Aren’t you glad that dark chocolate has evolved into one of those foods that’s supposed to be good for you?

I sure am. I loveloveLOVE chocolate. Not all chocolate, mind you. Milk chocolate? Ho-hum. White chocolate? To me, that’s an oxymoronic concept; I don’t go there. But semisweet? Now you’re talking. And bittersweet? So long as it balances nicely between the bitter and the sweet, I’m good with it. (more…)

Twenty years ago, King Arthur Flour was a regional flour company. Beloved by New Englanders, we weren’t known outside the Northeast.

These days, King Arthur Flour can be found on supermarket shelves in all 50 states. We’re the top-selling organic flour in the country, as well as #1 in sales for whole wheat flour and bread flour. And our unbleached all-purpose? Well, we’re #2 to Gold Medal, but we’re gaining ground fast. And you know what they say about being #2—we try harder! (more…)

Do you ever stand in the aisle at the supermarket and say, “Hey, I could make that!”

I do that a lot—especially these days, when it seems the price of everything from a box of crackers to a pound of eggplant is starting to mirror the GNP of, say, Algeria. French bread? Sure, I can make that. Chocolate chip cookies? Not a problem. Rotisserie chicken? Light the grill! Granola bars? Uhhhh…. (more…)

Attention, class—how many times do I have to say this?

Whole grains don’t have to taste whole-grainy.

Whole grains can actually taste good. No, make that GREAT. (more…)

Have you ever made pita bread? It’s a great example of the Endless Quest for Success that baking can sometimes be.

Most of the things I bake are pretty reliable. If they’re not, I stop fussing and move on. But there are two things I bake that are a roll of the dice every single time: Popovers, and pita. (more…)

I haven’t been around the blog much in recent weeks, mostly because I was tearing around getting ready to get married, so I have a decent excuse, at least. This is my brother walking me down the aisle.

When Greg and I got engaged last summer, the FIRST thing I did, in true chef fashion, was write the menu for my wedding. I wanted food that reflected my culinary career and represented my family’s tastes. It went like this: (more…)

Remember when you used to clip recipes? I mean, the days when you’d take a pair of scissors and actually cut recipes out of newspapers or magazines? (Or, since I was usually too lazy to get up and find scissors, just rip-rip-rip around the edges, being sure none of the fractions in the ingredients got left behind.) (more…)

Last week in this location PJ confessed to her birthday vice: Pepperidge Farm Coconut cake. Well, today is PJ’s birthday, and I took advantage of her being out of the office last week to create my version of that cake so we could have it on hand as we serenade her properly on this momentous occasion. It had to be square, it had to be coconutty and moist, and in this case, it’s coming out of the freezer (where it’s been hiding) just like it does in the store!

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Savory scones? Not an oxymoron. Scones don’t have to be made with sugar and spice and everything nice. They can be made with smoky bacon, and cheese, and aromatic scallions… like these.

Reader Kathleen May recently wrote suggesting that I try to duplicate the over-the-top bacon, cheddar & scallion scones sold at the Atlantic Baking Co. (familiarly known as ABC), a bakery in Rockland, Maine, a town midway up Maine’s stunning 3,478-mile coast. Naturally, my competitive urges kicked in. Just as with Berger Cookies (“Baltimore’s Finest”), or Grùyere-Stuffed Cheese Loaves (“Hot Cheese Bread”), where I simply had to figure out how to do it yourself—these scones piqued my imagination. (more…)

I’m not a passionate cake baker. I mean, I’ll bake a cake, sure. And I bake a lot of birthday cakes here at King Arthur Flour, because how can you possibly work at a baking company and NOT have a candle-lit cake delivered to you, at your desk, on your birthday? (more…)