Sample 10 finalists’ desserts at Baked into Bethlehem finals May 30, tickets $5

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The public will get a literal taste of the region’s home-baking talent Saturday, May 30, when 10 finalists present their signature desserts for judging — and sampling — at the first Baked into Bethlehem Baking Challenge finals.

The competition runs from 2 to 4 p.m. at the 1869 Luckenbach Mill, 459 Old York Road, and caps a months-long Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites exhibition celebrating the city’s baking heritage.

Tickets are $5 for ages 13 and older and free for children 12 and under. Admission includes same-day entry to the “Baked into Bethlehem” exhibition at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts and the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem.

Attendees will be able to meet the bakers, hear the stories behind their recipes and sample all 10 desserts, each inspired by a family celebration or holiday tradition.

A panel of local baking professionals — including Richard Groman Jr., of the family behind the longtime Groman’s bakery, and Bethany Carrigan of King Arthur Baking Co. — will judge the entries. Carrigan will also field audience-baking questions during a question-and-answer session.

It is the first time Historic Bethlehem has staged the contest, which organizers added to build on the popularity of the exhibition that opened in November, said Mark Demko, development and communications coordinator at Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.

“The exhibit has been very popular, so we added in the baking competition to bring bakers and our community together through their love of baking,” Demko said. He said each finalist will share the story behind the dessert they present, so guests can learn what the recipes mean to the bakers and their families.

The finalists are Michele Bernardich of Whitehall; Michael Brolly, Ryan Lichty and Allison Shook of Bethlehem; Hannah Hoch of Nazareth; Sarah Keppel of Easton; Patty Morgenstern of Bangor; Amita Pallod of Breinigsville; Judith Sabino of Coopersburg; and Alyssa Wolfe of Quakertown.

They were selected from a first-round competition held on April 18, in conjunction with Community Heritage Day, a free community event. Entries are judged on flavor, appearance, texture and the story behind the recipe, according to the organizers, and culinary and baking-related prizes will go to the top three finishers.

The finals close out the “Baked into Bethlehem” exhibition, which runs at the Kemerer and Moravian museums through July 26. The exhibition traces baking from the Moravian sugar cakes once made in communal beehive ovens to the pies, cookies and immigrant specialties of today.

Bethlehem was founded by Moravian settlers in 1741, and Demko said the city’s baking traditions reach back to its earliest days. “Bethlehem has a rich baking tradition that dates back to the city’s earliest days, when the early Moravians would bake bread and sugar cakes in communal beehive ovens,” he said.

The exhibition devotes special attention to Groman’s, the beloved local bakery that began in the 1920s as Ezra D. Groman Bakeries and grew from a Moravian mint recipe into a regional institution known for its elaborate cakes and tortes. Original Groman family machinery and objects are on display at the Kemerer Museum.

Demko said thousands of people have viewed the exhibition since it opened, and that monthly presentations and tours led by Richard Groman Jr. were well received, with the first tours selling out quickly.

“Our focus is bringing the community together to explore Bethlehem’s history, discover its unique stories and have a great time while doing so,” Demko said.

Tickets for the finals are available through Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites. Regular admission to the exhibition is $20 for adults and $12 for children.