When Tod Bramble, director of bakery and foodservice sales for King Arthur Flour, told me he was interested in having us sponsor a grain growing and baking conference in Skowhegan, Maine, I returned a blank stare followed by, “What?”

Didn’t he know I had just posted a blog about our fantastic visit to the wheat fields of Kansas, highlighting the terrific quality of the grain grown there and showing how our consistent flour was dependent upon Midwest grain?  I thought, won’t people be confused by this apparent contradiction?

Then I met with the event’s organizers one beautiful, unseasonably warm March day in Portland, Maine. And it all made sense. (more…)

Last time I left New England and ventured into the Midwest (virtually speaking), I  found myself in a heap o’ trouble.

Blogging a recipe for Chicago deep-dish pizza, I implied – well, to tell the truth, boldly stated – that this recipe made an “authentic” Chicago-style pizza.

Boy, did I ever get set straight!

“I am from Chicago, born and raised, so there are a couple things I noticed are not quite ‘authentic’…”  – Katie

”Gino’s East does NOT use cornmeal in their crust and NONE of the authentic deep dish pizza restaurants that you mention use cornmeal. It is a myth that continues to be perpetuated.” Ed from Chicago

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Ah, the goal of every non-professional (but wannabe) artisan bread baker: major holes riddling the interior of your crusty/chewy bread.

Am I right?

How many of us have carefully autolysed, calculated kneading friction, proofed at exactly 78°F, retarded, slashed at a 45° angle, steamed, listened to our bread “sing,” and finally – with breath held, and fingers crossed – made that first diagonal cut to see, in all its splendor, the interior of our perfect baguette? (more…)

Go here…

…or here…

…or here.

All with one ridiculously tasty, cinnamon-stuffed (in more ways than one), iced or glazed (or not) tender-and-oh-so-tasty scone recipe.

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Is there anything so majestic, so amazing, as a popover?

Just five simple ingredients – flour, salt, milk, butter, and eggs – create a steam-filled wonder that magically bakes up to nearly triple its original size.

POP. You can actually see it happening before your eyes – if your oven has a window and you’re patient enough to stand and watch for 5 minutes or so. (more…)

Now, isn’t this just the picture of a perfect whole-grain biscuit?

Not only that, it’s a whole-grain, wheat-free, gluten-free biscuit.

Hold on, now. I know we’ve been paying a lot of attention to gluten-free baking lately, but just because you don’t NEED to bake gluten-free, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try anyway.

Lots of GF baking is pretty darned tasty. And these biscuits, based on five different whole grains, are a prime example. (more…)

Smoky grilled goodness, sweet caramelized onion, a hint of sharp cheese. Next time you’re grilling, grill up some extra asparagus for stromboli, a super simple dinner any night of the week, great for parties on the deck or at the beach.

Stromboli, or “boli” as they are known, are gaining in popularity. They have been a long-time staple in many areas of the country, but are unheard of in others, rather like the New England Whoopie Pie or southern Sweet Tea. Stromboli is flavorful pizza dough literally wrapped around a filling, often quite similar to pizza toppings. Popular stromboli are pepperoni, sauce and cheese, or salami and cheese. Today, with eyes on summer and bathing suit season, we are going with the vegetarian option. Besides, asparagus is out in force and nothing beats fresh asparagus in season. (more…)

Me: “Sue, what are you doing?”

Sue: “I’m making a Hawaiian pizza.”

Me: “Oooh, oooh, wait a sec. Stop. I need to blog this.”

Sue, whose hands have graced many a catalogue photo in her many years here at King Arthur, obediently stops spreading tomato sauce on a pizza crust, mid-stroke. I grab my camera, snap the picture, and she continues topping the pizza.

“Wait, wait – is that sautéed pineapple? And ham?”

Sue sees where I’m going. “Want me to dump ’em back in the frying pan so you can take their picture?”

Sheepishly, I nod. Together, we photograph Hawaiian pizza backwards – to the crust. At that point, there’s no undoing a risen bowl of dough.

So Sue hands me the recipe and I start again, making pizza dough from scratch. (more…)

Sunny days, sunny flavors. Yellow daffodils, yellow chicks, bright lemon yellow filling.

I am a lover of all things lemon. I love lemon drops, lemonade, and lemon sherbet. Trying Limoncello, preserved lemon, and making homemade lemon peel are on my bucket list, and I used to eat the lemon wedges my parents would get with their dinners at restaurants.  So, what is it about lemons that I don’t like? … (more…)

One bread, five different panini. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even a bonus dessert, there’s a panini that’s just right for you. And you, and you and yes, you!

I’ve been making panini like mad for a few months now, and  I’m so happy. I’m not a very big fan of cold lunches and cold sandwiches in general. I like a nice hot lunch, and a soup/sandwich lunch is heaven to me. Add in the melted, juicy goodness and crisp-crunchy crust of a panini and, well, I just might be tempted to be a bit of a devil even in my little heaven. (more…)