Baker to health board: Hands off my dough

A looming trans fat ban in Chelsea is leaving one local baker wondering how his turnovers are responsible for the obesity epidemic and wishing the government would keep its hands off his dough At Katz's Bagel Bakery, a Chelsea fixture since 1938, the bagels have always been the big draw, but owner Richard Katz also does a brisk business with pastries like turnovers and whoopie pies, pastries that he makes with partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening. That shortening will be banned on Jan. 1, leaving Katz vowing to stop selling pastries rather than peddle what he calls "awful" tasting trans fat-free baked goods. He's made the pastries the same way for years, starting the dough by mixing flour with a heaping mound of shortening, loaded with two and a half grams of trans fats per serving. In just a few weeks when the ban takes effect, the creamy white shortening will be contraband. And that's when Katz's dilemma begins, because the soon-to-be banned trans fats make his turnover dough taste good. "No question the other stuff is much healthier for you, but this tastes better," said Katz, who still looks fit and trim for his 70 years...more