First Look: Seasonal, Multicultural Pastries at A Generous Portion in McKinney

We recently visited Collective Coffee in downtown McKinney, where the pastry case was a standout. Some research led us to A Generous Portion, a local family-owned bakery run by Nathan and Ziba who are using global flavors and tradition for their fresh baked pastries. Eager to know more, we popped into their shared commercial kitchen space, formerly butter-loving Paula Dean’s restaurant, to get the scoop on this budding bakery.

The lockdown in 2020 served as a catalyst for Nathan and Ziba, evoking their deep passion for food. They started creating restaurant-quality meals at home, each taking a page from a cooking masterclass. Nathan sunk his teeth into the creativity allowed in cooking, while Ziba fell in love with the precision and small margin of error that baking brings. They began fine-tuning their craft and sharing recipes and the  stories behind them on their blog.

During this time, they had an opportunity to supply Collective Coffee with pastries. They described this leap of faith as they transitioned from blog to bakery, from home baking to a local commercial kitchen. With plenty of room to grow and total creative freedom, they’ve brought some one-of-a-kind pastries to downtown McKinney.

While the typical accompaniment to coffee is Parisian-style pastries, Ziba and Nathan are aiming to push outside that circle by blending different flavors and creating multicultural pastries, all made by hand.

“I try to do as many things as I can by hand because there’s just something different when everything’s done by hand whether it’s pasta, or bread that your grandma made,” says Ziba. “It’s an honorable point for us to bring something on par with the coffee [from Collective].”

Ziba’s family and background are major influences on her signature pastries.

“I go back to my dad’s Persian background,” Ziba says. “I go back to my mom’s Spanish and Swiss background and think about what kinds of bread she used to make. She would make challah bread all the time. Growing up, food was such a heavy focus. My mom made fresh food and bread every single day for every single meal.”

For their pastries, it’s common to see something familiar paired with a spice or other component that is unfamiliar. Even so, it’s still intriguing even for those who tend to play it safe. As of now, the two offer Swedish cardamom buns, berry kolaches, lemon curry loaves, pumpkin chocolate chip scones and an apple butter twist. Regular and trial pastries are currently on rotation as well, such as the intriguing cacio e pepe scone.

“I’m not trying to be too different,” says Ziba. “I’m genuinely trying to introduce new flavors to people in a setting that is normal. You’re not going to some fancy restaurant. I’m always pushing the card and looking for things that they can’t find anywhere else. I can take this Amish recipe and infuse a little bit of Middle Eastern in that. Or how can I infuse a cinnamon from Mexico that has a different note to it? I can take a very basic recipe and put my own components into it to make it something special.”

All the while, these look like something pulled straight from your grandma’s oven.

As Nathan and Ziba gain familiarity with the local farms, their goal is to bridge seasonality with international recipes sourced from the community. Moving forward, you’ll likely see plenty of fresh ideas coming into the shop, like a Key lime donut or a breakfast empanada.

At this point, we’ve devoured nearly our body weight in kolaches, pumpkin chocolate chip scones, lemon curry loaves, apple butter twists and Swedish cardamom buns and can say these are truly one-of-a-kind. The spices are powerful and balanced, but not overwhelming, even if you try a more experimental option. Quality is consistent through every bite.

Their creations have already garnered a strong fanbase in the short amount of time they’ve filled Collective Coffee’s pastry case. Nearly everything sells out daily, so getting your hands on one may require a bit of strategy, like stopping in on Tuesday or Friday when they deliver two batches per day, one in mid-morning and one in the afternoon. So strategize accordingly.

A Generous Portion (sold inside Collective Coffee), 301 W. Louisiana St., McKinney. Monday – Saturday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.