Pierluigi Mazzella grew up on Italy’s island of Ischia, which lies just off the coast of Naples. His father worked as a fisherman. Pierluigi followed a different craft, falling in love with baking. After several apprenticeships in Italy, Pierluigi made...
Jean-baptiste Roger is head baker at the prestigious Connaught hotel in London. He comes from a family of bakers in Gien, France. We met on Instagram, both of us posting about various breads. Roger consistently impressed me with his thoughtfulness and...
While waiting on a technician to fix my ovens keyboard pad, I’ve been reduced to using my mini toaster oven in the mean time. Not too many successes, but being deprived a loaf a day is a drag. And when finally the technician did show and had the wrong part...
Toaster ovens can be a lifeline. Take a recent issue when the burner on my stove stopped working. I called for service. Then the oven’s keypad control went out. How was I going to roast my chicken or bake my bread? Worse, I had already made a dough for a big fat...
My latest project was ciabatta, the slipper bread of the eighties. My take was its popularity came in response to answer to the fashion of the era, French baguettes. With stronger flour, more water that gave bigger alveoli to the baked dough, it seemed a good idea for...
