Porto’s Bakery at Your Door and in Your Oven!

We were very excited when we received word that our croissant and arroz con pollo was on the way with this announcement:

Your order is on the way!

A few reminders:

Your pastries will arrive frozen and must be kept in the freezer if not baked immediately.

Your unbaked pastries have a use-by date of approximately 30 days while kept in freezer.

Shipment Details

Item #                    Description                              Qty

135                    Arroz Con Pollo Frito                            1

101                    Cheese Roll®                                           1

The box arrived a few days after, safely packaged for summer heat.  Parchment paper sheets were thoughtfully provided, and added to the anticipation of our home baking.  We first learned that the croissants have to be “proofed” – left out at room temperature for eight hours or overnight.

Directions are also provides on colorful oversized postcards with photos of how your baked goods should look at every stage.  

New home bakers need to know that the croissants need the be “proofed” by leaving them out overnight or at least eight hours.  Baking in a pre-heated oven, and then brushing with a simply syrup of sugar and water completes the easy process.

We tried the croissants one at a time, each day, and tried to honor them with an accompanying dish.   Poached eggs and even fresh fruit are lovely; so is eating them alone for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

 

Lifetime highlights of Porto’s Bakery somehow are in memories and not in photographs which we savor while enjoying the baked goods at home:  An after-hours tour of the downstairs bakery in Glendale that left me speechless after passing the jammed, iconic hangout for years.  Porto’s catering an afternoon with savories  and sweets covering tables at a Sue Wong fashion show in her Los Feliz home (the setting of the film Sunset Boulevard).  A Porto’s fruit-covered cake coming out of its box drawing gasps of delight to celebrate my TV producer’s 90th birthday – it even overshadowed his sons’ amusing guest list of only 12 of us former female associates.

Not surprisingly, it all started, upmarket and elegant from the beginning.  Cuba-born Rosa  grew up inspired by the smell of sweet creations made from recipes brought by her mother, who was originally from the Galicia region of Spain.  Years later,  her beloved Cuba suddenly fell victim to communism, which resulted in dire circumstances for Rosa and her husband Raul Porto.  This nightmare for the Porto’s turned into the origin of the legendary bakery because Rosa began selling her cakes to friends, family and neighbors until they were granted permission to emigrate to the United States, then to friends and family once they arrived in the United States.  Lucky for us that Porto’s arrived in Los Angeles and not in Miami!

In 1976, Rosa opened her first Porto’s Bakery on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park, California.  Her husband and then family eventually joined in the growing operation.  Today Porto’s has five locations in Glendale, Burbank, Downey, Buena Park and West Covina.