When summer fades gracefully into autumn rhythms and we start pulling out the long-sleeved wool, packing lunchboxes, and harvesting our gardens, there’s a quiet reverence that transports me to my childhood.

I always enjoyed the first weeks of school, seeing the crisp frost on the ground as I walked down my long driveway to catch the bus, and picking that first ripe apple from the tree at our neighboring orchard.

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Did you know that sorghum is a member of the sugarcane family? (Hint: think sorghum syrup).

Did you know sorghum, a.k.a. milo, is the “fifth most important cereal crop grown in the world”? (says Wiki…)

Did you know sorghum flour makes a nicely moist, well-risen gluten-free muffin?

No?

Read on…

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Apple Slab.

Fairly rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

CLUNK.

I doubt anything I’ve ever baked has a less compelling name. But truth be told, it wasn’t the name that attracted me. It was an email from a reader wanting to re-create something his grandmother had made decades ago. And since I’m a complete sucker for old-time recipes, I took the bait.

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One of the most common queries we get via our Bakers’ Hotline is this:

“I hate discarding a cup of sourdough starter every time I feed it. Isn’t there something else I can do with it, besides just throw it away?”

Ah, we’re all thrifty New Englanders at heart, right? And I agree – it just feels wrong to throw flour (starter) in the trash bucket. Luckily, there’s plenty you can do with excess starter besides dump it. So here goes:

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Oh, boy!

I was driving by the farmstand on the way to work this morning, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but my favorite sign of autumn:

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