Happy 2022, everyone! 🍞🎊🎉🍞

I hope you all had a relaxing, safe, and enjoyable holiday break, filled with time for baking bread. I know that at least some of you made baguettes, since you joined me at my workshop last week, which was lots of fun. (The picture above shows just a handful of examples of student breads from the class.)

Even beyond that workshop (for which I baked 20 or so baggies), I had a busy few weeks, since I used the time to get a jump on some fast-approaching January project deadlines. I finished working on an oatmeal soda bread recipe, which is going to be shared first at jam-maven Camilla Wynne’s upcoming marmalade workshop (which you should definitely take!) I made excellent progress on a spiced steel-cut oatmeal porridge bread that will appear on the King Arthur blog later this winter (there is a loaf in the oven right now and it smells so good). And I started working on a series of whole-grain-based soups that I’m working up for the spring issue of Edible Boston.

For this first Monday Morning Open Thread of 2022, why don’t you all share stories about your own holiday bakes with us? I know I’d love to hear what all everyone else has been up to during the break. (Unfortunately, we can’t share images in the comment section here, but you can always add a link to a social media post if you’ve posted one elsewhere.)

—Andrew