Big News: Bread Etc. is part of the Barnes & Noble Pre-Order Sale! 📣
Just got word—Bread Etc. was selected for a special Barnes & Noble promotion this week!
From Wednesday, April 23 to Friday, April 25, B&N Rewards Members can pre-order the book and get 25% off, with Premium Members scoring an extra 10% on top. Huge deal if you've been thinking about grabbing a copy.
📘 Bread Etc. is my debut cookbook—a deep dive into the world of bread with over 100 recipes for sourdough, yeasted doughs, pizza, and creative ways to use up discard. Whether you’re just starting out or have flour in your veins, it’s designed to make you a more confident baker.
And if you’re wondering what others are saying…
“Everybody needs a bread guy. Matt should be your bread guy.
This book isn’t just a collection of recipes—it’s passion, precision, and the kind of bread that makes life better.
Bread Etc. will help you bake bread so good it’ll make your grandma cry tears of joy, turn friends into lovers, bring family closer together, make the stars align and the world feel right.”
—Matty Matheson, New York Times bestselling author
🎯 Here’s how to get the deal:
🔗 Click here to preorder at Barnes & Noble
🏷️ Use promo code PREORDER25 at checkout
📅 Offer valid April 23–25 only
You can also check out an excerpt from the book here:
👉 Read a sneak peek
Thanks, as always, for supporting this book and this community. Hope this deal helps a few more of you get it into your kitchens!
Rubarb and Vanilla Jam (Soft-Set Style) 🍓
Forced rhubarb and ramps (aka wild leeks) are the first ingredients to show up in spring, and they never fail to spark that "let’s get baking" energy. The colours, the flavours, the reminder that warmer days are coming—it’s a welcome shift after winter.
Forced rhubarb, in particular, is a favourite of mine. We used it often in restaurants because it’s pale pink, less fibrous than the field-grown stuff, and it preserves beautifully. If you’ve never seen it in action, this short video shows exactly how forced rhubarb is grown and harvested—it’s oddly magical (and a little eerie, in the best way).
I just made a fresh batch of jam using some gorgeous forced rhubarb from Lennox Farms, and it turned out beautifully: soft-set, fragrant, and packed with flavour. We’ve been slathering it on sourdough, spooning it into yogurt, and (no joke) eating it off the spoon.
Here’s the recipe before it hits the blog...
🍓 Vanilla Rhubarb Jam (Soft-Set Style)
Yield: 6 x 250ml jars
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
Optional Rest: Macerate for a few hours or overnight
Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg forced rhubarb, chopped
- 1.2 kg sugar
- 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
- Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
Macerate (Optional but Worth It):
Combine rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla (seeds + pods). Stir, cover, and let sit for a few hours or overnight to draw out the juices and build flavour.
Sterilize Your Jars:
You’ve got a few options here:
- My go-to: I use a water canner with an outdoor induction burner to keep the kitchen cool and save oven space. Bring the water to a boil and submerge the clean jars for 10 minutes. Soak lids in just-boiled water while the jars heat.
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No canner? No problem:
- Wash jars in hot, soapy water.
- Rinse well (don’t dry).
- Place upright on a baking sheet and bake at 160°C (140°C fan) for 10–15 minutes.
- Soak lids in just-boiled water while the jars heat.
Cook the Jam:
Transfer the macerated mixture to a large pot. Gently heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a rolling boil. Cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring often and skimming off any foam.
Check for Set:
Drop a spoonful of jam onto a chilled plate. Wait 30 seconds, then drag your finger through it. If it wrinkles, it’s ready. If not, boil for a few more minutes and test again.
Jar It Up:
Remove the vanilla pods. Carefully ladle hot jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1 cm headspace. Wipe rims, seal with lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes—or skip the water bath and store in the fridge if you plan to enjoy them soon.
Poolish Baguettes (Langdon Hall Style) 🥖
Baguettes are something I LOVE to make and even more, to eat. This recipe is from my Langdon Hall baking days, where we always had a fresh baguette as part of our dinner bread service.
This time, I made these baguettes with two dishes in mind: a chicken thigh bánh mì-style sandwich and some garlic bread to pair with pasta. The smell in the kitchen was amazing.
Baguettes can be a little tricky, and I'm planning on upping my baguette game over the next few months. For now, here’s a great starting point.
Poolish is a lot like sourdough, but made with yeast. You mix yeast, flour, and water and let it ferment overnight. I love doing this because it adds extra flavour to the dough, reduces mixing time, and helps with fermentation overall.
Quick Recipe Overview:
Makes 4 x 400g baguettes
- Poolish:
306g Bread flour,
306g cold water
a pinch of yeast
→ Ferment 10-12 hours at room temp
- Final Dough:
311g Bread flour
311g AP Flour
343g water
18g salt
4g yeast
612g poolish
-
Method:
- Mix to moderate gluten development
- Bulk ferment 1 hr with 1 fold
- Divide, shape, proof 45–60 mins
- Bake at 475°F for 24 minutes with steam at the start, venting the steam for the last half of the bake.
Or you can check out the full guide on how to make sourdough baguettes in my post here:
👉 How to Make Sourdough Baguettes
If you’re into this kind of bake, I’ve got a feeling you’ll love that sourdough version too. Same crisp crust, same chewy crumb—just with a tangy twist thanks to natural fermentation.
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$44.00
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Juniper’s Birthday Brunch: Lobster Eggs Benny, Because Why Not? 🥚🦞
It was Juniper’s birthday last weekend, and when I asked her what she’d want for lunch if she could have anything in the world, she didn’t miss a beat:
“Lobster eggs benedict.”
Naturally, I said, “Absolutely not, that’s absurd.”
…Just kidding. I hit the store immediately.
Here’s how we made it happen:
- Lobster: I picked up a live one, boiled the tails (5–6 mins) and claws (6–8 mins), then shocked them in ice water. Once cool, I gently removed the meat, keeping it in whole, beautiful pieces. Any of that white cooked albumen? Wiped clean with a wet towel for that Michelin finish.
- Butter Bath: Before plating, I reheated the lobster slowly in clarified butter. Extra flavour, extra indulgence, extra smiles.
- Poached Eggs: Simmering water with a splash of vinegar and a gentle swirl with a whisk. Drop the eggs in and let them do their thing—3 to 4 minutes for that perfect runny yolk. This could take longer depending on your water temp.
-
Hollandaise:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
Whisked gently over hot water until frothy, then streamed in clarified butter. Season with lemon and salt. If it gets too thick, add a bit of warm water to thin it out and keep the sauce smooth.
- The Base: Toasted up one of our homemade sourdough English muffins—because when it’s a birthday benny, store-bought won’t cut it.
Stacked it all together: muffin → lobster → poached egg → hollandaise → bliss.
I even plated it in the office and finished it with a bit of Piment d'Espelette like we were at a restaurant… because obviously.
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Micro Bakery Bake of the Week 🍞
This one was special: sourdough packed with toasted pecans, gooey brie, and sweet dried figs. Rich, nutty, savoury-sweet, and absolute heaven straight out of the oven.
It was the highlight of this week’s bake for our micro bakery —we did about 60 loaves total across 4 different breads, plus a bunch of the Mini Egg Cookies from last week’s newsletter. (Still dreaming about those, tbh.)
Not gonna lie… I already want to make this one again.
🧾 Want to catch up on what you missed?
All past newsletters are archived here—packed with recipes, tips, tricks, and hours of flour-filled reading:
👉 View the archives
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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