Hey Reader!

Ten Years ❤️

Last week, my wife and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, which is kind of crazy to even write.

We're finally going out for dinner together this Saturday, and we haven't done that in a while, so there probably won't be a ton of baking happening around here this weekend. 😂

But it also had me thinking about the last ten years. At one point I basically decided to change our whole lives to pursue this baking thing, and somehow here we are a bestselling book, an online business, the micro bakery and a private chef career I genuinely love.

None of it would have been possible without my wife, Jody, supporting me through all of it.

So just a little shoutout to her this week. Happy 10 years. ❤️

Okay, back to bread...

A Challah Worth Celebrating 👑

With Rosh Hashanah coming up, I wanted to kick things off this week with one of my favourite challah shapes: the Crown Challah.

This is traditionally made for the Jewish New Year, but honestly, you can make this bread anytime. It looks impressive, it's much easier to shape than you might think, and the challah itself is SO good.

If you've never shaped one before, I've got you covered. The full recipe is on my blog, along with a video showing you exactly how to shape the crown step-by-step.

Make it for Rosh Hashanah, bring it to a dinner, or just use it as an excuse to learn a really beautiful bread shape.

Back-to-School Sourdough Granola Bars 🍫

Woot! Back-to-school season is officially here. 😂 And that means we're right back into making lunches, packing snacks and trying to have something ready when the kids come home absolutely starving.

These Sourdough Granola Bars have become one of my favourite recipes for exactly that. My kids LOVE them; they're super easy to make, and they're a great way to use up some sourdough discard. They're soft, chewy, and you can customize them with whatever your family likes—nuts, seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips or even some sprinkles.

They're also perfect for making ahead. Make a big batch, cut them into bars and keep them in the fridge for the week—or wrap them individually and freeze them for up to 3 months. Pull one out when you need it, and it'll thaw pretty quickly.

With school back in full swing, having a batch of these around makes the morning lunch-packing scramble just a little bit easier. 😂

When Your Dough Goes Sideways 😬

I was mixing 30 loaves of Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough this week, split into two batches of 15. The plan was simple: autolyse the first dough, take it out of the mixer, then mix the second and leave that one in the bowl.

As soon as I started the second batch, I knew something was wrong. One autolyse was way too stiff, while the other was way too wet. Not ideal when you have 30 loaves on the line.

The first thing I did was weigh both doughs. This is such a simple troubleshooting trick. If you're making two 900 g loaves, for example, you know your finished dough should eventually weigh around 1,800 g. If the weight is way off, you've immediately learned something.

In my case, both batches were about 1 kg heavier than they should have been. Whoops. 😂 Since one was too wet and the other too dry, I took half of each autolyse and mixed them together, then repeated that with the remaining halves. Suddenly I had two much more balanced doughs.

When I continued mixing, I also held back some of my second water addition. I wasn't completely sure what had gone wrong during scaling, so adding all the remaining water just because the formula told me to didn't make sense. I mixed until the dough had the strength and consistency I wanted, then let fermentation guide the rest.

And it worked! The bread wasn't the absolute best I've ever made, but 30 potentially ruined loaves turned into 30 pretty damn good ones.

The lesson here is simple: when your dough doesn't feel right, stop before adding more ingredients. Weigh it, compare that to your expected yield, and use what the dough is telling you to decide what to do next. A formula is incredibly useful, but sometimes you need to put the spreadsheet down and actually look at the dough.

Quick Troubleshooting Checklist:​
☐ Stop before adding anything else
☐ Weigh your dough and compare it to your expected yield
☐ Decide whether the dough is too wet or too stiff
☐ Hold back water if you're unsure
☐ Make one adjustment at a time
☐ Watch the dough, not just the clock

My Favourite Honey Cake 🍯

With Rosh Hashanah coming up, I had to bring this recipe back. Honey cake is traditionally eaten during the Jewish New Year, with honey symbolizing the hope for a sweet year ahead.

But honestly, you don't need to be celebrating anything to make this cake. 😂 It's just a GREAT fall recipe.

Mine is made with 50% spelt flour, honey, warm spices and grated apple, which keeps the cake incredibly moist. I also use a little strongly brewed coffee or tea in the batter, and the whole thing has that warm, spiced flavour that just feels right as we head into fall.

This is one of those recipes that somehow gets even better after it sits for a day. Make it for Rosh Hashanah, bring it to a fall dinner, or just bake one because you want something good with your morning coffee.

Happy Baking,

MJD

​​​​

​Unsubscribe · Preferences​