One Spot Opened: Sourdough Pizza Workshop – May 10th 🍕
Due to a last-minute cancellation, one seat has opened up for my Sourdough Pizza Workshop on May 10th in Stouffville, Ontario.
In this hands-on class, we’ll be firing up the wood ovens and making four different styles of naturally leavened pizza—plus a bonus tarte flambée. You’ll learn how to mix, shape, and bake using incredible flours and techniques I’ve developed from years of teaching and testing.
If you’ve been thinking about joining, this is your chance to grab a last-minute spot!
New on the Blog: Potato & Leek Sourdough Is Here 🥔🧄
After teasing this one a few times, the full recipe is finally up on the blog—and I’m thrilled to share it.
This loaf is inspired by leek and potato soup but reimagined in bread form: soft, creamy roasted potatoes, sweet sautéed leeks, and a blistered golden crust that hits all the right notes. It's comforting, savoury, and incredibly satisfying.
This recipe has roots all the way back to my days baking at Rundles in Stratford, and over the years I’ve refined it into one of my absolute favourites. The leeks melt right into the crumb, and the roasted potato gives the dough a silky softness that’s hard to beat.
If you’re a fan of inclusion loaves, this one’s for you. Great fresh out of the oven, even better toasted with a swipe of butter.
Burnt Loaf of the Week 😬
This one hurt. I was testing a new sourdough with locally milled, organic Redeemer wheat—flour that costs more than twice what I normally use, but totally worth it for the flavour and fermentation.
…until I forgot to set a timer.
Let’s just say it came out a little extra bold.
If you need me, I’ll be over here mourning that gorgeous grain and reminding myself (again) that timers are not optional.
Reader Bake: Anatoliy’s Madeleines—Straight from the Blog to the Oven 🍋
There’s nothing better than seeing one of my recipes come to life in your kitchens—and this week, reader Anatoliy nailed it with his Lemon Madeleines! He followed the blog recipe to the letter and got amazing results. Golden, fluffy, beautifully humped classics that would’ve felt right at home at the end of service in one of Daniel Boulud’s restaurants.
Here’s what Anatoliy had to say:
“Thank you! The recipe on your blog is exactly what I have been looking for for a long time. The cookies turn out perfect in both taste and appearance."
If you haven’t tried them yet, these little French butter cakes are a longtime staple from my days working at Boulud’s restaurants in NYC and Toronto. I’ve made thousands of them—always served warm, dusted with icing sugar, and always the perfect end to a meal.
Now, they’ve become a favourite in my own home and in yours too.
Have you baked something from the blog? I’d love to see it. Tag me or shoot me a photo—you might be featured next!
How to Braid Challah (With Video Help Built Into the Book)
One of the features I’m most excited about in Bread Etc: The Ultimate Guide to Baking Bread at Home is the video QR codes.
Right in the margins, you’ll find scannable links that bring the recipes to life—like this one: a step-by-step video showing you how to braid challah.
In the video, I’ll walk you through two classic techniques:
🥖 A simple, elegant 3-strand braid
👑 And a gorgeous 4-strand crown braid
Whether you’re a total beginner or want to take your shaping skills up a notch, this is the kind of hands-on help I wish every baking book had.
📘 Grab the book here if you haven’t yet—it launches September 16 and pre-orders really help get it into more kitchens like yours.
My Kanel Spices Focaccia (And the Recipe I Had to Share) 👨🍳
I recently partnered with Kanel Spices for a fun Instagram collab—and honestly, it turned out amazing. I wasn’t required to share the recipe here, but it was too good not to.
You can totally swap in your own spice blends or herbs, but the Kanel seasoning added such a balanced pop of flavour—it was worth it.
👉 Watch the video here
If you can drop a like or comment, that would mean a lot—it really helps these collaborations reach more people and hopefully let's the brand know they should work with me again!
This recipe makes one half-sheet tray (or 10x14" Lloyd Pan) of golden, bubbly focaccia loaded with flavour.
Total Dough Weight: 1150g
Ingredients
- Bread flour: 394g
- All-purpose flour: 79g
- Semolina: 52g
- Water 1: 378g
- Water 2: 52g
- Salt: 10g
- Kanel Vita e Bella spice blend: 16g
- Olive oil: 12g
- Levain (12hr @ ~70°F): 157g
Method
- Mix Water 1, levain, and all the flours together.
- Cover and rest for 30 minutes (autolyse).
- Add salt + Water 2, then mix until absorbed.
- Mix in the Kanel Vita e Bella (or your choice of herbs/spice) spice.
- Add olive oil, folding it in gently with wet hands.
- Bulk ferment for 2 hours with 2–3 folds.
- Fold the dough using wet hands to stretch and fold the dough from all sides.
- Cover and cold-proof overnight in the fridge.
- Oil your pan generously and gently stretch the dough into place.
- Proof at room temp for 3–4 hours.
- Bake at 450°F (232°C) for 30 minutes until golden and crisp.
Let me know if you try this one—it was an easy crowd-pleaser in our house. And again, here’s the video post if you missed it. Would love if you could leave a little ❤️ or comment to help it get seen!
This Week in the Baking Studio: Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Sourdough 🍅🧀
Last week, I teased a loaf that turned out to be an absolute banger. Sun-dried tomatoes and feta folded into a naturally leavened dough—it’s salty, tangy, and packed with savoury flavour in every bite.
I can’t even take credit for the combo—this one was my wife’s idea, and it seriously slapped. We devoured it warm with olive oil and herbs, and I already have plans to tweak it into a fougasse next.
I’ve included the recipe in Excel format below. I love using Excel for formulas like this because it makes scaling batch sizes, adjusting hydration, and tracking bakers’ percentages incredibly easy—no mental math is required (bless).
Feta and Sun-Dried Tomato Sourdough.xlsx
Let me know if you bake it—I’d love to see how you make it your own!
And if you like having your recipes in spreadsheet form, I’ve put together an Excel workbook of my 36 best sourdough recipes. It’s the exact format I use in my baking studio—fully editable, organized, and perfect for customizing your bakes.
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$44.00
My 30 Best Recipes Workbook
Unlock Your Full Baking Potential with the 30 Best Recipes Playbook! Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned... Read more |
Coming Soon from the Baking Studio 🔥
This week in the baking studio, things got funky and delicious—we made Kimchi & Cheddar Sourdough and a Sourdough Carrot Cake that might just be my new favourite.
The carrot cake recipe is definitely headed to the blog—photos are done, and it’s one of my daughter’s absolute favourite cakes (her birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so it’s perfect timing 🎂). The kimchi loaf probably won’t make it to the blog, but I’ll share the recipe right here next week for anyone who wants to give it a go.
More details (and the full recipe drop) coming soon! In the meantime… any guesses on which one I couldn’t stop snacking on?
Happy Baking,
MJD
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P.S. Want to learn more from me? Check out my online video resources 👇
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