This week’s bake of the week brings a special bread, one that I usually only make around this time of year near Valentine’s Day. But whenever I make it I wonder why I don’t make it more often! I’ve made different iterations of this loaf, but this one is my favorite. The bread itself is a sourdough with 50% rye flour, bringing a deep flavor with a nutritious punch. On top of that I add dark chocolate chunks and  dried cherries, giving it sweet and tart notes. There is no added sugar in this bread; the chocolate and the cherries bring just the right amount of sweetness to keep it interesting without simply tasting like sugar. I like that this bread is good at any time of day – it feels indulgent for breakfast toast with warm, soft chocolate peeking between bright cherries and whole grain bread.

I’m also making my house sourdough with 25% freshly milled grains. This recipe is flexible and can use different grains, but these days I’m really enjoying a mix of red and white wheat with spelt! This loaf is great for everything, and we eat it in various forms every day. If you want to make it stretch, or have some around for a rainy day, try slicing half of it when you get it home and freezing it. That way, you can take out slices as you need them.

Breads can be picked up on Thursday, February 8th at Hillsdale College outside of my husband’s office, Kendall Hall 413. Orders can also be picked up at my home on Thursday and Friday afternoon, February 8th-9th. Be sure to indicate your pickup place when you order! If you need a time outside of those listed, just let me know.

Payment is by cash, check, or cashapp on pickup, or by credit card when you order at hillsdalehearth.com. Orders will be open online from now until Tuesday evening, February 6th.

April showers might bring May flowers, but February brings birthdays at our house! One of our boys turns 7 next week and his excitement has been building for weeks. This little future engineer has drawn out what he would like for his birthday cake, and let’s just say that it involves an active volcano.

In less complicated baking, I have great bakes in store for you this month! Here’s the rundown for February:

Pick-up dates

February 1-2: Parmesan and black pepper sourdough focaccia

February 8-9: dark chocolate cherry sourdough loaf

February 15-16: sourdough challah (heart-shaped, if you’d like!)

February 22-23: lemon blueberry scones

For monthly subscribers, I’m making millionaire shortbread bars with whiskey toffee. I think I first had these in England, but a sickly-sweet packaged version. This decadent bar cookie is made with a rye and sourdough crust, filled with a whiskey toffee, and topped with a dark chocolate ganache. These are very rich, and very delicious! Subscribers will receive a few of these with their first week’s pickup.

The parmesan black pepper sourdough is a bread take on the classic pasta dish, cacio e pepe. This one drew everyone out of their rooms to the kitchen when it came out of the oven! The tangy sourdough and the creamy parmesan pair perfectly along with the bite of the freshly-ground black pepper. Try this one stuffed with prosciutto and greens, or alongside a big salad or bowl of pasta!

I will continue to have breads available week-to-week, as well, and my freshly-milled house sourdough is for sale both as a monthly subscription and a weekly purchase. 

If you’re new to the list, subscriptions are available for either my house sourdough, or the bake of the week (listed above). You can, of course, order some of each! Order once and have fresh bread made to order weekly. This helps me know what to plan for each week and it ensures that you don’t miss out on delicious homemade bread.

I make everything by hand, with a bit of help from a stand mixer every now and then. Wherever I have whole grains, I mill those here at home to give the best flavor and optimal nutrition. 

Both subscriptions and weekly orders are available for purchase on hillsdalehearth.com from Friday-Tuesday of the following week. (Subscriptions are only available this weekend). You can select your pickup place – either Hillsdale College on Thursdays, or my home in Hillsdale on Thursdays or Fridays – when you order. Payment is by cash, check, or cashapp on pickup, or by credit card when you order online. Please order by Tuesday, January 30th for pickup on February 1st or 2nd.

I’m sitting in a quiet house as I write, a rarity for me. The fire is blazing and the snow is falling gently outside. I like winter on these days.

Despite the landscape my thoughts are turning toward warmer days. This weekend I’m headed to a seed swap at Rebel Farm. I’m not totally sure what to expect, but there will be a lot of good garden knowledge and sharing of ideas and seeds for the coming season of planting. We didn’t have a garden last year but we’re planning on one this year. The kids are all poring over catalogs to find the most outlandish veg. I tell them that I’ll plant it, but they have to eat it!

This week I’m making sourdough biscuits, a super-versatile bread for your meals this weekend. Cheesy fried egg sandwiches? Check. Strawberry shortcake? Also check. Feeling fancy with biscuits and gravy? Just promise to invite me over for those! These are flaky, buttery, and just plain delicious. Top them however you like, or enjoy them in all their sourdough goodness. You win either way!

Also and always available this week is my house sourdough. I’ve been experimenting with different grains and combinations. For now, I’ve settled on a mix of hard red wheat, hard white wheat, and spelt that I mill myself just before mixing. Even after many years of baking various versions of this bread, there are always great sighs of contentment when a fresh loaf hits the table.

My schedule is the same this week, pickup on Thursday, January 25th here at my  home and at Hillsdale College, and Friday, January 26th here at my home. If you’re a subscriber, your order will be ready for you as usual!

Next week subscriptions for February will open, and do I have a delicious month planned for you! Stay tuned, and let me know if you have any requests. I love to make special breads for special occasions.

It’s snowing! We don’t usually have our first big snow of the year in January, but despite the cold and blustery weather it sure is nice to look out the window and see white. I am glad to be sitting by our wood stove, where my toes are warm! When the weather turns extra cold, I find my thoughts going in the opposite direction. Flavors are a big part of that for me – I’m craving warm spices, colorful soups, creamy pasta – anything that makes me feel warm(er). On my menu this week are a chickpea curry, minestrone, chili (with cornbread, of course), and tomato soup. My favorite bread to go with tomato soup is the one I’m baking for you this week: asiago sourdough.

Sharp cheese and tangy sourdough are a match made in heaven. The asiago melts right into the bread, marrying the two flavors together. We’ve enjoyed this loaf in so many ways, not just alongside tomato soup! It makes the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich, it’s lovely with a fried egg at breakfast, cubed and sauteed it makes fantastic croutons for your salads, and is really good just on its own. If you’re sensitive to dairy, I hear you; I’m working on a goat cheese sourdough loaf that I hope to have out in a few weeks!

As always, my house sourdough is available for purchase. Both my house sourdough and the asiago are true sourdough, fermented for at least 24 hours to give you maximum nutritional benefit and to make it easier on your gut. My house sourdough uses a mix of freshly-milled grains, which adds such a lovely flavor and retains all the good parts of the wheat! Give it a try; give one to a friend.

If you are a subscriber, remember to grab your loaves on Thursday/Friday of this coming week, January 18th/19th! 

Orders are open now through Tuesday afternoon, January 16th. January subscriptions are closed but you can order your favorite breads every weekend for pickup the following week.

The old year is nearly behind us, and what a year it’s been. We’ve had a lot of changes over this past year – many to our home! – and it’s been fun to see our kids grow and change as they continue to settle into a new life here in Hillsdale. I restarted my baking business in the last year, and what a joy that has been! I’m grateful to have gotten to know so many of you and feel honored to make the breads that grace your tables.

Next week begins a  new month of bread subscriptions, and I have a great January lineup for you! I’ll offer house sourdough subscriptions, as well as a subscription for the bread of the week. If you can’t pick up every week, feel free to send someone for you or to share that week’s loaf with someone! I’ll just be baking three weeks of the month as we’re traveling for one week.

January 4/5: house sourdough, and 100% freshly milled whole wheat sourdough

January 18/19: house sourdough, and asiago sourdough

January 25/26: house sourdough, and sourdough biscuits (set of 6)

Subscribers of any kind will also receive dark chocolate sourdough cookies along with their order for January 4/5. I make these with sourdough discard and some rye flour. The flavor benefits from an overnight reset in the fridge! You do not want to miss these cookies 🙂

If you’re not ready to commit to a subscription, you can also order on a weekly basis as long as there are loaves available. I’ll send an email each week reminding you of the upcoming bake of the week. Subscriptions and weekly loaves can also be given as gifts! Just indicate that in your order so we can be sure to get the bread to the right person.

All the sourdough breads I make are what bakers call ‘true sourdough’. That means that the loaves ferment for at least 24 hours, which is important for the way that our bodies digest wheat. If you’re interested, a great book on this is called ‘Sourdough School’, by Vanessa Kimball. Even if you don’t struggle with gluten intolerance, this long fermentation makes for fantastic tasting bread! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Breads will be available on Thursday and Friday of next week, January 4th and 5th. Orders can be picked up at my Hillsdale home both afternoons, and at Hillsdale College on Thursday, January 4th. This is generally the schedule that I keep, and I will let you know if there are any changes to it!

Payments can be made by cash, check, or cashapp on pickup, or by credit card when you order at hillsdalehearth.com. Please let me know if you have any questions or special requests! 

Happy New Year, friends!

Today felt like a reprieve with the warmer weather, didn’t it? It’s hard to believe that it’s December and that Advent is nearly upon us. Growing up, my mom always made cut-out cookies with the different symbols described in the hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” and in the O Antiphons: the Key of David, the Root of Jesse, the Dayspring, the King of all nations. But, because it wasn’t Christmas yet, she left them unfrosted, and we looked forward to celebrating fully when Advent came to an end. It was a neat way to mark these weeks leading up to Christmas!

This coming week, on December 7th and 8th, I will be baking a honey whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread. That’s a mouthful, I know! I made two loaves over the weekend and they disappeared so quickly that I didn’t even get a picture. But, I took one of our youngest enjoying a piece slathered with jam! This is such a good one and will likely go into my regular rotation. It’s made with 50% freshly milled whole wheat and enriched with honey, egg, butter, and olive oil. I made ours with vegan butter for my dairy-intolerant kiddos and it was great that way, too. If you enjoy soft sandwich bread that has just a bit of sweetness, this is the one for you. The sourdough really only deepens the flavors that are there from the honey and the whole wheat; I didn’t detect the tangy notes in a regular loaf. And it’s soft – so soft! – and will keep well for several days, if it lasts that long. 

We will be traveling a bit, so I will not have any orders the week of December 14th and 15th.

Then, just before Christmas, I will have Christmas cookies available! Let me do some of your holiday baking for you this year. I’m planning to make gingersnaps, peppermint snowballs, white chocolate cranberry cookies, and chocolate crinkle cookies. These are available by the dozen, with a mix of cookies included (3 of each kind.) If you would like only certain varieties, please note that when you order – I’m happy to make changes! These make great hostess gifts and should also travel well if you’re hitting the road for your celebrations. Cookie orders will be open from now until December 9th, for pickup at my home on the afternoon of December 21st. 

I’ll also have my house sourdough available next week, but not on the 21st. Look for that when you place your order for cookies! Gift certificates are also still up on the site and will likely remain there at least until Christmas.

Honey whole wheat sourdough and house sourdough will be available for pickup on Thursday, December 7th at Hillsdale College and at my home, and Friday, December 8th at my home. Orders will be open until Tuesday afternoon, December 5th.

Cookie orders will remain open through December 9th, and gift certificates at least through Christmas.

Payment is by cash, check, or cashapp when you pick up, or by credit card through the website when you order. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions or special requests!

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! However you celebrated I pray that it was a day of joy, gratitude, and delicious food. I think we’ll be eating leftovers for a few days, at least! That’s a gift – I’m taking it easy this weekend after the last few days of cooking 🙂

This coming week is the last week of November, which means Christmas is coming. If you’re looking for a unique gift, consider a month-long bread subscription! I will give you a physical gift certificate so that you have something to tuck into an envelope, and the recipient can work out the details directly with me by choosing the month in which to receive fresh, homemade bread. Look for that option on the site at hillsdalehearth.com/shop/ over the next few weeks!

This coming week I’m making hot cocoa scones. They are as good as they sound! While looking for chocolate chips I discovered hot cocoa and marshmallow flavored chips and knew I wanted to try them in my favorite chocolate scones. You’re going to want these for those cold, gray mornings that are headed our way! I almost always decrease the sugar in recipes by a fair bit, and these are no different. I like to let the flavors shine and keep the sweetness in the background. These scones would be a great addition to a special breakfast, or an afternoon coffee with a friend, or to tuck into a lunch bag for a treat. These scones are sold in sets of 6, and will freeze well for whenever you want them.

I’m always making my house sourdough, and this coming week is no exception. We have been enjoying zuppa toscana lately, made with sausage, kale, potatoes, and a broth made creamy with coconut milk. It hits the spot on a cold day, and is made even better with a loaf of sourdough to go with it! 

During the month of December I’m going to do things a bit differently due to Christmas and traveling. Here’s the rundown:

December 7/8 – House sourdough and honey whole wheat pan loaf

December 21/22 – Christmas cookie box (details next week!!)

December 28/29 – House sourdough and sourdough monkey bread

For the coming week, however, it’s business as usual: pickups at my house on Thursday and Friday afternoons, November 30 and December 1; pickups at Hillsdale College on Thursday afternoon, November 30. Please order your sourdough and hot cocoa scones by Tuesday, November 28 so that I can be sure to get your order ready! Payment is by cash, check, cashapp, or credit card on my website with your order, hillsdalehearth.com.

Just a quick update this week: with Thanksgiving around the corner, I will be baking earlier in the week. All special orders and sourdough loaves will be ready for pickup on Tuesday, November 21st. Please indicate pickup at my home or at Hillsdale College. While orders for special requests are closed, you can still place an order for sourdough loaves until Sunday afternoon, November 19th! My house sourdough is a great choice for all of the post-Thanksgiving sandwiches, to go with turkey soup, for an easy breakfast of toast and eggs, or to cube up to make stuffing. We all need something easy in the days after Thanksgiving; pick up a few loaves to have on hand for easy meals!

Next week I’ll announce the bakes of the week for December. With our own travel and with Christmas, it will be a shorter month for baking, but a good one! Do you have any Christmas favorites that you’d like me to bake for you? Let me know!

I don’t know about you, but I love all the preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. The lists, the planning, the trick of getting everything to the table while it’s still hot – there’s something beautiful about the way that it all comes together. Anything I can do early makes Thanksgiving Day that much less stressful. 

This coming week I’m making my favorite dinner rolls, the ones that will be on our table. I’ll make a big batch and freeze them so that they’ll only need to be warmed on Thanksgiving Day. Let me make the day easier for you with these rolls! They’re naturally leavened and enriched with milk, butter, and egg. They’ve rightly earned the moniker of  ‘cloud rolls’ at our house – they’re soft and squishy while still being substantial. Because they’re sourdough, if you have any left after dinner they will make outstanding slider buns for all that leftover turkey!

As always, my house sourdough will also be available and nice to have on hand for the day after your festivities for an easy meal. Or, if you make your own stuffing, a loaf of homemade sourdough will take it to the next level.

Sourdough rolls and loaves will be available for pickup at Hillsdale College on Thursday, November 16th and at my home on Thursday and Friday, November 16th and 17th. If you have a special request for Thanksgiving, please let me know by email before November 15th! Payment is by cash, check, cashapp, or credit card on hillsdalehearth.com. 

I’m warming my toes by the wood fire as I write this week. It’s one of my favorite places to be during the cold months; the warmth and light go a long way for both body and soul. We’re slowly making changes in our main living areas. Now that we are in year two here it seems like time to hang a few pictures and make this house feel more like our home. Last weekend I painted the dining room and already it feels like a much brighter and warmer space. 

This coming week I’m breaking out a favorite cookie recipe: butter pecan. These are really something special – toasted pecans, butterscotch chips, brown sugar, homemade vanilla, and a sweet and salty dusting that will leave your sweet tooth satisfied! Cookies are such a different process from bread and I enjoy them both. Bread – at least sourdough – is a long process that sees significant transformation. Cookies, on the other hand, come together with a more straightforward process and quicker gratification. If you like salted caramel, or sugared walnuts, or anything that has that salty sweet combo, you’re going to love these cookies!

My house sourdough is on offer again this week – if you’re making soup this bread is a perfect pairing. A crispy crust and tender middle make for a wonderful slice for butter and jam or for dipping into olive oil. If you haven’t tried this bread give it a shot this week!

November subscriptions are still available this week for the remainder of the month, both for house sourdough and for the bake of the week. And if you’d like to make a request for Thanksgiving, please be sure to send that to me by November 15th!

I’m gearing up for my second workshop at Rebel Farm on Saturday! We’ll cover the basics of mixing and shaping sourdough and send everyone home with their own loaf to bake. The farm is a delight to visit, brimming with beautiful veg and alive with knowledge and passion. Be sure to check out their winter offerings at remedygardenarts.com!

Orders can be picked up on Thursday and Friday, November 9-10, from my home in Hillsdale, or on Thursday, November 9, from Hillsdale College. You can order until Tuesday, November 7th, and then I’ll close orders until the following week’s products are available. Payment is with cash, check, or cashapp, or by credit card on the website, hillsdalehearth.com.

Let me know if you have any questions or special requests!