When dough has doubled, press cherry tomatoes into surface, being sure to push in deeply so the tomatoes do not pop out when baking. Let rest 5 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped herbs, if using.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, rotating baking dish halfway through baking, until the edges are crisp and the top is golden. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaky salt.
- Allow to cool in the baking dish on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into quarters.
Makes 4 pieces.
Per piece, using 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt for sprinkling at end: 516 calories (percent of calories from fat, 32), 11 grams protein, 77 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 18 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 665 milligrams sodium.
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