"We say “I love you,” on plates. We say “get up,” with the smell of pancakes. We say “I’m sorry for your loss,” with pie, or fresh rolls. We stack and maintain the foundations and memories of home, one loaf at a time." WOOF Martin, got me right in the heart strings.
I'm looking forward to trying this one! With just two of us in the house I've done like your mother, bake both and give one away. Your Cinamon Oatmeal bake has made me quite popular due to this, thank you!
Goodness, goose bumps after reading that last paragraph. It’s a joy to read your posts and I never know whether to prepare myself to laugh or cry or both. But it’s always good either way. I don’t have these kinds of thoughtful, food related childhood memories but it’s become the way of things in my home with my family and friends and it’s a true blessing. I hope my kiddos recall it all as fondly as you do one day!
Aww, Carrie. If you bring half the heart that you brought to this kind comment, I’m sure that your food is laying down deep, fond memories for your family. I appreciate you. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Yesterday I made a half recipe for one loaf and used the same pan as you. It is delicious! Nothing like a “mom’s” loaf, in fact we have one in our family. Once a week my grandma would bake bread for our large family, then later my mom would, and now I do for my husband and me. The smell of that bread baking brings back such wonderful memories!
I have taken one of your perfect lines and altered it a little to fit with where I am now in my life.
Having become a professional baker waaay too late in life I find myself, in my sixties, immersed in a world that has taken a hold of me in a way that nothing has before.
Your words (with a minor adaptation) describe my feelings perfectly. ... the creation of bread is a place where I can connect my heart to my hands and my soul to the mouths of others...
Thank you for the Curio, it is a beautiful space to linger in for a while.
thank you for this recipe! i adore the “half pullman” pan and just bought a 2nd one for 1kg recipes like these. i also love baking sandwich bread style challah in it, too!
i’m wondering if this would also work with 50% king arthur’s white whole wheat instead of regular ww? i’ve started using it recently and it’s been great.
lastly, if i want to add some whole milk powder to the dough, how much would you recommend? i started adding ~3 tablespoons to almost any challah recipe and it’s been such a good addition to the bake
Love the short Pullman! Yes, definitely, to the white whole wheat. For milk powder, whatever you think — add a little extra water to hydrate it and you’ll be good! Thanks for checking in!
I recently bought a selection of heritage grain flours from a small farm in Victoria where they grow and mill all sorts of interesting things. Your bread sounds like it might be the perfect showcase for some of these. Thank you for the recipe!
That’s a great question, Ellen. I remember a few, the Honey Cookbook, Epicurean Delight, diet for a small planet, Foxfire… I’m actually not sure where the recipe came from. Maybe I’ll post a picture of one of her recent bakes — she’s still going!
I was wondering if she used the Tassajara Bread Book. That would have come out about the same time as the others. I read it first when I was in college and it first introduced me to naturally leavened breads.
I’m sure that was around, too. But she didn’t really get into the use of sourdough, I’m not sure why. I’ve recently encouraged her to try it some — she’s sticking with yeast for now. She needs to leave something to learn when she’s 90. lol.
Hi! I LOVE this. Can reduce the yeast by 50% and ferment overnight in the fridge? I'm looking at building more flavour and I prefer this work flow. Thank you!
I'm looking forward to trying this. I've just retired and am going back through your posts to decide what to try first. I am a musician (NEC) who ended up in finance. I love bread.
When my father had a stroke in 2019 my family came over to my house every weekend for dinner. My husband cooked for us every weekend for a year. He is a fabulous cook. One weekend when he was tired and a bit cranky, I told him that what he has been doing every week, cooking us wonderful meals, making food that my father enjoyed immensely, was the greatest gift he could give my family at this time. He gave us not just good food, but comfort, love, laughter and joy. It was one of the best years of my life - filled with so much love brought to us through food.
I'm looking forward to trying your recipes, learning new things and reading your blog.
Beautiful comment and reminiscence, Nan. What a gift those weekends were—so much heart in the midst of challenges. Maybe all any of us want or need is to be present when those moments arrive, making what we can, loving as hard as possible, expressing our care with the tools we have.
I hope that you enjoy the Curio. Your words are a great way to begin my weekend. Thank you.
I was wondering if you usually bake by grams or American weight? I measured the salt in grams but if I transferred that amount to my tbsp 21gtans matched approximately two full tablespoons. Tia!
Hey, Inge. Thanks for the note. I bake with grams only. In the US, our standard volume measures allot about 6g/teaspoon or 18g/tablespoon. That weight will change based on salt type (table vs. fine vs. “kosher”) and the construction of the tablespoon (sizes vary). It’s a good illustration of why a calibrated scale is the best option. 👍🏻
Thanks for your response. Good to know, I usually use my weighing scale, sometimes for smaller measurements I'll switch over to the teaspoons... Sometimes the two don't align and then I always wonder if the author of the original recipe used the one or the other 😅
Good instinct on the switching below 25g, I write about that in my book. In the US a nickel weighs five grams and a dollar weighs about one. Sometimes I’ll check a larger scale with those. And, I keep a small micro scale near my bench and switch over to it regularly. They’re pretty cheap. 👍🏻👍🏻
I've made this several times and we enjoy it. But I do use maple syrup instead of honey for ecological and Vermont reasons. :-) The format here for the recipe is much easier to follow than in the book, but this bread alone is worth the price of the book. Thank you.
"We say “I love you,” on plates. We say “get up,” with the smell of pancakes. We say “I’m sorry for your loss,” with pie, or fresh rolls. We stack and maintain the foundations and memories of home, one loaf at a time." WOOF Martin, got me right in the heart strings.
I'm looking forward to trying this one! With just two of us in the house I've done like your mother, bake both and give one away. Your Cinamon Oatmeal bake has made me quite popular due to this, thank you!
Oh, man. I appreciate you, Leah. Honored to have the space to write and talk about baking. That cinnamon-raisin will open some doors! ❤️🤣❤️🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Goodness, goose bumps after reading that last paragraph. It’s a joy to read your posts and I never know whether to prepare myself to laugh or cry or both. But it’s always good either way. I don’t have these kinds of thoughtful, food related childhood memories but it’s become the way of things in my home with my family and friends and it’s a true blessing. I hope my kiddos recall it all as fondly as you do one day!
Aww, Carrie. If you bring half the heart that you brought to this kind comment, I’m sure that your food is laying down deep, fond memories for your family. I appreciate you. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
M
Yesterday I made a half recipe for one loaf and used the same pan as you. It is delicious! Nothing like a “mom’s” loaf, in fact we have one in our family. Once a week my grandma would bake bread for our large family, then later my mom would, and now I do for my husband and me. The smell of that bread baking brings back such wonderful memories!
It’s great to be part of it all. 💛💛💛
Thanks for coming along.
M
Martin,
I have taken one of your perfect lines and altered it a little to fit with where I am now in my life.
Having become a professional baker waaay too late in life I find myself, in my sixties, immersed in a world that has taken a hold of me in a way that nothing has before.
Your words (with a minor adaptation) describe my feelings perfectly. ... the creation of bread is a place where I can connect my heart to my hands and my soul to the mouths of others...
Thank you for the Curio, it is a beautiful space to linger in for a while.
Thanks, Karen. Great to hear of our shared passion to feed ourselves and others. Enjoy the bake.
M
❤️ special as always
❤️❤️❤️
Whoa, so beautiful!!
Thanks, Linda!
thank you for this recipe! i adore the “half pullman” pan and just bought a 2nd one for 1kg recipes like these. i also love baking sandwich bread style challah in it, too!
i’m wondering if this would also work with 50% king arthur’s white whole wheat instead of regular ww? i’ve started using it recently and it’s been great.
lastly, if i want to add some whole milk powder to the dough, how much would you recommend? i started adding ~3 tablespoons to almost any challah recipe and it’s been such a good addition to the bake
thank you!!
Love the short Pullman! Yes, definitely, to the white whole wheat. For milk powder, whatever you think — add a little extra water to hydrate it and you’ll be good! Thanks for checking in!
M
I recently bought a selection of heritage grain flours from a small farm in Victoria where they grow and mill all sorts of interesting things. Your bread sounds like it might be the perfect showcase for some of these. Thank you for the recipe!
Yes! That would be perfect! Let me know how it goes, Julia. 💛🌸💛
Love this recipe Martin. Did your mom have a specific cookbook she used?
That’s a great question, Ellen. I remember a few, the Honey Cookbook, Epicurean Delight, diet for a small planet, Foxfire… I’m actually not sure where the recipe came from. Maybe I’ll post a picture of one of her recent bakes — she’s still going!
I was wondering if she used the Tassajara Bread Book. That would have come out about the same time as the others. I read it first when I was in college and it first introduced me to naturally leavened breads.
I’m sure that was around, too. But she didn’t really get into the use of sourdough, I’m not sure why. I’ve recently encouraged her to try it some — she’s sticking with yeast for now. She needs to leave something to learn when she’s 90. lol.
M
What do you use to grease your pans?
Hey Sherri,
I usually use either butter or pan spray. You could also use any other fat that sets at room temperature (it clings to the pan walls well).
M
Hi! I LOVE this. Can reduce the yeast by 50% and ferment overnight in the fridge? I'm looking at building more flavour and I prefer this work flow. Thank you!
You could try that! Or maybe just pull out 10% of flour total and 10% of water and make a poolish or liquid levain. Either way. 👍🏻👍🏻
Even better! Thank you for the super fast response! God bless.
Thanks man. 🙏🏼🌸🙏🏼
Yum! Def making this weekend. Could I successfully sub olive oil here for the butter?
Yes, whatever you want!
I'm looking forward to trying this. I've just retired and am going back through your posts to decide what to try first. I am a musician (NEC) who ended up in finance. I love bread.
When my father had a stroke in 2019 my family came over to my house every weekend for dinner. My husband cooked for us every weekend for a year. He is a fabulous cook. One weekend when he was tired and a bit cranky, I told him that what he has been doing every week, cooking us wonderful meals, making food that my father enjoyed immensely, was the greatest gift he could give my family at this time. He gave us not just good food, but comfort, love, laughter and joy. It was one of the best years of my life - filled with so much love brought to us through food.
I'm looking forward to trying your recipes, learning new things and reading your blog.
Beautiful comment and reminiscence, Nan. What a gift those weekends were—so much heart in the midst of challenges. Maybe all any of us want or need is to be present when those moments arrive, making what we can, loving as hard as possible, expressing our care with the tools we have.
I hope that you enjoy the Curio. Your words are a great way to begin my weekend. Thank you.
Martin
I was wondering if you usually bake by grams or American weight? I measured the salt in grams but if I transferred that amount to my tbsp 21gtans matched approximately two full tablespoons. Tia!
Hey, Inge. Thanks for the note. I bake with grams only. In the US, our standard volume measures allot about 6g/teaspoon or 18g/tablespoon. That weight will change based on salt type (table vs. fine vs. “kosher”) and the construction of the tablespoon (sizes vary). It’s a good illustration of why a calibrated scale is the best option. 👍🏻
Happy baking!
M
Thanks for your response. Good to know, I usually use my weighing scale, sometimes for smaller measurements I'll switch over to the teaspoons... Sometimes the two don't align and then I always wonder if the author of the original recipe used the one or the other 😅
Good instinct on the switching below 25g, I write about that in my book. In the US a nickel weighs five grams and a dollar weighs about one. Sometimes I’ll check a larger scale with those. And, I keep a small micro scale near my bench and switch over to it regularly. They’re pretty cheap. 👍🏻👍🏻
What a great tip to check my weighing scale against coins! Thanks a lot!
I've made this several times and we enjoy it. But I do use maple syrup instead of honey for ecological and Vermont reasons. :-) The format here for the recipe is much easier to follow than in the book, but this bread alone is worth the price of the book. Thank you.
I love how you wrote about your Mother's inventive bread additions. Looking foward to trying MaMa's bread.