Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast

Today on the show, we’re investigating the surprising link between sports and baking — and to do so, we’ve got a special guest co-host: Things Bakers Know producer Rossi Anastopoulo is stepping in for David on this episode.

From similar approaches to training to the mental flow state each can achieve to the many (many!) athletes who bake, Jessica and Rossi discuss how baking and sports have a surprising amount of overlap. Jessica sits down with a literal Olympian, celebrated cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, to talk about her baking journey and the way it fuels her training (literally and figuratively), then she and Rossi answer your listener questions, including one caller who wants to know all about how to hit those gains. Jessica shares a sporty Jess-opinion before she and Rossi also share the recipes they’re baking this week.

• Many thanks to sports psychologist Dr. Justin Ross for sharing his insight
• Listen to our segment on biscuits and basketball from this season one episode
• Learn more about Jessie Diggins and her work at jessiediggins.com
• Check out our new Baker’s Reserve Bread Flour
• Find our High-Altitude Baking Guide
• Get our recipe for Chicken and Apple Empanadas
• Find our recipe for Flaky Puff Crust Pizza Turnovers
• You have to make our beloved Ultimate Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
• Looking to get some high-protein recipes? Try Multigrain Protein Bread, Super Protein Pancakes, Protein Pancake Bites, and Chili Crisp Cottage Cheese Flatbreads
• What Rossi’s baking this week: Harvest Pumpkin Scones
• What Jessica’s baking this week: Apple Pie
• Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!
• Follow along with us on Substack
• For 25% off any On-Demand baking class, use coupon code POD25 at shop.kingarthurbaking.com/on-demand-classes

What do cakes, cookies, brownies, blondies, and more have in common? They’re all made with eggs, one of the true backbones of baking.

Today on the show, we’re celebrating the humble egg. Jessica and David each nominate their eggiest bakes before David sits down with cookbook author (and egg enthusiast) Nicola Lamb to talk more about the important role this versatile ingredient plays in all kinds of baking. Jessica and David then dive into your egg questions, covering meringue myths, egg sizes, and more. Jessica shares an egg-y Jess-opinion, and they close out the show with the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

• Read more about why we recommend folding eggs whites with a whisk
• Find David’s eggiest bake, Traditional Angel Food Cake
• Subscribe to Nicola’s wonderful Substack, Kitchen Projects, and learn more about her book, SIFT
• Learn more about our Grains for Good program
• Read our blog post on the best egg replacements
• Learn more about how to freeze eggs for baking
• Check out our blog on the best way to crack eggs
• Find our Ingredient Weight Chart for egg weights (and much more)
• What David’s baking this week: Cinnamon-Sugar Crunch Bagels (part of our Fall Flavor Edit!)
• What Jessica’s baking this week: Whipped Cream Dream Cake
• Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!
• Follow along with us on Substack
• For 25% off any On-Demand baking class, use coupon code POD25 at shop.kingarthurbaking.com/on-demand-classes

This week on the show, we’re gathering around the table and tearing into a big loaf of fluffy challah.

David opens the show by sharing challah’s importance in his family and the broader cultural significance this bread holds for Jewish communities. He then sits down with cookbook author Laurel Kratochvila, who reports live from Europe to showcase the origins and evolution of this special bread, including its Polish cousin, chałka. Jessica and David dig into your listener questions, with advice on everything from braiding to proofing, and finish out the show with a Jess-opinion and the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

• Bake our recipe for Braided Challah
• Watch our challah-shaping videos for a 3-strand, 4-strand, and 6-strand loaf
• Learn more about Laurel’s latest cookbook, Dobre Dobre
• Order the Big Book of Bread for our go-to challah recipe and much more!
• Read more about instant yeast vs. active yeast
• Pick up some SAF Gold Yeast
• Read more: Why does my challah have stretch marks?
• Watch Martin make laminated challah
• What David’s baking this week: Old-Fashioned Maine Sourdough Waffles
• What Jessica’s baking this week: Vanilla Bread Pudding
• Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!
• Follow along with us on Substack
• For 25% off any On-Demand baking class, use coupon code POD25 at shop.kingarthurbaking.com/on-demand-classes
• This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.
• This episode is sponsored by Red Star. Red Star has a yeast for every kind of baker. Visit redstaryeast.com to find a retail store near you or purchase their full line of products online.

This week, we’re waking up early and starting the day the right way: with a big batch of pancakes.

Jessica and David kick off the show by sharing a bit about the history of pancakes — which goes back much longer than you may realize. Then, things take a wild turn when David reveals a truly shocking revelation about his pancake consumption habits. Next, David sits down with cookbook author Carla Lalli to hear her opinions on pancakes, as well as the role they play in helping us get back in touch with eating like kids. David and Jessica then jump into answering your questions about making pancakes, including tips on getting a fluffier short stack, before closing the show with a Jess-opinion and the recipes they’re making this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

• Find all of our pancake mixes, including David’s preferred gluten-free mix
• Learn more about Carla’s new book Food is a Feeling
• And read her Substack, Food Processing
• Read our blog: How to make fluffy pancakes
• What David’s baking this week: Ultimate Flaky Biscuits
• What Jessica’s baking this week: Popovers
• Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!
• Follow along with us on Substack
• For 25% off any On-Demand baking class, use coupon code POD25 at shop.kingarthurbaking.com/on-demand-classes
• This episode is sponsored by Cabot Creamery. Cabot is a farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to making delicious, high-quality cheese and dairy products, and 100% of profits go back to the farm families that own Cabot. Visit Cabot’s website for recipes, pairing suggestions, and a curated selection of gift boxes for every occasion.
• This episode is sponsored by Snooze. Snooze is the OG Breakfast Bar, serving creative breakfast, brunch, and lunch with a mission to make mornings matter. With 65 restaurants across 10 states, Snooze brings a little more creativity and energy to mornings across the country. Find your nearest Snooze at snoozeeatery.com.

It’s fall, which means it’s time to talk about baking with apples!

David and Jessica kick off the show by talking about apple pie versus apple cake, then dig into the best apples for baking. Unsurprisingly, they have a lot of opinions! Then David sits down with one of the best all-around bakers in the country and the undisputed pie queen, Erin Jeanne McDowell, to get her top tips for apple baking. Jessica and David answer your biggest apple baking questions before Jessica shares a Jess-opinion about caramel apples, and they close the show with the best fall-forward recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

• Read our blog, The best pie apples: Here's how to choose
• Learn more about Erin McDowell and her brand-new cookbook, Bake Anything, at erinjeannemcdowell.com
• Want to learn directly from Erin? Take her On-Demand pie baking class
• Get fall’s best baking ingredient: Vermont Boiled Cider
• Read our blog on how to prevent the gap in pie crust
• Get our recipe for Apple Pie with Make-Ahead Filling
• What David’s baking this week: Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
• What Jessica’s baking this week: Apple Crumb Cake
• Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!
• Follow along with us on Substack
• For 25% off any On-Demand baking class, use coupon code POD25 at shop.kingarthurbaking.com/on-demand-classes
• Cabot is a farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to making delicious, high-quality cheese and dairy products, and 100% of profits go back to the farm families that own Cabot. Visit Cabot’s website for recipes, pairing suggestions, and a curated selection of gift boxes for every occasion.
• This episode is sponsored by Supernatural. Supernatural makes imaginative baking ingredients that are colored by plants, fully traceable, and totally free from anything artificial or synthetic. Learn more at supernaturalkitchen.com

We’re back with a brand-new season, and we’re celebrating with — what else? — cake!

Specifically, the best chocolate cake in the world, as made by this episode’s guest, James Beard award-winning cookbook author Helen Goh. Helen joins the show to talk about the recipe the New York Times named the “World’s Best Chocolate Cake” (spoiler alert: her family hates it) and the power of baking to help us find more meaning in our lives and community.

Jessica and David then dig into your cake questions, from the best way to freeze slices of cake to determining when cakes are actually done baking. As usual, Jessica brings the heat with a controversial Jess-opinion about chocolate and fruit, and the pair close out the show with the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

• Read Tamar Adler’s piece, What Does It Actually Take to Make the Best Chocolate Cake in the World?, featuring Jessica
• Bake Helen’s World’s Best Chocolate Cake
• Learn more about Helen and her cookbook, Baking and the Meaning of Life, at instagram.com/helen_goh_bakes
• Find out more about Cake4Kids and how to get involved
• Learn more: How to tell when cake is done
• What David’s baking this week: High-Hydration Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
• What Jessica’s baking this week: French Onion Rolls
• Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!
• Follow along with us on Substack
• For 25% off any On-Demand baking class, use coupon code POD25 at shop.kingarthurbaking.com/on-demand-classes
• This episode is sponsored by Supernatural. Supernatural makes imaginative baking ingredients that are colored by plants, fully traceable, and totally free from anything artificial or synthetic. Learn more at supernaturalkitchen.com

A new Chad Robertson venture is always a big deal, and we have all the details.

In May, Jessica talked to the Tartine co-founder for our episode all about his bread and the enormous influence it has had on baking around the world. During that conversation, Chad talked at length about his forthcoming bakery and cafe in Brooklyn, Altbau. But those details weren’t quite ready for prime time when the episode came out. So we held that part of the conversation back — until now. Listen as Chad gives us all the delicious details about Altbau, including the story behind it, and a preview of what to expect.

This is a bonus episode of Things Bakers Know. We’re still on a between-season break, and will be back with more episodes in the fall. Until then, follow the recipe!

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Listen to our full episode about Tartine, featuring Chad Robertson

Follow Chad Robertson and his work on Instagram

Inspired to bake? Order a sourdough starter or make your own

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

It’s bagel week on the show, and this time, David is bringing all the opinions.

Together, he and Jessica discuss bagels in New York and beyond, including the burgeoning world of California-style bagels and the different styles that abound. Then, Southern California bagel maker Carlos Perez joins the show to share his perspective on West Coast bagels. Next, Jessica and David dive into your bagel-baking questions, including queries on shaping and boiling, before closing the show with a Jess-opinion about the right (and wrong) way to apply cream cheese and the recipes they’re baking this week.

This episode marks the end of season three, and we’ll be back in the fall with more freshly baked episodes for season four! Until then, follow the recipe.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Learn to make bagels in our On-Demand class, hosted by instructor Jonathan Frishtick

Learn more about Carlos and Boil & Bake at boilbake.com

Find our Gozney outdoor pizza ovens in our online Shop

Pick up a bag of high-gluten flour

Learn more about how to shape bagels

What David’s baking this week: Small-Batch Chocolate Cupcakes

What Jessica’s baking this week: Swirled Rhubarb Bars

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

Today, we’re dedicating a whole episode to a single loaf of bread. But not just any bread: the loaf from San Francisco’s Tartine bakery, which kicked off a sourdough revolution in the States.

David and Jessica start the show by unpacking just what made Tartine and its bread so influential; together, they dig into the ways this loaf's impact continues to resonate today, plus their own personal relationships to it. Then, Jessica is joined by Tartine’s Chad Roberston, who shares his baking journey, the myriad inspirations that shaped his bread baking, and his thoughts on sourdough today. Finally, they answer some of your biggest sourdough questions before closing the show with this week’s Jess-opinion and the recipes they’re baking.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Pick up a copy of Tartine Bread and Tartine No. 3 (which Jessica cowrote!)

Follow Chad Robertson and his work on Instagram

Inspired to bake? Order a sourdough starter or make your own

Read Carla Lalli’s newsletter, Food Processing

Bake our Pain de Campagne recipe

Learn more about autolyse

What David’s baking this week: Chocolate Sourdough Babka

What Jessica’s baking this week: Creamy Coconut Sheet Cake

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

With their shattering layers and honeycomb interior, croissants are perhaps the ultimate pastry achievement. And they’ve never been hotter than right now.

In this episode, David and Jessica unpack what makes croissants so special, including the intricacies of the lamination process, the irresistible appeal of a perfect pastry, and the “croissant theory” that powers many patisseries. They are then joined by Elisabeth Berthasavage, an instructor from the King Arthur Baking School known for her croissant classes. She shares her insight on how to make a perfect croissant at home (and why you should try!) before David and Jessica jump into Ask the Bakers to answer more questions about making croissants directly from listeners. Finally, they close out the show with a Jess-opinion about a particular croissant mashup and the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Read about The Croissant Theory in the Wall Street Journal

Learn how to make croissant directly from Elisabeth in her On-Demand Class Intro to Laminated Baking

Can’t get enough? Take our other croissant-focused On-Demand Class with instructor Wilhelm Wanders: Extra Flaky Croissants

Find our recipe for Baker’s Croissants

Read more about why more folds aren’t always better in croissants

Subscribe to our new Substack: Things Bakers Know!

What David’s baking this week: Salt Bread (Shio Pan)

What Jessica’s baking this week: Weeknight Detroit Pizza

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

What can’t tortillas do? Whether they’re made with corn or wheat, masa or masa harina, homemade tortillas are a thing of beauty.

No one knows that better than today’s guest, Pati Jinich. One of the foremost experts on Mexican cuisine, Pati has traveled all over Mexico and the US to eat tortillas. She shares her vast knowledge of these special flatbreads, as well as her top tips for making them at home. Then, Jessica and David answer caller questions, including queries about tortilla presses and the elusive tortilla puff. Finally, they close the show with a Jess-opinion about what she likes to call the “burrito stump” and the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Get Pati’s recipe for Tacos Rojos (Red Tacos)

Ready to make tortillas? We have recipes for Flour Tortillas, Corn Tortillas, and 50/50 Corn and Flour Tortillas

Learn more about Pati Jinich, her work, and her upcoming book, Foods of La Frontera, at PatiJinich.com

Get Pati Jinich’s tips for the best homemade tortillas

What David’s baking this week: Masa Harina Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

What Jessica’s baking this week: Lemon Tiramisu

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

Young or old, everyone loves a brownie. But we all have our own preferences: fudgy or chewy, edge piece or center. The options are endless!

Today, we’re discussing all the ways you can make your brownies, from the ingredients you choose to the method you make them with. We also invite one of our favorite bakers, David Lebovitz, to share his thoughts on brownies, including his experience as an American brownie lover living in Paris. For our Ask the Bakers section, we dive into everything from cocoa powder to nailing the bake, before Jessica jumps in with a Jess-opinion all about a very specific type of brownie. And as usual, she and David close the show with the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

For a real hit of nostalgia, make our Easy Frosted Brownies

Learn more about David Lebovitz and subscribe to his Substack at davidlebovitz.substack.com

Find the recipe David mentions for Helene’s brownies

Pick up the updated release of David’s The Great Book of Chocolate

Get a box of our fan-favorite Gluten-Free Fudge Brownies Mix

Find your perfect cocoa powder in our online Shop

If you do like brownie brittle, we have a great recipe

What David’s baking this week: Sun Buns (Solskinnsboller)

What Jessica’s baking this week: Mint and Cheese Ka’ak

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

Thanks to Curio Spice Co., a woman-owned mission-driven spice company, for sponsoring this episode.

This episode is sponsored by Supernatural. Supernatural makes imaginative baking ingredients that are colored by plants, fully traceable, and totally free from anything artificial or synthetic. Learn more at supernaturalkitchen.com

We think vanilla has gotten a bad reputation, so we’re here to correct the record: Vanilla is anything but boring.

To prove our point, we invited one of the country’s biggest vanilla fans (and all-around star baker) Claire Saffitz to come on the pod and argue why we should all be giving vanilla its due. Then we answer your baking questions in Ask the Bakers, covering everything from how to substitute different extracts to the real difference between vanilla extract and vanilla paste. Jessica has an opinion on the surprising way to put your biggest vanilla bottle to use, and she and David close the show with the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Learn more about Claire and her work at dessertperson.com

Choose your vanilla: vanilla paste or vanilla extract (or both!)

Follow Claire’s advice to use vanilla in custard and make Vanilla Bean Flan

Find our Recipe of the Year: Flaky Puff Crust Pizza

Get your own big bottle of vanilla for gifting

What David’s baking this week: Ultra-Vanilla Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Frosting

What Jessica’s baking this week: Simple Stovetop Vanilla Pudding

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

Thanks to Curio Spice Co., a woman-owned mission-driven spice company, for sponsoring this episode.

While we love all styles of pizza, there’s a special place in our hearts for New York pizza — and not just because David lives in its home city!

New York pizza is one of the most iconic dishes in America, and this episode shines a spotlight on the unique history and culture behind each slice. And as a special treat, we have one of the most notable people making New York pizza today on the show: the legendary chef Wylie Dufresne. Wylie dishes on the secrets behind his incredible pizza, then Jessica and David are joined by The Book of Pizza co-author Martin Philip to dig into your listener questions and help you make this style of pizza at home. To close out the show, Jessica shares a Jess-opinion on a popular pizza side, and they finish up with the recipes they’re baking this week.

Recipes and other links from this episode:

Grab a copy of our new cookbook, The Book of Pizza

Find our New York-Style Pizza recipe

Try Wylie’s pizza at Stretch in New York City

Learn more about our Grains for Good program

For the crispiest pizza crust, bake with a pizza steel

Watch Martin teach you how to make New American pizza

To really nail your pies, take our New York Pizza On Demand Class, hosted by Martin

What David’s baking this week: Rossa Pizza from The Book of Pizza

What Jessica’s baking this week: Everyday Olive Oil Cake

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!

This episode is sponsored by Brød & Taylor. Your best bread is within reach. Brød & Taylor builds tools that help you get there. See what's possible at brodandtaylor.com.

Thanks to Curio Spice Co., a woman-owned mission-driven spice company, for sponsoring this episode.

With its fluffy crumb, dimply dough, and endless spins, focaccia has stolen the heart of countless bakers — including us. So we decided to dedicate a whole episode to it.

Jessica and David dissect the current focaccia moment and how this simple bread has evolved from its Italian origins to something truly showstopping. Then Samin Nosrat stops by the show to share the story behind the viral salt-brined focaccia from her TV show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and dish on her latest focaccia recipe, found in her newest cookbook Good Things. As always, Jessica and David answer your biggest bread baking questions in Ask the Bakers, then Jessica shares a Jess-opinion about sweet focaccia before closing the show with the recipes they’re making this week.

Find our 2025 Recipe of the Year: Big and Bubbly Focaccia

Pick up our Big Book of Bread for even more focaccia

Order Samin’s latest cookbook, Good Things

Find Samin’s salt-brined Ligurian Focaccia

Get some bread flour to make Samin’s latest focaccia recipe

Check out our Small-Batch Cheesy Focaccia recipe

Read more about how to make an inside-out focaccia sandwich

Make our Big and Bubbly Cinnamon Roll Focaccia recipe to hop on the sweet focaccia trend

What David’s baking this week: Strawberry Lemonade Bars

What Jessica’s baking this week: Karpatka Cake

Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here!