A travelogue: The Perfect Loaf's trip to Northern Italy I'm back after leading two groups of The Perfect Loaf readers on a week-long sourdough workshop and a tour of some of the best food spots in northern Italy. We had a blast, and it was so, so great to meet so many readers. What did we see and do? Check out my recap post here: READ ITALY 2025 RECAP → I'd also love to know, where should I lead the next trip? Where would you like to visit? Sicily (ancient grain traditions, cannoli,...
17 days ago • 1 min read
How I make the softest sourdough pretzels Whew, jet lag is the real deal. I'm back home from Italy after two weeks of going overboard on gelato, pizza, and pasta—as one does on a successful trip. I'll have more about the trip soon, but today... Let's talk about pretzels (and a few other tasty fall things). Tender and chewy pretzels are the first thing I make when I even slightly detect the cooler nights of fall approaching. Using a lengthy sourdough fermentation for pretzels amplifies the...
18 days ago • 2 min read
Bake the fluffiest bread this weekend! Sourdough challah—definitely not traditional, but definitely quite special—goes beyond its beautiful braided appearance. The flavor complexity from natural fermentation transforms what's typically a sweet, straightforward bread into something with real depth and character. But here's the challenge every baker faces: achieving that perfect balance between a dough that's workable enough to braid cleanly and a finished loaf that's irresistibly soft and...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Italian-inspired breads you’re going to love. Ciao from northern Italy! I'm currently traveling through this incredible region with a wonderful group of The Perfect Loaf readers on a culinary adventure. It’s always a challenge baking in a new location—different equipment, new flour, dramatically different altitude—but the upside is it’s the perfect stage for instructing how to adapt and make wonderful bread wherever you are. (Before I get going, though, if you want to see more about the...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
The perfect bread for sandwiches Imagine yourself in the kitchen with a freshly baked loaf of ciabatta, a bowl of ultra-ripe tomatoes from the garden, some provolone cheese, and a few leaves of basil. For me, that's the perfect late-summer setting, and ciabatta is the bread I turn to time and again when I have an abundance of peak tomatoes. The soft-ish crust and light and creamy crumb are the perfect platform for piling large tomato slices (and a few slices of prosciutto, if you have 'em)....
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
A chill, but totally delicious, holiday weekend What's your plan for this weekend? Are you like me, who usually goes overboard with food prep at any excuse? Yes, I like to rest, but who wants to rest when there's tasty bakes to be had? Here's my plan: an easy one-two. Sourdough pizza for Saturday, and burger buns and/or hot dog buns for holiday Monday. For the pizza, prep the dough on Friday and pull it anytime on Sunday, a few hours before you want to fire up the outdoor oven. For the buns,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The plum cake I can't stop baking Come the end of summer, I'm usually on the hunt for easy bakes in the kitchen to put all the fruit I'm pulling from my trees to good use. Unfortunately, my plum tree is only a few years old and has yet to bear any fruit. But! Lucky for me, I spotted some amazing ones at the market this past week and stocked up. Since then, I've been making this cake on repeat—we just can't get enough. If you don't have plums, you can use peaches, nectarines, apricots, or even...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
High summer baguettes and stone fruit Italy, again? My kids ask. Why, yes! In just a few weeks, I'll be heading back to Italy for our TASTE x The Perfect Loaf trips (you can see last year's trip here). I'm excited to try all the local delicacies on the agenda, but I'm equally excited to meet returning travelers and some new faces as well. It's one thing traveling with a group, and something completely different to travel and bake together! You go from stranger to close friend instantly. On...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
School lunches, sorted. Back from summer travel (more on this in a future newsletter), and it's time to get these kids back to school. The routine for me at this time of year is to bake a few loaves for their lunches—whether it's a white bread like pain de mie or more whole-grain options (read on!), it's just nice having fresh pan loaves cooling on the counter. Of course, the day they're baked, it seems like half the loaf is eaten posthaste, that's what I make two. But more than school...
2 months ago • 3 min read