The Blog
Notes from the Bakery
Recipes, seasonal bakes, and stories from our home bakery kitchen in Sorrento, Florida.
- Baking
- Farmstand
- Recipes
- Behind the Scenes
Why We Only Open on Weekends
Small-batch baking takes time. Here's how a two-day farmstand lets us do the work right.
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37 more- Behind the Scenes · 4 min
Meet the Farmers Who Supply Our Kitchen
A bakery is only as good as its pantry. Here are the folks whose work we depend on every week.
- Recipes · 5 min
A Beginner's Guide to Sourdough Starter
You don't need fancy equipment to keep a starter alive. A jar, some flour, and a little consistency will get you there.
- Baking · 4 min
Seasonal Baking: What Fall Brings to the Table
The menu shifts with the season. Here's a preview of what's coming to the farmstand as the mornings cool down.
- Recipes · 3 min
How to Store Fresh Sourdough So It Lasts All Week
Skip the plastic bag. Here's how we keep our loaves at their best from Sunday through Friday.
- Farmstand · 3 min
What to Expect at the Farmstand This Weekend
Hours, what we bake, how to pre-order, and a few tips for first-time visitors.
- Behind the Scenes · 3 min
The Story Behind Our Cinnamon Rolls
Thick cream-cheese icing, soft brioche dough, and a swirl of Saigon cinnamon — here's how our rolls came to be.
- Baking · 4 min
Why We Bake Sourdough the Slow Way
Good sourdough can't be rushed. Here's what a 36-hour ferment does for flavor, crumb, and digestibility.
- Behind the Scenes · 3 min
So You Want to Open a Bakery: A Frank Guide
We're asked this every weekend. Here's what we tell the people who are serious.
- Behind the Scenes · 3 min
How We Source Our Ingredients (A Farmstand's Transparency Post)
Transparency is a promise. Here's exactly what's in the loaf you buy from us.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Taste Butter (Yes, Really)
The butter you use is the second-most-important ingredient in pastry. Here's how to taste the difference.
- Baking · 3 min
Wood-Fired vs. Electric Oven: Which Bakes Better Bread?
Wood-fired bread is romantic. It's also harder, more expensive, and not always better. Here's the honest tradeoff.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Tell If Your Dough Is Proofed (Three Tests That Actually Work)
Time is a suggestion. Your dough will tell you when it's ready — if you know how to ask.
- Baking · 3 min
The Baking Books That Actually Made Us Better Bakers
Six books, no filler. If you owned only these, you'd learn nearly everything.
- Baking · 3 min
The Sourdough Vocabulary Every Home Baker Should Know
Ten words that unlock every recipe you'll ever read.
- Recipes · 3 min
How to Store Cinnamon Rolls (And Warm Them Back to Bakery-Fresh)
A cold cinnamon roll is a sad thing. Here's how to bring it back.
- Behind the Scenes · 3 min
Why an $8 Loaf of Sourdough Is Actually a Bargain
A loaf of grocery bread costs $3. A farmstand loaf costs $8. Here's what the difference actually buys you.
- Baking · 3 min
Seasonal Baking: What Summer Brings to the Bakery
Summer is stone fruit galettes, herby focaccia, and the year's best strawberry scones.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Taste Bread Like a Baker
The more precisely you can taste bread, the better your own bread gets. Here's the vocabulary.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Score Sourdough: Function First, Art Second
Scoring isn't decoration. It's how you tell the loaf where to expand.
- Farmstand · 3 min
Farmstand Etiquette: How to Be a Great Regular
None of these are required. All of them make your baker's Saturday better, and your bread hotter.
- Recipes · 3 min
12 Genuinely Good Ways to Use Sourdough Discard
Discard isn't garbage. It's a pantry staple with more uses than most people realize.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Choose a Dutch Oven for Bread Baking
You don't need the fancy French one. Here's what actually matters for baking bread.
- Baking · 3 min
Why Cold Butter Matters in Every Pastry You Bake
Cold butter isn't a preference. It's the mechanism behind every flaky thing you love.
- Recipes · 3 min
Our Buttermilk Scone Recipe (The One We Sell Out Of)
Not the crumbly kind. The kind with layers you can pull apart with your fingers.
- Recipes · 3 min
A Beginner's Sourdough Recipe (No Fancy Equipment, Real Loaf)
If you have a scale, a bowl, and a Dutch oven, you can bake this loaf tomorrow.
- Behind the Scenes · 3 min
Inside a Farmstand Week: How We Plan From Monday to Sunday
People assume a two-day farmstand is a two-day job. Here's what the other five days actually look like.
- Behind the Scenes · 3 min
Why Local Flour Matters (More Than Local Anything Else)
Local produce is a start. Local flour is where the real difference shows up on the plate.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Read a Crumb Shot Like a Baker
The crumb is a story. Once you can read it, you can fix almost any loaf.
- Baking · 3 min
The Essential Bread-Baking Toolkit (Under $150)
You don't need much. Here's the short list that will take you from beginner to competent.
- Baking · 3 min
What Makes a Good Cinnamon Roll? A Bakery's Anatomy Lesson
Four things separate the memorable cinnamon rolls from the forgettable ones. Miss any and the whole roll suffers.
- Recipes · 3 min
How to Freeze Bread Properly (So It Actually Tastes Fresh Later)
Freezing bread is not a compromise. Done right, it's the best way to make a Sunday bake last two weeks.
- Farmstand · 3 min
Farmers Market vs. Farmstand: Which Is Right for Your Weekend?
We shop both. Here's the honest difference from someone who's set up at each.
- Recipes · 3 min
Sourdough Starter Troubleshooting: Every Problem, Solved
Bookmark this. Every starter problem we've seen at the bakery, and how to fix it.
- Baking · 3 min
The Best Flour for Sourdough (And Why Brand Matters Less Than You Think)
You don't need a boutique bag from a mill three states away. Here's what actually matters.
- Baking · 3 min
How to Shape a Batard (Step-by-Step With Photos in Your Head)
Shaping is the single skill that separates a home baker from a bakery baker. Here's the movement, broken down.
- Baking · 3 min
Sourdough vs. Yeast Bread: A Baker's Honest Comparison
Neither is better. They're different tools. Here's when we reach for each one, and why.
- Baking · 3 min
The Ultimate Guide to Sourdough Hydration (With a Baker's Chart)
Hydration is the single biggest lever in sourdough. Here's how each 5% step changes what comes out of your oven.