We’re in the final hours of 2024 and I’m pausing briefly to reflect on a full year of bakes.
As a baker looking at what I’ve made, my questions are often the same: Was the butter cold, did the dough rise well, did I give it my full effort and attention? How was my shaping? Should I change flours, folds, mix method, hydration, or preferments?
When I was production baking, Jeffrey Hamelman introduced me to the idea that at the end of a shift it is our charge as bakers to make the same resolution whether the day had been great, good, or even bad. The commitment was simply this: to return. To step away, but, to come back the next day and try again.
So I guess that’s my note to myself as I consider the year in its entirety. From high highs to low lows, from best bakes to worry for our country and the challenges that lie ahead, to the joy of things I’ve made that surprised, fed, encouraged, or even inspired. My job, my role, my commitment, is simply to return. And in coming back, to continue to bring whatever light that I can and engage with this craft we love in service to myself and others.
So, in the spirit of all that, let’s look at 2024 and get excited for 2025.
In December of 2023, I didn’t get enough egg nog. Some years that’s just how it happens. So, in early January of 2024 I granted December an extension and treated myself to a nog-inspired version of a suprême (a laminated brioche pastry). If you need a show-stopper to greet the new year, try this or any of the other versions I offer.
In late January, missing my daughters that were away at college (in Boston and Edinburgh, Scotland), I channeled a bake that paired well with black tea and wrote a buttery sourdough currant scone with pan-toasted oats. I cannot type those words without salivating. They are that good.
Early February brought a hearty brunch bialy made with rye sourdough, and a remarkably open crumb structure. Topped with smoked salmon, red onions, cream cheese, capers, and dill, it would be perfect for a New Year’s Day brunch.
For March, still trying to get through the depths of late winter, I was using toast as treatment for seasonally-affective blues. Cinnamon oatmeal sourdough with butter is the best medicine. (And yes, toast is its own food group.)
April brought some shortbreads inspired by the pecan sandies of my childhood and a tribute to the “Mama’s Bread” my parents made each week growing up. Simple, honey-sweet, and packed with whole wheat, it’s a staple.
In May the weather began to warm and I celebrated the arrival of golden days with a sunny Pane Siciliano. Large and light with a yellow hue, it’s a beautifully versatile sesame-crusted loaf.
June anticipated the arrival of summer fruit with a strawberry brioche tart. If pastry cream with berries in a brioche shell doesn’t celebrate the season, is it even happening?
And fruit season’s savory counterpart is grill season. Looking for a bun upgrade, I made pretzel rolls and filled them.
July brought a pivot back to slightly sweet with lemon-raspberry cardamom buns. Later in the month I added a garnished bread baked in a tabletop oven. It eats like a focaccia and is perfected with olives, cherry tomatoes, anchovies, or even Calabrian chiles.
September celebrated the bounty of summer produce with a savory sourdough puff pastry tart and one of my favorite sourdough breads: a bran-crusted loaf from Italy, Pane Genzano. The dark bake and open structure with a lightly acidic crumb to balance the perfectly bitter crust make this a favorite.
October apples inspired a hand pie with a buttery crust and early November arrived with a tender sourdough biscuit that smelled like bread baking.
Late November was a pan of sourdough rolls for Thanksgiving and December brought one of my favorites: a honey-sweetened whole rye and citrus-infused Pain d’Épices.
I rounded out the year with my family, baking holiday boxes for friends. We made brioche buns (Maritozzi) with two different fillings: mocha (espresso, nutmeg, and chocolate whipped cream with espresso ganache) and raspberry-rose (rose whipped cream with fresh raspberries, rose jelly, toasted pistachios, and raspberry powder).
And last, a note of gratitude for all the Curio support. Your engagement, from comments to questions to a tip in the jar over on Kofi, is felt and appreciated. I’m looking forward to returning in 2025.
Thank you Martin for sharing so much with us in 2024. You're a true inspiration in my kitchen and your recipes always inspire me to get in there and bake. I also love your writings and that you share so much of yourself with us. It is all very comforting, funny, and helps to open up my mind to new things. I wish you and your family health, prosperity and happiness in 2025. Happy Baking to you!
For me, the “got it!” moments are brief compared to the days of “learning loaves” but so appreciate the daily reset. Thank you for creating this online community to learn, reflect and connect with the bakes and with each other. Happy New Year!❤️