Finding Beauty in the Mistakes

I am a human who dreads mistakes. Like most humans I suspect. But my dread, of such a mundane and common place thing, has inhibited so much in my life. While growing up I stayed silent, or stayed home, for fear of making some social faux pas that I perceived would ruin any and all…

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls: Take 2

These turned out absolutely delicious, and absolutely HUGE! I experimented with extra sweet potato and no buttermilk, leading to a tender and sweet roll. White chocolate and milk chocolate created a decedent treat. I need to recreate them soon!

All Those Nooks and Crannies!

Making loaves of wild yeast sourdough is fun, delicious, and time consuming. Sometimes I envy people who choose to use commercial yeast. Their bread can be finished within one day, and eaten that evening! Yet, I don’t really envy them. Bread made from commercial yeast lacks the beauty and intricate dealings that are required when…

Having extra dough is not a bad thing

My loaves have always been about a pound and a half, before I add in extra tasty bits. I decided that, maybe, they were too big. So I’ve reduced my loaves to about a pound and a quarter. I haven’t reduced my initial dough recipe yet, so I had a bit of extra. The other…

So, it’s kind of official…

Once, long ago, I bartered some 150 miniature stuffed muffins for business cards. Those cards were beautiful. But, I wasn’t experienced enough with what should be on a business card and I utterly failed to add pertinent information: like my phone number, blog address, or my name. The lady didn’t say anything, just provided me…

What to do with the extra starter?

When feeding the starter, barm, or pulling some out for sourdough breads, there is always extra. I feel so sad just tossing it down the drain: the lovely, happy, and active yeast has no idea what awaits it down the drain hole and all its potential slips away. Sigh, I have tossed the extra more…

Breaking in the New Oven

I am so excited to have a happy, healthy barm in my kitchen! I am also super excited to have all my baskets, baking stone, and other tools I need to make bread. The truck that had our stuff took its sweet time moving across the country. But, it’s all mine once again, and I…

Honey is Steroids to Barm

A month ago, to the day nearly, I arrived in Durham, North Carolina. Most of my possessions came later (including most of my baking supplies. But I brought my partner, my two cats, and my barm. I have had this beauty since 2009 in Seattle. She has made 1,000+ loaves, crackers, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls….

Olive Loaf: “olive juice”

All Olive Loaves are not the same. Look for SourBakeryDurham in your local farmers markets soon! Or, shoot me a line. I am always looking for taste testers!

Figgy Piggy Biscuits!

At first I made these as scones, however, the inclusions lent themselves more readily to a lighter dough. The Figgy Piggy Biscuits are inspired by a pizza of the same name from my favorite pizza spot in Santa Cruz, Pizza My Heart! Missing California very much, but really enjoying my brief stay so far in…