So, you think you want to come work in the King Arthur test kitchen, huh? Where everything we bake comes out perfect on the very first try.

NOT.

We have a “three strikes” rule here in the test kitchen. Try a recipe. If it fails the first time, strike one. Flops the second time, strike two. Still no good on the third attempt — “Yer out!” Ditch it, baby, life’s too short.

(Though we all confess, like mothers with a problem child, to allowing four, five, sometimes even six strikes for certain favorite recipes that we just KNOW will be successful if we simply don’t give up on them…)

We know all of you have made mistakes. Burned cookies. Doorstop bread.  Muffins that are for the birds—literally. And we, the King Arthur test bakers—Sue, Susan, Andrea, MaryJane, and me, PJ—are here to tell you: we’re with you. We feel your pain. (more…)

Ahhh, the first breezes of spring are beginning to blow, and the hazy, crazy days of the holiday season are beginning to fade into memory. I think I’ve found the last of the ornament hooks that fell off the tree, and the gift cards are nearly all used up.

Despite being happy to be moving on with my year there are things from the season, I’m missing it already. I think  roast turkey with gravy is perfection; I really do love holiday music; and I didn’t get to make a gingerbread house again this year.

Years before I came to King Arthur, I was teaching kindergarten/pre-school, and had plenty of vacation time during the holidays. As you can expect, here at King Arthur the holiday season is our busiest time of year. And more often than not, we’re all working overtime to get your goodies to you in time. So little things like gingerbread houses can fall by the wayside.

BUT WAIT! Thanks to my local library, a couple of handy gingerbread kits, and a trip to the dollar store for candy, my gingerbread fantasies have come true this year. (more…)

We had the cake formula just where we wanted it. Easy to make, just the right size, moist and downright yummy. All we had to do was get the frosting right, and this member of the K.A.F. kids’ mix family was ready to go.

Except the frosting had other ideas. And it fell to Andrea to fix it.
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“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” - Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Well, Alfred, perhaps that was true 167 years ago, when you penned those words about England’s young lads.

But it’s not true as I write these words today, in White River Junction, Vermont, about my fellow King Arthur Flour Web team members.

In spring – and summer, winter, and fall, too – the Web team’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of…

Pizza. (more…)

Why did I ever think making pancakes was difficult?

Before I worked here at King Arthur Flour, I couldn’t even make box-mix pancakes, where all you do is add water to the bleached flour/dextrose/partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil mix.

Come to think of it, maybe that’s why I couldn’t make good pancakes—because I was using a box mix full of bleached flour, dextrose, and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. (more…)

November 8, 2006 is a day that will live in culinary history. It’s the day The New York Times introduced millions of readers to no-knead bread.

No-knead breads (a.k.a. casserole breads) have actually been around for decades, since long before the Times’ Mark Bittman came out with his version (based on one from Sullivan Street Bakery’s Jim Lahey).

Remember cottage cheese dill bread, that ’60s standby? No-knead bread. English Muffin Toasting Bread, from the ’70s? No-knead. Sometimes it really is all in a name. (more…)

I have a friend, Karen, who’s a CPA. And at this time of the year, she’s a very, very, VERY busy CPA. Tax season is her yearly Olympic marathon, Indianapolis 500, and Ironman Triathlon—all rolled into one (and please excuse the mixed sports metaphors.)

Karen came to my house for a party last Saturday night, having worked all day on tax stuff. All those 1090-S, W-4, 1099-MISC forms make me want to run and hide my head in the sand… which is why I give my taxes to Karen to figure out. It’s one of my biggest annual self-indulgences—to NOT have to sweat bullets over governmental bureaucracy at its best/worst. (more…)

Hey, guess what? March 14 is National Potato Chip Day.

I kid you not. Did you know there’s a day for just about every food you can think of? How about this: National Bicarbonate of Soda Day, Dec. 30. (Which just happens to be my son’s birthday. I’ll let all of you mothers draw your own conclusions.) (more…)

One of the things I love most about writing for this blog is the stories we get to share with our friends, fans, and fellow bakers. It’s great to connect with folks who share a love of the same things that make you glad to get up and come to work every day. Baking, cooking, and food are a big part of my life, and sharing that with others each day makes for a satisfying and rewarding day at the office. But what about at home? (more…)

March in Vermont: one day you step out of your car and, if your Bean boots aren’t laced tightly enough, lose a shoe in shin-deep mud. The next day, snow drifts out of a gunmetal-gray sky and covers the soft ground, turning the landscape wintry again. (more…)