As a child, Janneza Miranda would pull a chair up to the kitchen counter and watch their tia bake, captivated by the way she would gracefully decorate her delicious masterpieces.
That same nostalgic scene was recreated inside Cal’s Bakeshop early Wednesday morning. Miranda was the one skillfully placing crumbled Oreos on top of a freshly fried cronut as I watched in awe.
Miranda is Cal’s Bakeshop’s nighttime baker, responsible for baking anywhere from 200 to 375 pastries that will line the glass case up front, each one made to brighten up every customer’s morning.
While the rest of Tucson is drifting to sleep, Miranda is hard at work in the kitchen, crafting conchas, cronuts, brioche doughnuts, Kouign-amanns and cinnamon rolls until the sun comes up.
No one really gets to see Miranda show off all their baking expertise, which is exactly why Caleb Orellana, also known as THE Cal, suggested I come in and watch what a typical shift looks like for their nighttime baker.
I was game, bracing myself for my first-ever graveyard shift.
Janneza Miranda filling the brioche doughnuts with a berry lemon filling.
The world around me was dark and silent when my alarm went off at 10:30 p.m.
When I scrolled through my phone, I thought to myself, “why are people texting me so late at night?!” That’s when I realized, while I’m just waking up, everyone else was probably heading to bed.
I threw on some comfy clothes, made an extra strong iced latte and headed to Cal’s Bakeshop at 2707 E. Broadway. I think the best part of the graveyard shift is the lack of traffic. That was the most chill drive I’ve ever had in Tucson.
Miranda welcomed me in at midnight, ready to start their shift. The first task on the to-do list: get all pastries in the proofer. They grabbed huge tubs full of fluffy dough out of the refrigerator, making the entire kitchen smell slightly sweet and bread-like.
They took out the concha dough and separated it into pieces that weighed exactly 80 pounds. They found that this was the ideal weight that gives them the perfect size for customers to enjoy.
Once the pieces were all weighed, they started rolling them into balls. They had the technique down: applying the right amount of pressure to create the perfect ball, fixing any lumps or bumps before placing them on the tray.
Miranda is also tasked with the hard job of figuring out what colors the tops of the concha should be. To go along with the spring weather, they decided on pink, yellow and purple.
They flattened out the tops and gently placed them on top of the conchas, like they were placing little colorful blankets on each of them. They then finished by scoring the tops and putting them into the proofer.
Conchas fresh out of the oven at Cal's Bakeshop.
Like the conchas, Miranda did the same for the cinnamon rolls, cronuts and doughnuts, making sure each was rolled out perfectly and placed into the proofer.
Since it’s usually just Miranda baking, they said they like to put on music to help them stay awake. They even started asking for song recommendations from other co-workers on their whiteboard since they had already listened to all their playlists. This week, Orellana wrote down the song “All We Got” by Chance the Rapper.
By 5 a.m., Miranda said they have to start lip-syncing for their life in order to fight off the sleepiness.
With the conchas and cinnamon rolls in the oven, it was time to start deep-frying the cronuts and doughnuts.
Miranda began to delicately place the cronuts into the fryer, sizzling and bubbling as soon as they touched the pool of oil. Something about them bobbing up and down in the fryer was so cute, they looked like they were taking a relaxing swim in a lazy river.
Once the bubbling slows down and a golden ring forms around the middle, that’s the sign they’re ready to be flipped. Miranda flipped them, waited another two minutes and then fished them out.
The kitchen began to smell like sweet, golden-fried cake, making my mouth water as I watched them cool on their tray.
Throughout the shift, Miranda and I laughed and talked about all kinds of topics, but once it hit 3 a.m., it was time to get down to the nitty-gritty: ghosts. Orellana had previously told me that there may be a ghost and I had to get to the truth.
Miranda said they once had placed a bunch of mini rubber spatulas in the sink to wash, but when they turned their back, a loud metal crash came from the sink. When they went to investigate, nothing in the sink had moved.
Now I’m not only focused on watching Miranda bake, but I’m also tuned in for any ghost sightings.
With the deep-frying done, it was time to move on to Miranda’s favorite part: decorating.
They rolled the brioche doughnuts in sugar or dunked them in bowls of chocolate or classic glaze. For the cronuts, they had run out of apricots, which meant they had to come up with a new flavor fast.
Without hesitation, they began to make a lemon vanilla glaze, letting me taste some to ensure it was worthy for the cronuts. It was a no-brainer: it absolutely had to be on the cronuts.
I was so impressed with how fast Miranda was on their feet. I would’ve freaked out and probably cried if I had to come up with a new flavor in a matter of seconds. Not them, though — they created something so delicious like it was second nature.
Janneza Miranda pipping mocha creme on freshly baked cronuts.
Soon, the cronuts were either glazed or had a mocha crème piped on top, followed by crumbles of crushed Oreos. I was taken aback at their sprinkling method. I had never seen someone sprinkle baked goods with such precision; there was no mess left behind.
Everything Miranda decorated had such a charm to it; it looked like it was made with love and care.
“Cal likes when it has that homemade charm, saying it looks real and not like a robot made it,” Miranda said.
Around 4 a.m., right in the middle of prime decorating time, I heard the sound of running water. I was convinced it was the ghost of Winchell’s past and went to investigate the source of the sound. It turned out to be just the machines out front; I think my sleepiness was making me paranoid.
At 6 a.m., the sun started to peek through the windows and the bakeshop was starting to come alive. Miranda was filling each doughnut with flavorful filling and baristas started placing each of the treats in the glass cases.
Once the clock struck 7 a.m., Miranda had successfully finished it all. Twelve trays full of beautiful pastries were sitting in the kitchen, signifying the end of another successful shift.
The glass case at Cal's Bakeshop is full the the pastries Janneza Miranda made during the graveyard shift.
I couldn’t believe how fast the shift went by. It was the fastest eight hours ever, and I didn’t even do anything — I just watched.
Miranda truly knows how to work a kitchen. Watching them bake made me want to head straight to my kitchen and whip something sweet up. They were born to bake, and it was so fun to watch them work their magic in their natural habitat.
I ordered a vanilla bean custard brioche doughnut to go and said my goodbyes, thanking Miranda for letting me tag along for eight hours.
I got home and went directly to bed. I had survived my first graveyard shift and was ready to sleep the day away.
Cal’s Bakeshop is open Wednesday to Sunday, with night hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Next Sunday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. is their first-ever Calinda Market, a collaboration with local vegan cook Nopalinda. You’ll be able to enjoy all of their sweet treats along with other finds from local vendors.
