January 31, 2026
It is 9 degrees right now and very sunny (about 73 in the house with the ovens heating up the kitchen!) The baking is going well with the exception of my math mystery - for the batards I was somehow 200 grams short on starter. I am always mathing and measuring several times, so this is quite strange, although I am guessing that I did not zero out my scale at one point. Luckily I always have spare starter for just this instance so there will be bread for all!
Last week I was able to get some 100% whole wheat flour (the one I use in my recipes is about 83% - taking out the larger pieces of bran). The wheat was grown in Coventry, Connecticut and I had a nice conversation with Andy Dappollonio, the farmer, earlier this week. While the fields are not certified organic (a very expensive process), Still River Farm grows wheat without chemicals or pesticides and utilizes organic practices. He also grown einkorn - another grain that people with gluten can better tolerate, and o The wheat is stone ground into flour at Kenyon's Grist Mill in Rhode Island, which has been in business in one form or another since the 1600s. I gave the flour an extra sift to remove the largest parts and made loaves following the companion recipe - adding organic rye, water and salt. If all goes well, I hope to include a 1/4 loaf with each order so you can give it a try!
Enjoy this sunny, brisk day!
With appreciation,
Dave
ADDENDUM
Mystery solved! It looks like I mis-measured the Farmington starter (I wondered why it was so active!)
January 17, 2026
Well...I sure wasn't expecting this much snow! In these days of non-stop news and AI telling us everything even before we need to know it, the unexpected is a welcome treat (much like a warm loaf of bread, perhaps with some soft cheese...)
Anyhow, I have been snowblowing and shoveling between bakes and was sort of keeping up...but now it is snowing again! If you don't want to venture out, please just let me know and you can either pick up later or tomorrow or you can do another time (bread doesn't go to waste here!). If you do want to come by, I am happy to bring your loaves out to you if you would like - just beep your horn, and text or give me a call at 860-595-2023.
Stay safe and enjoy this unexpected!
With much appreciation,
Dave
January 3, 2026
Good morning and Happy New Year Everyone!
It is a cold start to the year and I feel lucky to be inside near the warm oven looking out on all the snow in the backyard. The holidays have flown by, I am back to school on Monday after lots of cooking and some travel to see my family in South Carolina. One day I am wearing shorts and it is 75 and another I am snowblowing the driveway - definitely not in shorts.
It looks like all of the loaves will be ready to go after 2:00 today. While I have done a fair job cleaning up the walkway and will salt before pickup the driveway needs some work - please feel free to give me a text when you get here and I am happy to 'bring out your bread' (any Monty Python fans out there?). 860-595-2023 gets me on my phone and laptop.
Enjoy the start of the new year and enjoy the bread. Definitely a good day for soup and sourdough!
See you soon -
Dave