Thanksgiving is in 5 days (!).

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Baking bread is simple, right? But juggling it with drinks, appetizers, cooking a myriad of sides, a big ol' turkey, and a stunning dessert—is not.

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So, I have a few tactics to ensure you have terrific sourdough bread for the big meal with less and more time to do all the other things.

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Whether you're making sourdough rolls (I love them) or making something more savory like a walnut + cranberry bread, this email has you covered.

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But first, let's dive into a new delicious rye bread at The Perfect Loaf.

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In this week's newsletter:

• A new sourdough Light Deli Rye recipe!
• How to schedule baking for Thanksgiving
• Reader Q: How can I get a crispy bottom on my bread?
• A few links about flour, starters, and our little enzyme friends

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🍞 Light Deli Rye Sourdough Bread

This new recipe by Jen Latham is for a wonderful light deli rye—perfect for sandwiches (especially leftover Turkey sandwiches).

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The recipe comes together quickly with your sourdough starter, a short mix, bulk fermentation, and then baking. Get started in the morning, and have fresh rye bread for dinner.

GET RYE RECIPE →

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🎁 2023 Gift Guide If you haven't seen this year's gift guide, check it out before the Black Friday deals pass! ​ GET GIFTS →

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💡 Make Rolls Ahead of Time and Make Thanksgiving Easy

I am often asked how I make so many rolls for Thanksgiving and bake desserts and cook everything else. Here are my two go-to scheduling options for making rolls (and just about any other bread) easier.

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Tangzhong scheduling

Many soft roll recipes call for pre-cooking some of the flour in the recipe. This helps make them super soft. Tangzhong scheduling:

• The tangzhong mixture can be made a day or two before mixing: cook the flour, let it cool, cover it, and place it in the fridge. Then, let it warm to room temperature before mixing it into the dough.

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Mixing and baking scheduling

• DAY BEFORE: Mix dough the day before Thanksgiving, and proceed with the recipe to the end of shaping. Cover the pans and place into the fridge. Take them out early on Thanksgiving and let them finish proofing until nice and puffy (around 3 hours). Bake.
• SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE: Several days before Thanksgiving, mix the dough and proceed to the end of shaping. Cover the pans with an airtight cover and place in the freezer. The evening before Thanksgiving, let thaw in the fridge, covered. Take them out in the morning and let them finish warming and proofing (it might take 4 hours or more). Bake.

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Now that you have the tools, get these rolls or a loaf into your schedule!

GET MY FAV ROLL RECIPE →

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💬 Member Discussion of the Week

Answers to all these questions and more in my guide to steaming a home oven! Further, the number one issue I see people run into is they aren't preheating their oven long enough when using stone or steel—especially steel.

Have a baking question? Reply to this email; I'll answer it in an upcoming newsletter.

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👋🏼 Bread Bakers Like You

Come drop in our community of sourdough bakers. Becoming a member gets you access to our private chat and forum, recipe archives, recorded and live sessions, and all my baking spreadsheets & tools.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY →

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📙 What I'm Reading and Watching

• ​Why no two sourdoughs are exactly the same (Popular Science; Thanks, Allen!). Often, when I get a new bag of flour I've never used before, I put a little in my sourdough starter. If new microbes are on the flour that hasn't been introduced into my starter, let the strongest survive—Highlander-style.
• I've read Enzymes: The Little Molecules That Bake Bread (Scientific American) so many times, and yet, every time I revisit it, I pick up something new.

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🛟 2 Ways I Can Help You This Week

• Read my buns and rolls shaping guide for the perfect technique
• Read my guide to 21 of the most common sourdough starter problems (with solutions)

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Have a happy holiday!

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Maurizio Leo

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P.S. Now I'm getting close to the panettone I've envisioned for a long time ✨