The scone, in its original incarnation nothing more than a British buttermilk biscuit, has settled comfortably into the American breakfast landscape. And in the process, it’s been Americanized (of course!) into a sweet, buttery, sugar-topped “biscuit” filled with chocolate chips or swirled with cinnamon or studded with pecans–or all three. Scones… (more…)

Hey, wait a minute–isn’t this the holidays? Aren’t we supposed to be eating, drinking, and making merry? (Especially eating and drinking?) Heck, yes! Oh, the eggnog cake and gingerbread cookies, the moist (not dry) stollen, those soft and oh-so-sweet date pinwheels I HAVE to make every Christmas… (more…)

The other day I had a discussion with a fellow about biscotti. I’d just made some, and asked him if he wanted one.

“I don’t like biscotti,” he said, wrinkling his face and pursing his lips to reinforce the point.

“Yes you do.” I countered.

“No, I really don’t,” he insisted. (more…)

Yesterday went well. Many, many improvements were noted during the day, some subtle, some dramatic. What a difference (seemingly) small adjustments can make. For example, the baguettes that Solveig made on the first practice day… (more…)

There is a hushed intensity in the room today, and the three team members exhibit a raptorlike focus. The suggestions made during the evaluation session last night have been revealing themselves all day. Rather than keeping a quasi-distance (more…)

The day started early and mellow. By 7 a.m. the team members were here at the bakeshop and ready to go. The official clock began to tick at 7:30 a.m., and the 8-hour day began. The energy was good, and things moved smoothly and swiftly. Bread doughs were mixed, (more…)

King Arthur Flour certified master baker Jeffrey Hamelman is spending this week coaching Baking Team U.S.A. as it prepares for the “bread-baking Olympics” in Paris this coming March. He’ll be posting regular reports from the team’s practice facility in Providence, R.I.

The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie is the foremost bread competition in the world. It takes place in Paris every three years (beginning in 2010 it will occur every two years). It was founded by Christian Vabret, a renowned baker and educator from Aurillac, France, whose vision was to create a venue that would showcase the finest qualities of baking skill, and at the same time foster and further the worldwide camaraderie among bakers. (more…)

As I write this, snow is falling outside our windows, changing the landscape from stark December black, brown, and gray to a softer mixture of white, pewter, and beige. The driving is horrible; for some of us, this morning’s normal 45-minute commute turned into a 3-hour nightmare of skids, slides, and slow progress. Nevertheless: it’s beautiful. Vermont’s snow-covered hills and mountains are just plain postcard-picture pretty.

Snow also makes the kitchen a warm and welcome hideaway, a refuge from the storm outside. Our King Arthur test kitchen (more…)

Dipping, drizzling, coating, icing, saucing, frosting… EVERYTHING tastes better with chocolate. Well, almost everything. Not sure I’d put bittersweet chocolate in my apple pie, but hey, you never know till you try, right?

I was giving a baking demonstration at our retail store here in Vermont recently, and was surprised at the number of people who didn’t know how to make chocolate ganache. (more…)