Larisa Pavlovich, 71, has been kneading the dough for the same napoleon recipe at Cinderella Bakery on Balboa Street since 1986. This Tuesday at 5:42 a.m., she is showing it to Andrei Volkov, 33, who will be the bakery’s third owner when she retires in June.
The bakery opened in 1953, founded by a couple from Kyiv who arrived in San Francisco after the war. They sold to Larisa’s aunt and uncle in 1978. Larisa has worked there since 1980 and bought it from her aunt in 1991.
There are 14 separate recipes she keeps in a hand-bound notebook on top of the proofing cabinet. The most important is the napoleon. It uses 184 layers of pastry. The cream is made from heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, and a single ingredient she will not name in print.
“I told him,” she says, gesturing at Andrei, “if you change the secret ingredient, the customers will know in three days. Mrs. Sokolov has been buying napoleon every Friday since 1989. She will know.”
Andrei moved to San Francisco from Brighton Beach four years ago. He worked at a bakery in Manhattan for seven years. He is also the only person Larisa has ever met who could make the napoleon to her standards on the third try.
“He is patient,” she says. “Patience is the most important thing. The dough is alive. If you rush it, it punishes you and the customer.”
The bakery still has the original countertop. The cash register is from 1978. Andrei plans to keep both. He plans to add an espresso machine, which Larisa initially objected to but is now warming up on. She tries the cappuccino he made for her this morning. She nods, slowly.
“You may stay,” she says.
