Store your starter for vacation, hamburger buns & more! Hello, bread-making friends! As summer vacations approach, I wanted to share my trusted method for putting your sourdough starter into "hibernation" mode during your travels—and then waking it back up when you return. The process is super simple. With minimal adjustments to your routine, your refrigerator becomes a temporary home for your starter, where it can patiently wait until you're ready to bake again. Once you're back, just a few...
8 days ago • 2 min read
Treats That'll Make Mom Happy Hey there, baker! The mom in your life probably isn't expecting anything, but even if they are, I guarantee any of the following will go above and beyond: Dark chocolate-cherry sourdough — My #1 pick, every year Chocolate knots — SO far superior to that ol' box of chocolates French canelé — crispy shell meets custardy interior Scones for breakfast — every mom deserves breakfast in bed Chocolate chip cookies — everyone loves a good (great) cookie Are you making...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Crusty loaves and fruit galettes (or pies) This past week, I've been baking with a variety of grains in testing: whole spelt, sifted durum, and a high-extraction wheat. This recipe isn't quite ready for prime time just yet. I want to try a more slender shape and pronounced tips—almost like a demi-baguette, but not quite that far. But, I'm super happy with the flour blend—spelt and durum work super well together, it's no wonder they're two widely used grains out in Italy! Check them out: I...
15 days ago • 3 min read
Dreamy cakes and muffins! A hint of warmth outside has me in full-on lemon cake mode, that familiar spring urge to bring brightness to the kitchen after months of hearty winter baking. But why stop at lemon? My countertop has become a playground for blueberry swirls, banana and date-studded loaves. Like many Italians, I first turn to my reliable favorite: the super simple Italian ciambella—that beautifully golden ring cake with its tender crumb and subtle sweetness. It stands alongside the...
22 days ago • 3 min read
Sourdough calzone, pizza, and focaccia This week, with the return of warm weather outside, I was eager to fire up my wood-fired oven and bake pizza, calzones, and focaccia. However, don't worry; if you don't have a wood-fired oven, all of these recipes can be prepared just as well in a home oven. I mean, look at this beauty right out of the oven: This dough is based on my Sourdough Pizza Dough, which has been available on the site for years. It's designed for home ovens, but it works well in...
29 days ago • 3 min read
New: The chewiest oatmeal cookies! One of my favorite things as a kid was the classic oatmeal raisin cookie. Most of my friends would think I was nuts for grabbing the oatmeal cookie instead of the chocolate chip cookie. But there's something about the texture that does it for me, a substantial cookie that's chewy, thick, and yet very soft (fudgy, almost?). If you agree with me—or even if you think a CCC is better than oatmeal—you'll love this week's newest recipe. Read on! Oh, and a few...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Easter focaccia with potatoes and more! Here's a secret focaccia I make often but don't usually talk about: focaccia with thinly sliced and brined potatoes on top. This is one of my favorite ways to dress up focaccia, and it's really easy. I top it with thin yellow potatoes soaked in a saltwater brine for an hour (or overnight in the fridge). The potatoes turn into chips on top while the focaccia bakes, and they end up with a bit of crunch and lots of flavor. I've included a recipe for that...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Super soft rolls, pizza, and baguettes! I've been making lots of sourdough pizza lately, testing new recipes, shapes, and fermentation schedules. It turns out pizza is pretty darn forgiving as long as you're paying attention to all the little signs of fermentation along the way. But for this week's newsletter, I'm sharing a few things I've been pining to bake, a few things I did bake, and more baking things on my mind 🙂 Plus, I recently rediscovered my passion for baguettes (this seems to...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Pre-Spring Baking Inspiration This week's short newsletter will hopefully inspire you to get in the kitchen and whip together some easy bakes. Spring-ish things for me: sandwich bread, easy quick breads (with sourdough discard, of course), and a reminder that challah is great any time of the year 🙂 Read on! In this week's newsletter: Recipes: Pain de mie, discard lemon loaf, challah! Baking Help: Why does my dough tear during bulk fermentation? Sourdough Links: The US ruined bread (??) 🍞 Pain...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read