The Sourdough Podcast

On this season one finale episode of The Sourdough Podcast, baker, educator, and author, Sarah Owens joins me for my first in-home interview. Sarah shares how her own unique sourdough journey emerged from the confluence of her Tennessee upbringing, careers as both a ceramic artist and horticulturalist, and battles with her personal health. We discuss her third, soon to be released, cookbook, Heirloom, as well as her James Beard award winning book Sourdough. And you won’t want to miss the big news Sarah shares for the first time with The Sourdough Podcast audience about her upcoming move out West as she embarks on a new, exciting chapter in her life and career.

On this episode director, photographer, Marie C. tells us how her relationship with her sourdough starter became the inspiration for her award winning web-series My Life in Sourdough. We talk about the evolution of bread culture in the US and her native France. And she share her secret for traveling internationally with your sourdough starter.

Bryan Ford, aka, Artisan Bryan tells us about his journey from accountant to baker. He shares how realizing his dream of becoming baker has lead him to rediscover his Honduran heritage. He talks about his successes and failures and the inspiration he draws from his family and community as he strives to help people make delicious bread while staying in touch with his roots.

On this episode, Emily Buehler, author of Bread Science: The Chemistry and Craft of Making Bread, joins us to help unravel the mysteries of naturally fermented bread. She shares her journey from scientist to baker to becoming an author and publisher, writing and working with renowned bakers like Peter Reinhart and Francisco Migoya. She helps explain why enzymes are the unsung heroes of fermentation, addresses some common misconceptions surrounding sourdough, and answers listener questions on the topics of water, refrigeration, proofing, and starters.

On this episode, Rose Lawrence, baker, chef, and owner of Red Bread, joins me from her home in Los Angeles. Rose reflects on her beginnings as a Cottage Food baker in Venice, California and how the artisan bread movement has changed since the passage of the California Homemade Food Act (a law which she played an active role in bringing about). She gives advice and resources for home bakers looking to take the leap to becoming a cottage food operator and shares her fermentation mantra for anyone out there feeling a little overwhelmed on their sourdough journey.

Daniel Larsson (@danlarn) joins me from his home in Falkenberg, Sweden. We talk about the inspiration that led him to start baking sourdough just three short years ago and the role social media has played in his journey, and in the resurgence of interest in sourdough in recent years. Dan shares his vision for his own bakery and for the future of sourdough and his mission to inspire more natural, beautiful and sustainable bread.

This episode Jim Challenger guests on the podcast and talks with me about his journey into sourdough and what prompted him to design the soon to be released The Challenger Bread Pan. We discuss his entrepreneurial background and how his interactions with the sourdough Instagram community inspired him to build a baking device made specifically for the home sourdough baker. Jim shares how his design and testing process were fundamentally shaped by input from baking friends from around the country and how the sourdough community has motivated him all along the way - from a beginning baker to sourdough entrepreneur.

In this largely unedited recording, I invite you to sit down with baker and author Bonnie Ohara of Alchemy Bread, and I, in the dining room of her home and cottage bakery in Modesto, California. In between the pitter patter of little feet and a couple late customers, we had a deeply honest and heartfelt conversation about her hard, self-taught journey from checking out bread books at the library to now having her own book resting on the same shelves. She tells us how a debilitating injury re-focussed her passion for baking and what you should know before starting your own cottage bakery.

Baker, educator, entrepreneur, Don Guerra, recalls the journey he took to becoming the owner of Barrio Bread in Tucson, Arizona. He talks about his mission to spread the Community Supported Bakery business model around the globe, and tells us why supporting the local grain economy is so important to his work.

Author and blogger Emilie Raffa shares with us the unexpected inspiration for her book Artisan Sourdough Made Simple. She tells us how she got started on her own sourdough journey and answers some sourdough Frequently Asked Questions.

Emma Zimmerman tells us how she and her father grew their small milling operation from the back of one of Chris Bianco’s restaurants, into a nationally distributed heritage grain and flour brand. We discuss their roots to the historic Hayden Flour Mill in Tempe, Arizona and what it takes to produce the same high quality stone milled heritage grain products today. She talks about the benefits and challenges of baking with stone milled flour and why flavor is at the core of everything they produce.

Maurizio Leo and I discuss his thoughts on the artisan sourdough movement. He explains how he got started baking sourdough, the evolution of his blog, and his relationship with the Instagram and online sourdough communities. He shares the secret to getting that perfect sourdough flavor and answers some of the most common sourdough questions he receives.

I sat down with Crystal White in her newly opened bakery in San Diego, Ca - Wayfarer Bread & Pastry. We discussed how she turned her childhood dream of becoming a baker into reality and her vision for the future of bread in California, and beyond. Crystal also shares her advice for new sourdough bakers and anyone who might aspire to open their own shop someday.

Hi this is Mike Hilburn. If you are new to sourdough, perhaps in the middle of creating your first starter, reading books and blogs, practicing your scoring technique, still pulling giant sourdough pancakes from your oven, but loving every minute of your new found passion... If you are casual microbiology nerd, food history geek... If you are beginning baker , an Intragram baker, a experienced home baker, or an actual verified professional baker, If you have scoured youtube, netflix, web forums, podcasts, And you just can't get enough of all things sourdough.... This is your podcast.... the Sourdough Podcast. This is the podcast that will keep your baking passion alive - and hopefully help keep your starter alive in the process. We are going to dive into all things Sourdough. Formulas, technique, books, bakers, millers, farmers. On the Sourdough Podcast we want to hear the personal stories of people like you who, and how they discovered their passion for naturally leavened old world style artisanal bread. Most of all, I want to you to listen in and be inspired to strive for your own perfect loaf. I want to hear from you guys, I want to hear how you discovered sourdough, your favorite recipes or formulas, what's the story behind your starter, what's your favorite sourdough book or blog. Where are you getting stuck? What's the biggest failure that ever came out of your oven? Who do you want to hear from on this podcast? Whose story would you love to hear? What blogger, author, Instagrammer, miller, baker, do you want to hear from or hear more about? I want to talk about, and hopefully to, the people that inspire you the most. I want this podcast to be a how-to, a who's-who, a source of learning, good stories, and most of all inspiration. So be sure to subscribe to us on ITunes. We can't wait to get started.