Introducing the Baker's Dozen
13 things I'm thinking about. This week it's Prue, pushing cookies into yogurt, cherry vinegar, the bread of the year, house burping, Hoosiers, and more.
Welcome to my new mid-week newsletter, a regular series of things that bounce around my brain and my kitchen—whether tips, ingredient finds, recipe links, or totally non-food related morsels.
1. Marmalade madness. I canned a dozen jars of marmalade over the past couple weeks: thin-cut light Seville orange (with white sugar), thick-cut dark Seville orange (with turbinado sugar), oro blanco grapefruit with vanilla bean, and finally, my queen of marmalades, bergamot and sweet orange. The latter was inspired by one of my favorite marmalades at Fortnum & Mason.
2. Pushing cookies into yogurt as cheesecake. If you know me, you know that few things repulse me more than viral trends. This is really just an icebox cake made with Greek-style yogurt. Adam Miller said it best. I blame Big Cookie and Big Yogurt for this trend. I’m sure it’s tasty, just like icebox cakes are tasty. Have I scooped yogurt out of the container with a graham cracker? Absolutely.
3. Dipping Oreos in sour cream as cheesecake. Try it. This isn’t new and it isn’t (currently) viral, but dip an Oreo in some sour cream, then take a big bite. It actually tastes like cheesecake, albeit an Oreo cheesecake.
4. House Burping. Lüften, as Germans call it, means opening your windows, and Germans are fanatic about it. When housekeeping tidies your hotel room, they open windows to air the room out. When I’ve attended classes in Germany or German classes here in Chicago, during breaks someone (from Germany) always demands that the window be opened, no matter the weather. Aside from polar vortex days, I’ve taken to this practice.
5. Go Hoosiers! I went to Indiana University twice (as did my husband, my older sister, and her husband…that’s 8 degrees from one school). IU, in my mind, was always a basketball school (although they excel at other, less limelit sports) and never a football school. They won the national championship! Not that I watched…
6. 2026 Bread of the Year. The German Bakers Association names an annual Brot des Jahres, or Bread of the Year, as a way to promote German bread. In 2025 it was Nussbrot, a nut bread made with hazelnuts and/or walnuts. This year it’s Roggenbrot, or rye bread. Germany has strict bread naming laws, and anything called Roggenbrot must be made with at least 90% rye flour and can take many, many forms.
7. IREKS Compendium of Baking Technology. One of the texts for my bread sommelier course is available free online. If you’re a big bread nerd like me, you’ll want to check out this free resource. Although much of it is geared towards professionals (the chapter on vacuum conditioning, for example), you’ll find so many nuggets of bread science.
8. Waffled Tofu. Lukas Volger shared what should be a viral recipe for a sandwich filled with tofu. But that’s not the best part. The tofu was pressed in a waffle iron, giving it a crispy crust. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my list. Oh, and the bread in the photo is from a recipe of mine that he kindly tested for me.
9. The Ultimate Loaf Pan. Alex Roberts made a drool-worthy banana bread and exclaimed his love for the world’s best loaf pan. I’m simply reminding you to invest in this pan if you love loaves.
10. Pumpkinseed Oil. In my Seedy Whole Wheat Bread recipe, I mentioned Styrian Pumpkinseed Oil. Well, I’m smitten with this deeply green, toasty, rich oil. Very popular in German-speaking parts of Europe, this Austrian elixir works like any fine extra-virgin olive oil or a good toasted sesame oil. Use it in salad dressing, dip your bread in it, drizzle on ice cream, or use in a pumpkinseed tart like I did for Thanksgiving. You can find it online and in some fancy food shoppes.
11. Red Truck Cherry Vinegar. I drove to the farm to pick up a half-dozen bottles of this new product from Michigan’s Pinky Finger. Made from Montmorency Tart Cherries, this bright, fruity vinegar (but not too sweet) will brighten up any salad or sauce. Better yet? Add a few teaspoons to some sparkling water for a tangy little bedtime spritz. You can order some online.
12. Friction-maxxing. A 2026 trend I can get behind. With instant everything at our fingertips, why not add some friction to our lives? We’ve gotten so spoiled with streaming services, delivery services, and AI. Every time I think about clicking “Buy Now” I stop and think: Can I get this nearby? Sometimes I can and do. (I rarely do grocery delivery.) And sometimes I can and don’t. I realize that I don’t need to walk to the store to buy a new random gadget because I don’t need it. The instant click-and-ship makes it too easy. Slow down, and do it the hard way sometimes. Also known as: How we used to do things.
13. Prue Leith is retiring from the Great British Baking Show! Last but certainly not least, Dame Prue announced that she was stepping back from her role on the iconic amateur baking show, and its various iterations. Although we’ll miss her (and her snazzy fashion), she has done so much in her life, including calling me “the best baker” once. I’ll never forget the time she stole a scrap of graham cracker off of my bench and I heard her say “yum.” I can’t wait to see who steps into that role next! (Remember, few of us Americans knew Prue when she stepped into The Tent.)
Stay tuned for a sunny citrus cake recipe this weekend!
Keep on Baking,
Martin
OMG Lüften! "House Burping" is the best thing I've heard all week.
So much good stuff here - I almost deleted my instagram over the cheesecake yogurt things, and I opened my windows right away to burp my apartment. Thanks for mentioning the waffled tofu!