Photos courtesy of Bench Flour Bakers
Bench Flour Bakers
Bench Flour is a nod to Christine Yen’s
professional pastry background and her
dedication to making everything from
scratch — the expression refers to gently
tossed flour on a work surface, also
known as a bench.
She has worked at top New York City
bakeries, most recently at Balthazar Bakery.
While she was working as head baker at
another New York City bakery, Baked, in
2017, she started her own business on the
side. The products first sold to the public at
the LIC Flea & Food market that summer.
Her philosophy is to “create honest,
fresh, and just really good food.” The
menu changes frequently based on the
season and inspiration she gets from
ingredients she finds locally and at the
farmers market.
“This allows for the need for constant
creativity, which is a cornerstone of this
industry and it’s honestly where all the
fun lies,” she said.
The cream pie is one dessert that works
every season, she said. It has a flaky pie
dough base, vanilla bean pastry cream
and seasonal fruit preserves topped with
whipped cream. Another favorite is the
Chinese sweet red bean cream pie. Yen
grew up cooking with Chinese food with
her grandmother.
Yen has a partnership with The Breakfast
Shack, providing pastries that complement
owner Joe DeMato’s savory
offerings.
“We inspire and bounce ideas off each
other, which is incredibly fun and part of
why we do what we do," she said. "We are
so in sync with the way we think and create,
a partnership allows us to constantly
make new and delicious meals as a collaboration.”
Aside from the 30th Avenue food
truck, you can find Bench Flour pastries
at Dawa’s in Sunnyside and local markets
like the monthly Queens Craft Brigade.
Yen also does cake and pastry custom
orders.
The business currently operates out of
commercial kitchen in LIC, but a storefront
in Astoria is underway and expected to
open mid-year. She wasn’t ready to disclose
the location just yet, so stay tuned.
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