And if the lines spilling out onto the sidewalk are any indication, Seattle's Macrina Bakery is living up to it's name.

Owner-chef Leslie Mackie grew up in Portland, Oregon, and began her cooking career at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in the early 80s.

After graduating, she stayed in San Fran to work at Ernie's restaurant. Then, it was on to Boston and Los Angeles, where artisan bread baking was on the rise.

But in 1989, Leslie moved back to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to her family. When she heard that Grand Central in Pioneer Square was making the very elusive artisan breads, she put in her resume.

Within two weeks, she was hired as their first lead baker - coming in at 2 a.m. every morning to get the dough rolling. When Grand Central started booming four years later, Leslie found herself wanting to create something a little more intimate - with more diversity.

So, in 1993, before the building even existed, Leslie signed the lease on a space that would become Macrina Bakery in Belltown.

Leslie says while her relationship with Grand Central can be a little uncomfortable at times, she has much respect for them and their product. That's why she deliberately didn't go after their wholesale customers, and redeveloped all of their breads.

While Grand Central relies heavily on retail stores, Leslie's focus is on restaurants. Some of her clients include Campagne, Flying Fish, Marco's, Marjorie, Mistral, Sky City (the Space Needle), Baguette Box, The Capitol Club and Anthony's.

Macrina is truly a community-driven business. In fact, the only clients Macrina services outside of the the "hood" is Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie and Metropolitan Market in Tacoma.

Everything at Macrina is made by hand. Literally. Leslie has an aversion to automated equipment, which she says is hard to clean and expensive to fix when it breaks.

Plus, she says, there's more of a connection to the product when you use your hands.

People stand in long lines for Macrina's Morning Rolls, Italian Plum Rolls, Hazelnut Pinwheels and Cinnamon Monkey Bread, but there is just as much demand for the artisan breads, rustic pastries, tarts and organic Caffe Vita coffee.

In fact, Leslie says Macrina is one of the few places where you can get all of those things under one roof. Leslie's favorite item, by the way, is the Olivetta bread - stuffed with whole green olives and fresh herbs, brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

Macrina also offers one heck of a brunch and lunch menu. They can also make your next special occasion cake. Even if that special occasion is sitting in front of the TV with a big fork.

Leslie's first cookbook came out last fall - full of recipes that the home baker can easily reproduce. Leslie also has a few tips that are not in the book. The most important one being patience!

Leslie says one of the reasons she loves baking so much is because breads and pastries can't be made quickly. The process forces her to slow down and brings her back to reality.

Macrina opened with just eight employees, including Leslie. But now, with nearly 100 employees and another location on Queen Anne, Leslie says a third location isn't out of the question.

Fresh Fruit Muffins

This muffin is a perfect showcase for fresh summer berries, succulent peaches, or winter cranberries. The batter is only slightly sweet, allowing the fruit flavors to speak for themselves.

Makes 6 to 8 muffins

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups whole milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 cups ripe fruit (whole berries or fruit cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
1/2 cup coarse raw sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the insides of a muffin tin with canola oil.

Sift flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix gently with a wooden spoon and set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and milk, and mix with a whisk until combined. Add to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. (It's important not to over mix.) Slowly add melted butter and continue mixing until batter is smooth and there are no visible streaks of butter. Gently fold fruit into batter, taking care to avoid crushing the fruit.

Scoop batter into oiled muffin tin, filling the cups to the top. Sprinkle coarse raw sugar on tops of muffins and bake on center rack of oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Finished muffins will be golden brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then slide a fork down the side of each muffin and gently lift it from the pan.

For more information:

www.macrinabakery.com