I'm back!
(Sort of)
Table of Contents
And I am done! (Sort of.)
I finalized the manuscript for Breaducation on 1/5, after a marathon writing, recipe-testing, and editing stint that involved working for 10+ hours a day, three weeks straight over the "holidays" (save one day off for Christmas, where I made pizza for my family). The last day of edits had me in front of my computer for 23 hours to get it finished on time.
After sending it in, I took a single day off, and then immediately jumped into the next phase of this seemingly never-ending process—the photos—which are due on 1/19. (The macro image of khorosan grains above are for the book's front matter.) I'm going to share more of the images next week, along with some details on how I've been making them. It's been really challenging, since I am doing all of it—baking and photographing both—solo. But also fun, since I am figuring shit out. (Or, it would be fun, if I wasn't so bloody exhausted.)
In the meantime, I just wanted to say hello, happy new year, and thank you for your patience while I wrap this up. All of it has taken much longer than I'd hoped, but I think the time and effort will be worth it. I've already seen a mockup of the whole book and it looks really nice. (I'll share some pages from it here soon too.) My designer at Ten Speed, Betsy Stromberg, is incredible, and I could not be happier having her in charge of making it a book that is both beautiful and useful.
Before I get back to the grind, I wanted to mention a few other things that might be of interest to you all.
Now that the book is (almost) done, I'm finally able to pick up teaching again, and I will be involved in two in-person workshops this spring. (I'll reboot online workshops too.)
The first is a two-day hands-on sourdough workshop at Milk Street here in Boston, on March 13 and 14:
Andrew Janjigian is coming to Milk Street to transform your approach to homemade sourdough loaves.
There may be no culinary undertaking that relies more on technique, knowledge and practice than sourdough baking. It makes sense: in a foundational loaf whose only ingredients are flour, water and salt—plus the scientific magic of fermented flour and water in your starter—there’s no way to hide behind flashy ingredients or distracting flourishes. Whether you’re an aspiring sourdough baker, an enthusiastic amateur or a seasoned pro, we welcome you to spend two days with Andrew Janjigian, the creator of wordloaf and author of the forthcoming book “Breaducation.”
Over the course of two sessions, Andrew will be focusing on the tools you need in your repertoire to identify where your homemade breads are falling short and then take the right steps to actually improve them. Is your starter sluggish? We can fix that. Can’t keep your dough from sticking to everything during stretch and folds? He has ideas. Always struggling with either under- or over-proofing? We can help. And the list of troubles and solutions goes on, covering everything from incorporating whole grains to scoring bakery-worthy designs and more.
This is a class for people who really want to nerd out about bread. You’re welcome to bring your own starter, or even tote a loaf along with you for Andrew to assess. Plus, we’re intentionally leaving a little bit of our time open. Registered attendees will be surveyed a few weeks prior to the class and Andrew will tailor the content to address your top frustrations and quandaries.
We'll make a bunch of sourdough breads using many of the techniques and formulas I developed in the book, and the class will be an opportunity for students to have all their burning sourdough questions answered. It will be sponsored by two companies I really love—Brod & Taylor and Flourside—and we'll be using some of my favorite tools of theirs in it.
If you are interested in joining us, Milk Street has offered a $75 discount to Wordloaf subscribers, using the code BAKEWITHANDREW. There are only 14 spots, and 6 have already been filled, so don't sleep on it!
And on May 2 I will be teaching a demo (subject TBD, but also some recipes from the book) at the West Coast Bread Festival, at Central Milling in Petaluma, CA, alongside Josey Baker and Ally White, among others. This is a new event along the lines of the Kneading Conference, dreamed up and created by my friend Laila O'Boyle—aka @theearlyrisebaker—and it's going to be fun.
West Coast Bread Fest is an all-day celebration of bread and community. Your ticket includes one 60–90 minute class, but we encourage you to arrive in the morning and stay for the full day. Between classes, connect with instructors during casual Q&As, enjoy food from local bakeries, grab coffee, enter the raffle, and take in the festival atmosphere.
We’ll also host a county-fair–style Country Loaf Contest, open to all attending students—bring a loaf and join the fun. Everyone is warmly invited to a community dinner at a nearby venue, featuring a panel discussion with local bakers and community voices.
This is the very first West Coast Bread Fest—an intimate, community-forward gathering designed to grow in the years ahead. Every class attendee receives a WCBF tote filled with exclusive swag, including bannetons, a bench knife, bowl scraper, branded lame, dehydrated starter, and more.
Hope to see you there too!
Finally, I wanted to turn you on to a wonderful recipe e-booklet on all things king cake ('tis the season), created by Bronwen Wyatt of Bayou Saint Cake:
Ever wanted to learn how to make your own king cake? Living abroad and missing New Orleans? Celebrate Mardi Gras at home by baking your own!
This is a pre-recorded king cake class that comes with both videos and a detailed written recipe for my cinnamon king cake with sour cream glaze. I go into every step in great detail, and include tips for customizing your king cake if you like! You'll see every step of the process, learn how to tell if your king cake is fully proofed, and even get a little Mardi Gras history lesson.
The recipe includes both volume and metric measurements.
What you'll get:
- a series of detailed videos that goes over every step.
- a written recipe for the king cake dough, cinnamon filling, and sour cream glaze (plus several bonus recipes)
- Inspiration and guidance for customizing your king cake to include a range of flavors!
- Six bonus recipes! Including:
Funfetti King Cake
Panettone King Cake
Cinnamon-Date King Cake
Honey Whole Wheat Pretzel King Cake
Sweet Potato King Cake with Cardamom Meringue
...and a Pumpernickel King Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
I purchased the book myself, and I've very excited to make some king cake as soon as I finish work on my book. Bronwen has generously offered Wordloaf readers 15% off using the code WORDLOAF, which is good through Ash Wednesday (February 18th). What's very cool about it—beyond the undoubtedly excellent recipes—is that Bronwen has regularly updated and added to the collection of recipes in it since it was first published, and sends out periodic updates to everyone who's purchased it.
Okay, back to the photographs, and more soon.
—Andrew
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