🥖 The Baguette Course Is Officially Complete and It’s 🔥
After months of testing, shaping, filming, and eating way too many baguettes (no regrets), the full baguette course is now live and it includes a brand-new bonus interview with MOF Alexandre Laumain.
This isn’t just a recipe collection, it’s a deep dive into the craft of baguette baking, with everything you need to start baking beautiful, crusty loaves in your home kitchen or bakery.
✅ 7+ baguette styles: straight dough, levain, poolish, whole grain, rye & more
✅ Bonus chocolate + squid ink baguettes
✅ Shaping, scoring, mixing demos (hand, KitchenAid, spiral)
✅ Printable PDFs + Excel formulas
✅ Bonus MOF interview now included!
✅ Lifetime access + future updates
And this is just the beginning. Alexandre and I have more collabs in the works, including something very special that involves flour, France, and a once-in-a-lifetime workshop. I’ll share the full scoop in next week’s email… 😉
Spice Meets Cheese: Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough 🌶🧀
Jalapeños are popping up at the market right now, and I am so here for it. I love making poppers, throwing them into salads, and of course—baking them into one of my all-time micro bakery bestsellers: jalapeño cheddar sourdough.
This week I made a batch at work and forgot how much I love this bread. It's savoury, cheesy, a little spicy, and has that perfect sourdough tang underneath it all.
You can totally play around with the inclusions sub different cheeses, try roasted or pickled jalapeños, or if you're feeling brave... I once made a habanero version that was borderline dangerous (but delicious).
If you're into spicy breads or want to try something fun before the summer’s over, this is the one.
It’s super customizable, and the dough base is solid enough to take on all kinds of bold flavours. And honestly, this would also make one heck of a grilled cheese if you’re feeling extra.
The Dish I’ve Been Waiting to Make: Sourdough Tarte Flambée 🔥🇫🇷
This is one I’ve been wanting to make since the very beginning of my summer contract and this week, I finally did it.
Sourdough Tarte Flambée (or Flammkuchen) is something I learned to make while working for Chef Daniel Boulud. It’s a dish that feels both rustic and elegant—thin, crisp dough topped with fromage frais, bacon, and onions. Simple. Classic. Delicious.
I baked it for a quick lunch at the cottage, but honestly, it would be amazing as a dock snack too. The dough is surprisingly versatile, and it holds up well in the summer heat, especially when you chill it between stretches.
If you’ve never had it, imagine the crispy edges of a pizza with the lightness of flatbread and the richness of bacon and crème fraîche. It's a French-German countryside dish that feels right at home in cottage country.
You can keep it classic or riff on it with toppings like mushrooms and truffle oil, figs and goat cheese, or blue cheese and pear if you’re feeling fancy. I’ll definitely be making this one again before summer’s out.
Blackberry Pop-Tarts Are the Summer Hero ✨
My boss went to an event this week, and I sent them with a stack of homemade sourdough blackberry pop-tarts and yep, they were a huge hit. This is one of those recipes that’s pure nostalgia for the kids, but grown-up-approved thanks to the flaky sourdough crust and real jam filling.
The trick to making these in the summer heat? Work fast and chill often.
Here’s my routine:
- Make the dough and chill it overnight.
- Roll it out halfway, chill.
- Roll it fully, chill again.
- Cut squares and freeze them.
- Then assemble a few at a time so everything stays nice and cold and workable.
- After assembling, I freeze them overnight (or up to two weeks) and bake from frozen.
If your dough is rolled just thin enough, it’s perfect by the time you brush with egg wash and seal it up. I like using homemade blackberry jam, but any good-quality jam will work.
Once they’re baked and cooled, I top them with vanilla glaze and sprinkles for that true throwback pop tart energy.
Monster Cookies (a.k.a. Chaos Cookies 😈🍪)
I’ve been baking way more cookies than expected this summer. That said, I guess it comes with being a private chef at a cottage, cause everyone loves cookies and it's easy for a group.
This week’s favourite? Monster Cookies with sourdough discard and 50% spelt. They’re chewy, colourful, a little salty, and completely addictive. Kind of like trail mix and a cookie had a very delicious baby.
Here’s the full recipe so you can bake these at home:
🍪 Monster Cookies
Yields: 12 cookies (60g each)
Total Dough Weight: 720g
Ingredients
- 92g All-Purpose Flour
- 92g Spelt Flour
- 3g Baking Soda
- 37g Sourdough Discard
- 110g Butter (Room Temperature)
- 73g Granulated Sugar
- 62g Brown Sugar
- 55g Egg (about 1 large egg)
- 3g Salt
- 55g Dark Chocolate Chips
- 37g Pretzel Sticks, crushed
- 46g Raisins
- 55g M&Ms or Smarties
👩🍳 Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated.
- Mix in the sourdough discard until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until it all comes together.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, M&Ms, raisins, and pretzel sticks.
- Rest the dough at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Scoop into 60g balls and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Bake for 11 minutes, then pull the pan out and gently press extra toppings into the cookies. Bake for another 2-3minutes until golden and just set.
This Week in the Micro Bakery At the Cottage 🏕️ - Wild Blueberry Crumble 🫐
Muskoka is berry much in season right now (I know, I know), and the wild blueberries up here are absolutely perfect. They’re tiny, intense, and bursting with flavour. You’ll find them in granola, yogurt, and breakfast bowls all week, but for dessert? You can’t beat a good old-fashioned crumble.
This one was a total banger, simple, buttery, and made in my old Mauviel copper tarte tatin pan (but honestly, any pie dish or baking pan will do). It’s the kind of dessert that feels fancy with zero fuss.
I made them with fresh blueberries but you can also use frozen.
Seasonal Fave: Blueberry Crumble 🫐
Filling
- 800g fresh blueberries
- 75g-100g maple syrup (just enough blueberries don’t need much)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
👉 Gently mix everything, place them into your pan and let it sit while you prep the topping.
Crumble Topping
- 100g rolled oats
- 100g whole grain flour (spelt or whole wheat)
- 100g brown sugar
- 115g unsalted butter (cold)
- Optional: extra lemon zest if you’re feelin’ zesty
Rub the butter into the dry mix until crumbly and clumpy. No need to overthink it. Place the topping on top of the blueberries and chill for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35–45 minutes, until golden on top and bubbling at the edges. Let it cool just slightly (if you can wait), then serve warm with yogurt, whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Bonus: Add raspberries or sliced peaches if you want to mix it up or stretch your blueberries.
Note: The Mauviel copper pan picture above is a double recipe, and I eyeballed the blueberries.
|
|
|
That’s it for this week and yes, I’m still testing the new Ooni mixer at work! I’ve been putting it through the paces with a lot of sourdough and pizza doughs. A full review is coming soon... but I want to give it a proper workout first. 😉
Thanks for reading, and happy baking wherever you are!
MJD
|
P.S. Want to learn more from me? Check out my online video resources 👇
|
Unsubscribe · Preferences
