Want to make bakery-quality sourdough bread from home? Subscribe for the best sourdough guides and recipes to take your bread from ordinary to incredible.
Share
๐ Dreamy cakes and muffins!
Published 7 days agoย โขย 3 min read
โ
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.
โ
But why stop at lemon? My countertop has become a playground for blueberry swirls, banana and date-studded loaves.
โ
Like many Italians, I first turn to my reliable favorite: the super simple Italian ciambellaโthat beautifully golden ring cake with its tender crumb and subtle sweetness.
โ
It stands alongside the French pound cake as one of those foundational recipes every baker knows by heartโdeceptively simple yet infinitely adaptable, the true backbone of home baking tradition.
โ
Each of these recipes transforms your sourdough discard into something magical, giving that naturally fermented flavor a sweet new purpose.
โ
So, if you're taking a brief hiatus from bread baking, don't let that starter go to waste. These cake recipes aren't just delicious; they also give your carefully cultivated cultures a chance to shine in an entirely different medium.
โ
In fact, some have even commented that they're keeping their starter fed especially for these cakes (and my sourdough pancakes, too) ๐
โ
Read on!
โ
In this week's newsletter:
Recipes: Ciambella, Lemon Poppyseed Loaf, Banana Bread, Blueberry Muffins, Date and Banana Tea Cake
Reader's Baking Question: Is 80ยฐF (26ยฐC) to hot for a sourdough starter?
What I'm Watching and Reading: How Denmark is changing to whole grainsโfor everyone
๐ Ciambella (Italian lemon cake)
โ
Think of this cake as a sort of Italian pound cakeโbut with a super bright lemon flavor thanks to the zest, juice, and limoncello.
โ
If you don't have a round cake pan like this, split the batter between two loaf pans and you're good to go!
A staple in my kitchen anytime there are a few bananas hanging out in the kitchen. In fact, I stash some bananas so no one will eat them for this cake ๐
Super simple muffins, but once you make these, you might not go back to your non-discard muffins. Sometimes I'll top these with an oat crumble, too, but they're really great as is.
I love the walnuts, buttermilk, and molasses in this recipe. Another simple-to-make cake that'll astonish you with its flavor profile. Plus, if you're a bread baker, you likely already have the ingredients for this one!
I do have a question- I live in Houston, hot and humid. My house thermostat is set to about 78-80 degrees. I noticed my starter wasnโt rising, and I figured it was too hot. What do you suggest? I started it using your method, but then it quit rising. Iโve made two loaves, and I have pizza dough in the fridge.
That temperature should be just fine; in fact, it's quite ideal. That shouldn't be causing issues. If you have some rye flour, I'd try feeding it with some rye for a few days, like I describe here:
Do 1x a day for up to 5 days until you see some activity. Let me know how it goes. Sometimes it just needs a little attention and change!
โ
If you ever notice your starter is fermenting too quickly before you get to feed it next, use cooler water or leave less starter in the jar when you feed it.
๐๐ผ Come Talk Bread
Passionate bakers, this newsletter is just a taste of what's to come. Our membership unlocks my complete recipe vault, live troubleshooting sessions, a private community of fellow enthusiasts, and all my custom baking tools. This is where good bread becomes extraordinary. Join us and transform your sourdough from a daily staple to a conversation piece. Your best loaves are waiting.
Thank you for subscribing ๐ฉถ. Sent from Maurizio at The Perfect Loaf, 8100 Wyoming Blvd NE Ste M4, #343, Albuquerque, NM 87113. โUnsubscribeโ
The Perfect Loaf ๐
Maurizio Leo
Want to make bakery-quality sourdough bread from home? Subscribe for the best sourdough guides and recipes to take your bread from ordinary to incredible.
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...
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 meโor even if you think a CCC is better than oatmealโyou'll love this week's newest recipe. Read on! Oh, and a few...
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...