Back from Italy and Hearty October Bakes! I'm back home from two weeks in southern Italy and Naples! What. A. Trip. I had the pleasure of finally meeting fellow TPL readers, working with some dough in a sourdough friselle workshop, and tasting all Italy has to offer, from cheese, to bread, to taralli (little crackers), to pizza (of course). I'll have a longer post about the trip, our itinerary, how I brought back and used a 90-year-old sourdough starter (!!), and all the juicy details next...
11 days ago • 3 min read
Since I'm in Italy, let's bake Italian. I'm in southern Italy right now with a group of fine The Perfect Loaf readers who signed up to explore bakeries, pizzerias, and more with TASTE and I. (More info on this trip to Italy is here.) Since I'm in for a few weeks of Italian bread, gelato, and pizza, I thought maybe you'd like to taste a bit of Italy, too? Today's newsletter features a collection of my favorite Italian sourdough breads and pizza, which I know you'll love. Oh! And if you'd like...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Sometimes, I don't listen to myself. This week I found myself ignoring my own advice to other bakers Making bread is interesting that way. Sometimes, you fall into routines and lock certain parts of the process in place, thinking they're just how they should be and need no further adjustment. This time, it was my mixing time & dough development. I talk about it a lot in my cookbook: how many beginning bakers (and experienced bakers, as it turns out 🙂) tend to under-mix their dough. There's a...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
How to taste bread, summer ciabatta, and more Hello, bread baker! Oh, how I have a packed newsletter for you this week. First, we'll explore an important topic—ironically, a topic often overlooked in today's visual-heavy environment—how to taste bread. Sometimes, I'll get an email from a new baker that goes like this: I just baked my first sourdough loaf, and it looks amazing! But I'm not sure if how it tastes is how it's supposed to taste. Often, we see amazing bread, but while it may look...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Holiday bakes and vacation breaks For Labor Day, we're typically doing one of two things: Traveling on one last vacation before school Cooking, grilling, and eating outside This year it's #2. And while I love traveling, I'm okay with skipping the hustle and bustle and to have any excuse to bake burger buns, hot dog buns, or something sweet. This week's newsletter has you covered whether you're a #1 or a #2. Let's get to it! In this week's newsletter: Guides: How to store your sourdough...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
New baguette recipe... but twisted! With a thin, slightly soft crust and a salty, briny kick, these sourdough filoncini are hard to resist. What are filoncini, you ask? They may look like twisted baguettes, but instead, I like to think of them as low-pressure baguettes—fun to twist, roll, and shape without worrying about perfection. The dough is mixed and prepped very much like baguette dough, save for the added olive oil and green olives—which are delicious—except instead of a super...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Back to school lunches. Packed and ready! Some mornings, you want to take that alarm clock and toss it in the garbage. I know my kids felt it yesterday. It was their first day back to school after a summer of staying up late and sleeping in. It was a rude awakening, but hey, we warned 'em. As a kid, I didn't always mind the start of school. It meant a culinary change up. Packed lunches from home and, if I could find the change in my fanny pack, a $1.00 ice cream sandwich to finish. (Can you...
2 months ago • 3 min read
New starter discard clafoutis, and baking guide! Last week, I was in a panic. A massive windstorm blew through Albuquerque. During the storm, I ran outside and attempted to collect as many fallen peaches from my tree as possible. You tend to obsess just a bit when you love peaches like I do. I mean, you see them growing for months, just waiting for the perfect moment to pick those juicy spheres. Thankfully, only a few fell, and my tree is still almost overflowing. Even more thankfully, this...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Summer sandwich bread (and waffles!) Oh gosh, it's hot out there, you guys. But where there's heat, there's tomatoes. Where there are tomatoes, there are amazing BLTs. Provided you have the right bread, of course. But wait, don't like tomatoes? (Say what?) Chances are you still like toast, or a sandwich, or bread for French toast. My fav sourdough sandwich bread—pain de mie—has you covered (sandwiched?) on all fronts. The old saying is if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen....
3 months ago • 3 min read