🍞 I'm back! And Crackers for the Game, Buns by Sunday


Crackers for the Game, Buns by Sunday

I'm back!

I just returned from a family trip to France for a couple of weeks. It was sometimes hot, sometimes rainy, and all the time wonderful. Stay tuned for next week's newsletter with photos and a rundown of all the bread (and pizza!) I dug into.

Like I'd imagine many of you, my household has been steadfastly watching the World Cup, and as a former soccer player, it's been dredging up some memories.

Watching the USA perform well (fingers crossed for today!), England and Croatia absolutely trading blows tit for tat, and just the general fervor that just seems to be everywhere is... infectious.

Which is the long way around to this week's theme: what's on the table while the match is on. Sourdough discard crackers for grazing through stoppage time, and with Father's Day this Sunday, burger buns built for the grillβ€”and the games, too.

In this week's newsletter:

  • Recipes: Milk bread hamburger buns, seeded sourdough discard crackers, waffles, cinnamon rolls, lemon poppyseed loaf
  • Baking Tip: Are darkly baked loaves always super chewy?

🍞 Milk bread buns for weekend grilling

Whether you have a cookout planned for Father's Day or any of the games this weekend, these are your ticket to a good time.

🍞 Seeded sourdough discard crackers

These crackers are the perfect snack while you're watching any soccer game!

🍞 Father's Day waffles

What better way to thank Dad than with a stack of crispy waffles? My kids pretty much have making these down to routine at this pointβ€”what can I say? I'm a creature of habit.

πŸŒ€ Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Icing

Delightfully soft with just the right amount of chew, these sourdough cinnamon rolls are a smash hit every time.

You can swap the cream cheese icing for a simple sugar glaze or leave them plain (gasp), but however you like to finish them, they'll all be finished.

πŸ‹ Want to make it even easier? Lemon poppyseed loaf

A delightfully easy way to use any excess starter in your jar, and certainly a final cake with excellent flavor and texture that outpaces the work it takes to whip it together.


πŸ‘‹πŸΌ Come Talk Bread

Join the TPL sourdough baking community to get baking help, share your best (and not-so-best) bakes, and get my suite of baking tools, discounts, and access to our private community. If you love bread, you'll love it here!


πŸ’¬ Member Discussion of the Week

I love the taste of a dark-baked crust, but mine always comes out too hard and chewy. I'd rather it be thin and crisp, almost like a biscuit. Is that possible with sourdough, or is a thick, chewy crust just how it goes?

A thin, crunchy crust is absolutely possible. It's my favorite, too. The biggest factor is steam. I get my best results using an open baking setup with plenty of steam in the oven rather than a Dutch oven, because all that moisture early on lets the crust expand and stretch thin before it sets. A Dutch oven works, but it tends to produce a thicker crust since the steam environment is harder to control. One thing to keep in mind: the more whole grain in your dough, the thicker the crust will naturally be. But with a mostly white-flour dough and good steam, thin and shattery is very much within reach.


πŸ›Ÿ 2 Ways I Can Help You Today

Until next week, happy baking!

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