Services Set for Cherry Street BakerBy Staff Reports, The Tulsa World
5/21/2006
Caroline Brune, the owner of the former Bakery on Cherry Street and a founding member of the Tristesse Center, died May 14 of ovarian cancer. She was 56.
A memorial service is set for 3 p.m. May 28 at All Souls Unitarian Church.
Brune not only left behind a legacy of signature baked goods still served at the Wild Fork restaurant but also was instrumental in the evolution of Cherry Street, one of Tulsa's popular business districts on 15th Street between Peoria and Utica avenues.
Born in Enid on a wheat and cattle farm, Brune learned her first baking skills from her mother, Gertrude.
"Caroline always said that from the time she was old enough to stand on a stool and reach a counter, she began kneading dough," said Susanne Barnard, a close friend and owner of the Bead Merchant.
Brune was known for having an innate understanding of the idiosyncrasies of creating dough and an uncanny rhythm in the way she kneaded it, said her brother, Carl.
Kim Michie, chef and owner of the Wild Fork, said no one has been able to recreate Brune's popular peasant sourdough bread. "It just doesn't taste the same, so we quit trying."
Brune had a degree in English from Phillips University and attended graduate courses at the University of Tulsa, where she met her bakery business partner, Cheryl Dobbins. Together they opened a bakery that served doughnuts in downtown Tulsa in 1977.
When the downtown location was turned into a parking lot in the early 1980s, the women gave up their doughnut fryer, moved to 15th Street and incorporated the original street name into their new identity, a quintessential European-style coffeehouse.
The Bakery on Cherry Street was the first of its kind in Tulsa, "born out of thinking romantically about food," Dobbins said. It was in the building that houses Tucci's on 15th Street.
For many years, it was the only place in town where a patron could get an espresso, cappuccino, handmade croissants or other artisan baked goods such as Brune's hallmark Morning Buns. Unlike some places, bakery patrons were encouraged to linger as long as they liked, Dobbins said.
Brune helped revive the historic street name designation for the area and played "a role as an urban pioneer in making the Bakery on Cherry Street a neighborhood landmark," which spurred the renaissance of the Cherry Street District, said Stacey Bayles, a member of the Tulsa Metropolitan Planning Commission.
The bakery was open for 16 years. After it closed in the mid-1990s, Brune started baking for the Wild Fork. She later turned her creativity to doing woodworking for Pounds and Francs.
When her life-partner, Lisa Blaylock, died in 2000, Brune and several others founded the Tristesse Center, a nonprofit organization that offers grief-support programs to individuals and families.
"Caroline brought so much to the table because she had a real understanding and a real appreciation for the grieving process. She knew everyone loses something, whether it is an individual or health," said Christy Sanders, president of Tristesse Center.
Brune was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and also lost her brother, John, to cancer.
She is survived by her mother, Gertrude Brune of Enid; four brothers, Carl Brune of Tulsa, G.J. Brune of Enid, Paul Brune of Lawton and Delmer Brune of Waynoka; and nine nieces and nephews.
Friends are making contributions to ovarian cancer research through the Caroline Brune Memorial Fund; Spirit Bank; 2020 E. 14th Place; Tulsa, OK 74104.
9 comments:
She sounds like an incredible woman.
This really paints a beautiful portrait of your aunt. Thanks for posting it. Wish I could have tasted some of her bread!
I get this yearning for Morning Buns every once in awhile and look for something about the bakery on the net. And today I was lucky and found your site. I lived in Tulsa in the early 80's and thought the Bakery on Cherry Street's food was the best. Sorry to hear about your aunt. I didn't know her, but certainly enjoyed her baked goods. One of my daughter's friends read poetry at the bakery.
Does anyone have the recipe for the Morning Buns? I know I couldn't duplicate her baking abilities, but I'd sure like to try to make some. If anyone could share that recipe, I'd really appreciate it. I, too, live in Texas now. Thank you.
Morning Buns. How appropriate! Caroline would be ever so pleased. I do not have that recipe on hand, unfortunately. But, fortunately, my uncle is working on a cookbook that will feature many of her recipes as well as my grandmother's recipes (the mother-recipes of Caroline's). I'm not sure of the title. I will definitely post about it when it is available. If I come across Morning Buns, I will post the recipe here if I can. Thank you for your kind words and thoughts and memories. She lives on...
Dear DragonFly24, did your uncle ever complete Caroline's recipe compilation? I would like to purhase a copy if available.
No, he has not completed the compilation. I'm not sure where it is in his ever increasing stack of to-do's. :) Perhaps someday... Thanks for checking in!
Just ran across this as I was thinking about the bakery. That was my first job and remains the best job I ever had. That place was special.
I would like to know if the cookbook has been published. If not, do you have the recipe for the Morning Buns? My daughter was 3 when I used to take her there for breakfast. I would like to share those wonderful buns with my grandchildren. It is a same such a lovely woman had to leave us so young. I can only say, being in her bakery was always a joy.
Morning Buns commentary from my Uncle Carl (Caroline's brother):
"They are all technique and hard to do in a home kitchen since the pastry is almost impossible without equipment to roll it down. Making all Those folds of dough and cold butter are hard to manage with a rolling pin.
"They were simple beyond that, a sheet of croissant dough was rolled up to be inch-and a-half or so in diameter then cut into two inch pieces, dropped into muffin tins (the small ones) cut side up. then allowed to proof and baked. They puff up like crazy and while they were still hot tossed in a cinnamon/sugar mixture."
Post a Comment