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Hi all!

This week you’re in for a treat: white chocolate sourdough. It’s a sourdough riff from a recipe out of The Baking Bible. I wanted to make something similar (that recipe is yeasted), but with all the added benefits of sourdough. I think this has hit the mark! The bread itself is soft, squishy, and tender; it’s enriched with just a bit of milk, butter, and brown sugar. But it’s the white chocolate chips that really send this one over the top. It’s so, so good on its own, and we’ve also been enjoying it toasted with butter and strawberry jam. Any jam would work well, I think, as it will balance the lovely sweetness in this bread.​

It’s the end of the school year for the college, and our own school year is drawing to a close. Sometimes, having a little pick-me-up is just the thing to give a boost to a difficult day. This bread has brought all sorts of smiles at my house this week!

I made a few big loaves of my house sourdough for our family this week. As an experiment, I made them with just bread flour instead of adding in the freshly milled grains. Lo and behold, my kids noticed, and wondered why the bread tasted different this week! The verdict was that it’s good, but that they prefer the version with freshly milled flour added. Of course, that didn’t slow down their bread eating at all!

As always, orders for white chocolate sourdough and house sourdough are open now until Tuesday. Payment is by cash, check, or cashapp, or credit card when you order. 

If you know someone that would enjoy freshly made sourdough breads, please send this along to them! My June lineup isn’t quite set yet, so if you have any special requests, please send them my way.

Thanks, everyone!

Warmly,

Rachel

This week’s bread is one that I have avoided making for far too long. Having eaten my share of good ones – and not so good ones – they have always felt intimidating to get right. Most baking recipes speak of baguettes as one of the most challenging breads to make, which did not help my intimidation! Recently, I had a chance to take a leap with baguettes for a sweet friend’s party. They do take some practice, but I was really pleased with how they turned out! This week, I’m making baguettes for all of you. These are a sourdough version, so all of that great flavor and nutrition is wrapped up in baguette form! I’ll make these with a good portion of freshly milled whole wheat flour, adding in some extra flavor and fiber. Baguettes go with everything, from a charcuterie board, to bruschetta, to garlic bread, to just tearing off hunks and smearing with good butter! These sourdough baguettes will be about a foot long.

My house sourdough is also available this week, as it is every week. I picked up flour this last week from a bakery that orders the kinds of flour I like to use. I’ve experimented with a number of different flours and always come back to King Arthur Baking Co. This bakery goes through A LOT of flour, so for me to pick up ten 50lb bags is no problem for them! Thankfully, we can put some seats down in the minivan and load it all in without any trouble. I’m so grateful for a community of bakers who like to support small businesses!

The changes outside in late spring always feel so dramatic. All winter long, everything lies dormant. I grow impatient in early spring when I’d like to see buds and color again! Then, it seems like the grass turns a vibrant shade of green from one day to the next, and the flowering trees are suddenly full of leaves. These are such good reminders for me of God’s gifts, that he is not slow in keeping his promises but keeps them in his own time.

Sourdough baguettes will be available on Thursday and Friday, May 9th-10th for regular pickups at my home on both days and the college on Thursday. 

Graduation season is nearly upon us! If you’re having a party and would like some special baked goods, please reach out to me. I’d love to help!

We are making good headway on the spring projects on our list! The raspberries, berry bushes, and apple trees are planted, the garden is tilled and raked, and the chickens *almost* have a new home. Not a moment too soon, either – they are getting more cozy than perhaps they’d like in their current home. It’s been good to work together with the kids on these projects as we make this house our home!

I have been working on a delicious lineup for five weeks of May breads, and think I’ve found a great mix of sweet and savory. I’ll give you the rundown, and you can watch for more details weekly throughout the month. Subscriptions are the best way to ensure that you get all of the great breads this month! New for May, In am offering a Bread of the Week + subscription for those who would like a few extra of the individual items like scones.

May 2nd-3rd: Asiago Sourdough

May 9th-10th: Sourdough Baguette (2 baguettes for + subscriptions)

May 16th-17th: Soft White Chocolate Sourdough Loaf

May 23rd-24th: Sourdough Burger Buns (4 buns per order, 8 for + subscriptions)

May 30th-31st: Jalepeno Cheddar Scones (4 scones per order, 8 for + subscriptions)

Asiago sourdough is a long-time favorite for many of you. I use my house sourdough as a base, and add grated asiago to the dough, making for a savory cheesy loaf that’s full of great flavor! It makes the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich, or the base for a fried egg sandwich, or anything else savory you can throw at it. Drizzle it with olive oil, toast it in the oven, then rub a cut clove of garlic on a slice for a cheesy spin on garlic bread!

All of these breads are also available for week-to-week purchase as well. My house sourdough, with 25% freshly milled flour, is for sale every week as well as for a monthly subscription. 

Every subscriber will receive a pack of the cookies that wins my husband’s heart every time I make them: oatmeal white chocolate cranberry cookies! He even offered to write a description of them for you, but I wasn’t sure how much you would want to read about his great love for these cookies, so I’ll let his hearty recommendation stand as it is!

Subscriptions and orders will be open from Friday, April 26th – Tuesday, April 30th. Pickups will be on the dates listed above for the month of May, with Thursdays at Hillsdale College and at my home, and Fridays at my home. Please forward this on to anyone who would enjoy fresh homemade bread!

We’ve been busy outside this week getting ready for spring. We planted six apple trees, a crabapple, and a bunch of berry plants and bushes. The rain watered them in! Fruit trees are new for us, and while we have much to learn we’re also grateful for the chance to do so!

The bread of the week brings an exciting partnership with Ad Astra Coffee! If you don’t know about their coffee yet, you are in for a fantastic brew. Ad Astra’s goal is to create extraordinary quality in the cup, value for our producers and customers, and strong local communities. 
Coffee and bread, you might think? The combination in this coffee swirl sourdough, while unexpected, is a grown up twist on a cinnamon swirl bread. The dough itself is infused with brewed coffee, and I’m using Ad Astra’s Hillsdale blend. Then, that delicious coffee flavored, barely sweet dough is rolled up with a swirl of finely ground coffee, cinnamon, and sugar. Plain, toasted with butter, smeared with jam or Nutella, this is an outstanding pick-me-up at any time of day. Even if you’re not a fan of coffee, I think the other flavors in this bread will make it one you’ll enjoy – give it a shot!

All of Ad Astra’s coffee is ethically sourced from premier quality producers – from small family farms directly, or from local co-ops. They take fair-trade as a minimum and always ensure their farmers receive a fair wage. They do specialty coffee which means the quality of the cup comes from the top 20% of coffee worldwide. The Hillsdale blend being used in the coffee bread this coming week is a blend of premium arabica coffee from Africa; a well rounded and smooth coffee that tastes like home.

Always on offer here is my house sourdough. If you’re new to my bread list and haven’t tried this one, this is pure artisan sourdough, made with real ingredients and freshly milled whole grains. I had a slice for breakfast this morning, toasted, with peanut butter, honey, and sliced banana. Just the right thing to start the morning!

By the end of the summer, you can enjoy a cup of great coffee in Ad Astra’s full-service cafe space in conjunction with St. Joe’s Pizza Kitchen in downtown Hillsdale! It’s going to be a great addition to downtown. The good folks at Ad Astra are looking forward to serving the Hillsdale community excellent coffee in a beautiful space. 

For some time now I’ve seen pictures of a bread called ‘fougasse.’ It’s a flat-ish bread (think pretzel), made with decorative slashes, and often made with other flavors in the dough or topped with herbs. To be honest, I’ve wondered what the appeal is of fougasse – why make something in that shape when I could have a whole loaf of bread? Well. I came across a recipe for sourdough olive fougasse and thought I’d make one to see what the fuss was all about. Turns out, there’s a reason for the fuss! 

If you like soft pretzels, this has some similarities. There are thicker, soft and chewy parts, and there are some crunchy edges. Fougasse is great for sharing – pull it apart and dip it in olive oil! Or just devour it like I did. My kids, who are not all big fans of olives, even enjoyed it with kalamata olives. If you’d like to try it but aren’t a fan of olives, let me know when you order and I’ll leave them out of yours. Fougasse is wonderful in all sorts of varieties!

This weather has me itching to plant the garden. My tomato plants are giant but will have to wait until it warms up a bit more to go outside. Since my peppers didn’t all grow the way I’d hoped, I’ll head over to Rebel Farm when they’re selling seedlings to fill in any gaps. Hopefully most everything else will be planted directly, and we’ll hope for the best! Our apple trees and berry plants arrived this week; now to dig all the holes and settle them into their new homes. Phew!

Also available this week is my house sourdough. I make quite a few of these, so I have it down to a good rhythm. If you’re having dinner guests, or if you are a dinner guest, this a wonderful loaf to have on hand!

It’s a normal baking week next week with orders going out on Thursday to Hillsdale College, and Thursday and Friday at my home. Be sure to indicate your preferred pickup day and place when you order! And if you need to make a change to that, just let me know. I’m usually pretty flexible. Orders are open from Friday, April 12th – Tuesday, April 16th and payment is by cash, check, and cashapp on pickup, or by credit card when you order at hillsdalehearth.com. 

Please let me know if you have any special requests or if you would like to order more of something I’ve made and you have especially enjoyed! With a bit of notice, I can usually accommodate most requests.

It’s snowing as I’m typing tonight and melting just as fast as it’s coming down. Ah, April. The garden is just about ready to be planted, and the apple trees should arrive in the next few weeks. We’ll hope to plant them in sunshine instead of in snow!

This next week I’m making a new-to-me-bread: chocolate chip sourdough. I’ve made various iterations of chocolate sourdough, but never a straight up chocolate chip. Friends, this one’s a keeper! There is no added sugar in the dough, and the sourdough tangy flavor somehow melds perfectly with the dark chocolate chips. I sliced some shortly after it came out of the oven, and the melted chocolate swirls through the bread were well worth the mess on my fingers. Because it’s not uber sweet, this is a great loaf for any time of day. You could turn it into an after dinner dessert with a smearing of Nutella, or something else decadent. But it would be equally as good simply toasted with butter. The kids and I plowed through an entire loaf this afternoon!

As always, my house sourdough is available to order. I make extras of this each week, some for my freezer and some for friends. Some of you have given these as gifts, or brought them to a dinner party. If you’re looking for a wholesome, nutritious bread that also tastes fantastic, this is it. It’s a true sourdough, which means it has fermented for at least 24 hours, breaking down the gluten strands and making it easier for digestion. If you’ve struggled with gluten intolerance, this bread might just be the thing for you. 

Orders in the coming week are back to normal – Thursday and Friday pickup at my home (April 11th-12th), and Thursday pickup at Hillsdale College, Kendall 413. Orders are open now until Tuesday, April 9th. Payment is by cash, check, or cashapp on pickup, or by credit card when you order. Please indicate your preferred pickup location when you order!

I love to fill special requests, so if you have an end of the school year party coming up, let me know how I can help!

A blessed Easter to each of you! I hope that however you are celebrating this weekend, the peace of Christ crucified and risen fills your heart.

Tomorrow we’ll host dinner for 24 – a mix of friends and students, with lots of folks helping and bringing food, wine, and everything else we need for a feast. We’ll have an egg hunt and probably sing some hymns around the piano at some point. It will be a fun and festive afternoon and evening!

This month I have a great bread lineup for you, with a mix of sweet and savory. The first week in April features a sourdough sandwich loaf, with a mix of regular and whole wheat flour along with olive oil and honey to keep it soft. We’ve been enjoying this one with everything this week. Next up will be a chocolate chip sourdough – not too sweet, as the only sugar is in the chocolate chips. There is a bit of rye flour and whole wheat flour to balance out the chocolate. I think you’ll like this one! 

The third week will be a sourdough olive fougasse, a French bread that is shaped as more of a flat bread. It’s about the thickness of a soft pretzel, and has a lovely mix of soft and squishy bread along with a few crunchy bits, like bread meeting a cracker. I mix kalamata olives into the dough for a fantastic savory flavor. Finally, the last week of April I’ll be making pan de cafe – sourdough bread with a coffee swirl. Oh, my. It’s like a cinnamon swirl bread, but with a sweetened coffee filling. If you’re a coffee lover – and even if you’re not! – this bread is just the thing.

For subscribers this month I’m back to a favorite German recipe. This one just seems like spring to me – a fluffy, braided bread (yeasted) with a bit of lemon zest and topped with sugar pearls. If you order a subscription of any kind in April, I’ll include a loaf of this with your first order.

This coming week, April 4th, I will only have orders on Thursday. If you are a Friday subscriber, this is the only week that your order will be ready on a different day. The rest of the month is business as usual! Sourdough sandwich bread is the featured bread this week, and it’s a great one. I’ll top it with white sesame seeds for a little extra flavor and crunch, and it’s perfect for any sandwich you want, as well as toasted with butter and jam (or avocados!). Orders will be open until Tuesday afternoon, with Thursday orders ready for pickup on April 4th at Hillsdale College or at my home.

Always available is my house sourdough loaf, which is also an option for weekly purchase or as a subscription. All breads can be ordered weekly, and subscriptions for both house sourdough and the bake of the week are available at the beginning of each month!

This coming week I’m making hot cross buns, naturally leavened. If you think of sour flavors when you think of sourdough, these buns will disavow you of that notion. They benefit from a sourdough starter, but the added butter, sweetener, raisins, and spices balance the flavors beautifully! Hot cross buns have been a tradition during Holy Week for centuries, and I’m honored to carry it out here in Hillsdale. Here’s one historical take, if you’re interested in knowing more of the tradition.

Always available is my house sourdough. If you’re feeding extra people at Easter, this is a great loaf to have on hand. It makes a great french toast, or cubed and tossed into an egg bake, or sliced to go with all of those egg salad sandwiches. Have a few on hand for easy meals after an Easter feast!

I will only be baking on Thursday, but hot cross buns can be picked up on Thursday or Friday. One of the many benefits of sourdough is that it keeps exceptionally well! If you want to pick up on Friday, these buns will still be fresh and delicious. By Sunday, you may want to warm them a bit to soften them, but we’ve had them in a bread drawer here for nearly a week without a problem. They also freeze well, so bear that in mind if you’re looking to have some on hand for another time, or you want to freeze them until Sunday.

Please place your order by Tuesday, March 26th and indicate Thursday pickup at my home or the college (March 28th), or Friday pickup at my home (March 29th). Payment is with cash, check, or cashapp, or with credit card when you order.

Next week I will announce the baking lineup for April, and open April subscriptions! It’s going to be a great month of baking, with a few breads that are new(ish) to me. Thank you for being with me on this baking adventure. It’s a joy and a privilege for me to know that these breads end up on your tables!

It’s another beautiful day that has me itching to get out into the yard. The leeks I planted in the fall are coming up nicely, and we’re getting ready to welcome our first chickens here in Michigan! Lots of projects lined up for the spring, all of which help to make this house (and yard) feel like home.

This coming week I have the pleasure of baking with maple syrup from Rebel Farm in Osseo. If you haven’t visited there, I highly recommend it! Suzie is passionate about regenerative agriculture and local community and food. She offers a farm share full of beautiful, delicious, and highly nutritious vegetables, as well as options for pasture-raised chicken and eggs. You can see all of the community shared agriculture (CSA) options here. She also offers workshops throughout the year – tomorrow is all about maple sugar! I will be leading one there in April about baking with maple sugar – we’ll make scones with maple and pecan.

It’s Suzie’s maple syrup that’s going into my maple and spelt sourdough loaves this week. This is the bread that makes people gather around the toaster when they smell it toasting! It’s made with freshly-milled spelt, which is the only grain besides the flour in the sourdough culture. Maple syrup, water, and salt are the only other ingredients in this loaf. It’s a big hit around here, and I make sure to have plenty of extras on hand in the freezer. It’s not overly sweet, so you can eat it with anything. But if you’re feeling indulgent, slice this loaf thickly and make it into french toast.

Always on offer is my house sourdough, made with 25% freshly-milled grains. If you’re looking for a bread that can do it all, this is it. Toast, bruschetta, sandwiches, strata/egg bake – you name it, and this crusty sourdough will fit the bill! These are good-sized loaves that can feed a family.

Orders are back to usual this week with Thursday and Friday pickups at my home (March 21-22) and Thursday pickups (March 21) at Hillsdale College. Orders are open from now until Tuesday, March 19th. 

First, a reminder that orders for next week will only be available on Friday, March 15th. I will still deliver to the college, and orders can be picked up at my home. If you are a Thursday subscriber, everything will be the same for pickup except the day. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if this will cause a problem for you for pickup. Thank you for being understanding!

When I can, I like to bake and cook seasonally. Winter has me craving hearty, stick-to-your-ribs foods, while summer is filled with garden salads and grilled everything! Morning glory muffins, available to order this coming week, feel like an exception. They are equally at home in any season! These beauties are made with sourdough starter for extra flavor, along with dried cherries, pumpkin seeds, coconut, walnuts, apple,freshly-milled whole wheat flour, and spices. I like so many things about these muffins, but I especially like that they are satisfying without too much sweet. They make for a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack, or a lovely addition to a brunch. Each order will contain 4 muffins. These should freeze well, so stock some away for another day!

My house sourdough is available every week – this is another good one with which to stock your freezer. When I thaw bread, I prefer to do that in the oven. I run the loaf under some water, then bake it at 300 for about 30 minutes, or until it’s (mostly) thawed. It can also just be thawed overnight, but I’ve found that the texture is better and closer to fresh-baked when I thaw loaves in the oven. 

Orders can be placed on hillsdalehearth.com/shop until Tuesday evening, March 12th, and pickup will just be on Friday, March 15th this week. Payment is by cash, check, or cashapp on pickup, or by credit card on the website.

Please let me know if you have any questions, or if the Friday pickup poses a problem for you. I will be happy to work with you however I can!