822: How to Build a Booming Bakery Business at an Artisan Market with Zeena Lattouf Joy

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**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (1:05)
I've made so many friends through this market, and I've actually met this woman. Her name is Nadine. She's a long lost family member. Well, maybe not lost, but we didn't know we were extended family members. She had just moved from California. She tried our mamoul, took a bite of it, and was like, oh my God, this reminds me of my grandmother.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (1:25)
This is TASTE. I'm your host, Aliza Abarbanel.
Zeena Lattouf Joy is the founder and head baker of Zeena Bakery, a Palestinian American bakery based in Brooklyn. Their mamoul, focaccia, and other treats are beloved mainstays of the artisan side of the Fort Greene Farmers Market, and a regular part of my weekend routine. Today on the show, Zeena talks about building a bakery that supports farmers in New York and the Levant, the realities of operating a bakery stand at the market, and her plans for the future. Zeena Lattouf Joy, this is TASTE. Thank you for coming on the podcast.

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (2:05)
Thanks for having me, Aliza.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (2:06)
I'm so happy to have you in the studio. I feel like we have had so many interactions across from the table at the farmers market, so it's a new dynamic for us, which I love.

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (2:15)
Yes, 100 percent.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (2:16)
I'm really happy to talk about Zeena Bakery, which I think listeners of the podcast have heard me talk about so much. I love your focaccia and mumwool and all of those things. Before, I have to ask you if you've had any pastries or baked goods yet today.

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (2:31)
Well, I have, but when I went to the kitchen to pack your pastries, I snacked a couple of mumwools for myself.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (2:38)
For breakfast?

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (2:40)
Mid-morning snack, probably. Breakfast was at 6:30 AM.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (2:45)
Right. The life of a business owner and mother.

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (2:49)
Yes.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (2:50)
Do you feel like you still have a big appetite for your own baked goods? Sometimes I talk to bakers who they've crossed over, and they don't want to eat that much sugar anymore.

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (3:01)
I do. Especially the mumwool. I'm curious if there will ever be a day that I'm sick of eating mumwool, because it's so my palate, which is why I started the business on mumwool, because so many people don't know what it is, and I think it's exceptional.
Other things, maybe one day, but still not yet. When I was pregnant, everything sounded horrible, except mumwool. So when we were in the kitchen baking, it smelled terrible to me, but since then, I'm back on.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (3:33)
I'm so glad that the mumwool craving never left you. And I guess for someone who's listening who's maybe never had it before, can you explain what this is and what's so special about it?

**Zeena Lattouf Joy** (3:43)
Yeah. So mumwool is a semolina cookie that's traditionally stuffed with either date or walnut or pistachio. And there are some other aromatics like cinnamon or cardamom or orange blossom water. And very buttery like shortbread experience. And what I love about mumwool, especially the ones that we make, is that they're not too sweet.
And they go really nicely with coffee or tea.

**Aliza Abarbanel** (4:08)
They do. And they almost are, they feel like, god, I hate to say like protein packed because, you know, protein era. But they do have, not only do they like the buttery shortbread quality, but the fact that they're stuffed with the nuts. It does feel like it has a lot of nutrients or a lot kind of going on in the cookie.