Mariela Camacho is the owner and founder of Comadre Panadería, a Mexican American bakery, in Austin, Texas. She is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and channels her inherited strength, ingenuity, and ancestral knowledge into her work, along with an uncompromising commitment to valuing people’s labor and using humanely and organically produced ingredients. She found her passion for baking while working in San Antonio restaurants and developed her skills in Austin and Seattle.

The bakery is now a two time James Beard Foundation semi-finalist, and has been recognized by local and national publications including Eater, Bon Appetit, the NY Times, & TX Monthly.

Mariela's Cooking Hacks

Substitute Nicuatole for Pastry Cream

I love tasking fresh masa and throwing it in the blender with some oat milk, strawberries, or other fresh fruit. Blend it on high then pass through a fine mesh strainer. Cook on medium heat while constantly stirring until it thickens up and coats your spatula, similar to pasty cream. 

Use a mixer with a paddle attachment to stir the nicuatole on low for 10 minutes. This helps keep the nicuatole from completely setting and getting lumpy. Once it has cooled, it behaves just like a pastry cream. Perfect for layering in between cakes or layers of puff pastry. 

Drink Chocolate 

Chocolate is primarily consumed as a beverage in Mexico. I personally consume it in every form (I love the stuff), but there's nothing like a cup of cacao to help me get through the prep list after the morning bake off. I find it energizes and nourishes me in a way that coffee doesn't. 

At the shop we take some ground up 70% dark Mexican chocolate and pour hot water or oat milk over it. Use a milk frother to aerate or grab the traditional Molinillo and begin whisking to get those tiny bubbles going. Aerating the chocolate changes the texture similar to frothing milk with steam and makes for a satisfying afternoon pick me up. 

Add a Serrano to Your Beans

My mom is a cooking genius. She finds ways to take simple everyday meals and pack them full of flavor so you don't get tired of eating the same thing all week, the reality for many immigrant families. After soaking overnight and slow cooking for hours, when they reach the perfect creamy consistency, she will serve her fresh beans whole on the first day.

In order to keep the beans fresh throughout the week, you will need to refry them, and this is another chance to deepen the flavor. She heats up some olive oil in a large pot and sears a couple serrano chiles in it until they are glistening, blistered, and about to pop, and then pours yesterday's beans into the pan. It is an eruption of beautiful aromas and sounds when the beans hit the serrano infused oil. She will then fully reheat the beans to refresh and refry them, and usually my dad will come in with a masher to smash the beans and chiles up a bit as they finish cooking. Shout out to Imelda for making the best beans. 

Use What Grows Around You

At the Panadería we often take classic baked goods and sub in ingredients that are more relevant and accessible to us here in Texas. We make the beloved polvoron with pecans and mesquite bean flour because it grows everywhere here and if it grows together it goes together. It's fun and actually makes our lives easier to get creative with native and local ingredients instead of sourcing from elsewhere and sticking to the script.

If You Gotta Hand roll Those Tortillas at Least Make It Easier 

I will do almost anything for a good flour tortilla and often the best ones are hand rolled which is kind of tragic because of how labor intensive it can be. In the years of obsessing over streamlining the process I have found the biggest impact with changing my rolling pin. I use a fondant rolling pin instead of a french wooden rolling pin. It is much smaller which actually gives you a lot more control making every roll outwards count. You can be precise with where to apply pressure, helping prevent the tortilla from shrinking on you, and I find that it sticks less to the dough.Find your flow and you'll be done with that stack of 200 tortilla rounds in no time.

You Kind of Have to Fail 

The only way to learn and strengthen your intuition when it comes to baking is to mess up. And you have to show up to mess up. So pull up one of the million of recipes readily available and get to messing up. Stick to the same recipe for at least 4 times as it offers you the opportunity to collect data. Repetition and practice are your friends!