Bread People Podcast

In this bonus episode, Oran Rankin, owner and head baker of Button Bakery in Evanston, Illinois, shares his journey from childhood kitchen adventures to building a community-focused village bakery with his wife, Sara. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the heart, hard work, and passion behind making delicious, quality bread accessible to everyone.

In this episode, we talking about our starter rituals, including what we do, why we do it, and who got us hooked. Plus, Bake Club gets gooooey!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to sourdough starter maintenance

01:25 Meadowlark Mill and Farm Snowbird flour

02:15 Challenges with starter health and bread outcomes

05:00 Using water dips to manage sourdough tools and plants

06:56 Experimenting with autolyse and high hydration doughs

11:54 Maintaining and converting starters: stiff vs. liquid

12:50 Parker Cook of @eatbasilandbloom - Voxy's conversion to a stiff starter after watching Paker's videos

20:44 Mindy's starter routine learned from Addie Roberts @breadstalker_

26:05 The purpose of coil folds and aeration in starters

36:04 Addressing listener questions on starter timing and discard

38:45 @memelmelmel puff pastry

43:05 Amy Coyne's viral sourdough croissant loaf from @amybakesbread

BREAD PEOPLE — EPISODE 05 🍞 | MEET THE SOURDOUGH NERD

Our very first guest is bringing the big sourdough energy! In Episode 5, we are joined by Brynn Stits, aka The Sourdough Nerd. Join us for a delightfully nerdy conversation with Brynn, a gifted baker and sourdough guru. From our favorite sourdough obsessions and the powerhouse starters behind every great bake to vintage sourdough cookbooks and, of course, goats, we’re covering all the things we love!

Grab a slice and settle in for our conversation with Brynn, The Sourdough Nerd! 🥖✨

Feed your starter. Pull up a chair. You’re one of us now.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Chapters

02:00 Brynn's motivation and the therapeutic aspect of sourdough

02:06 Brynn's journey into sourdough baking

04:02 Exploring vintage sourdough cookbooks and recipes

04:09 Using potatoes in bread for texture and flavor

05:45 Brynn and Voxy talk about how helpful Tom Cucuzza’s videos are @the_sourdough_journey

07:00 The science behind sourdough and handling techniques

07:03 Tips for achieving oven spring and steam techniques

09:57 Developing new flavors and recipe experimentation

19:59 The importance of a strong sourdough starter

20:05 Brynn's passion for sharing bread knowledge

24:59 Brynn's goats and farm life

26:05 Brynn's thoughts on temperature and starter care

29:50 @wendybird18 writes in with some questions and Brynn answers them

29:58 Inspiration for new recipes and flavor ideas

37:40 @sarah_c_owens recipe for Bleu Cheese and Walnut crackers

39:15 @marielesterbaker Harvest Tin Loaf

44:45 @feinbackhaus the bread knife that Brynn recommends with this code for 10% off your entire order “BRYNN10”

FOLLOW BREAD PEOPLE 🍞

Instagram: @breadpeoplepodcast

Voxy: @dough.wav
Mindy: @mysourdoughbakes25

FIND OUR GUEST 🎙️

Brynn Stits — The Sourdough Nerd
[Add Brynn’s social handle here]

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST 🎧

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bread-people-podcast/id6814674029

Got a sourdough question, a baking hot take, or a technique you swear by? Drop it in the comments or send us a DM on Instagram. We want to hear what you’re baking, too.

Like, subscribe, and join the club.

WE’RE BREAD PEOPLE NOW.

Sourdough is always part of the conversation, but this time we’re shaking things up with a Q&A and sharing more about our lives as home bakers, from our sourdough beginnings to the bread baking habits that keep us mixing, shaping, and baking. Pull up a chair for episode four and get to know the Bread People a little better. There’s plenty of sourdough chatter to go around.

Chapters

02:05 Intimidating bakes and anticipation of a sourdough croissant guide from @sourdough.etc

04:00 Family sourdough intervention

05:58 Swapping starters and the challenges involved

08:55 Patience with proofing and slicing fresh bread

12:11 Documenting baking journeys and learning from failures

14:58 Our baking personalities

20:00 The importance of a healthy starter and troubleshooting dense bread

25:04 Impulses and spontaneous baking decisions

30:00 Bake Club puff pastry from @memelmelmel

37:58 Sourdough Tipline - Joe from Boone, NC

We’re Bread People who love to talk sourdough! In this episode, we get into mixing sourdough dough, shaping loaves, and the bread bakers who have inspired us along the way. We recap last week’s Bake Club challenge, which was sourdough focaccia, and we introduce our next baking challenge. Join us for a little bread talk, plenty of sourdough chatter, and a peek into our lives as home bakers.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to sourdough baking and episode overview

01:10 Planning and timing for sourdough baking

02:11 Discussing focaccia baking and chasing the perfect crumb

03:30 Baker's percentages

04:45 Can you make sourdough on vacation? If you have a @eatbasilandbloom starter you can!

07:00 Learning about stiff starters and their benefits

09:32 Feeding and maintaining stiff starters during travel & @talkeasypod mug makes a cameo

11:34 Common sourdough questions and troubleshooting

12:30 @amybakesbread honey butter focaccia

14:01 Creative focaccia toppings and variations

16:46 Shaping and baking techniques for high hydration doughs

17:20 @_lacebakes_ base for sourdough focaccia

20:29 Introducing the sourdough bake club and discard recipes

21:45 @breadstalker_ and her thoughts on mixing from her book

28:03 The importance of mixing and gluten development

33:00 @maurizio leo's helpful videos

36:00 @sourdough.etc helpful posts

37:15 listener question from @imnotspikelee

39:29 Knowing when dough is proofed and ready to bake

43:21 Managing hooch and starter health before baking

45:13 Closing remarks and next steps in baking journey

We looooove to go on about sourdough. In this episode, we share our latest sourdough baking experiments, tips for managing dough, and creative ideas for inclusions like jalapeno cheddar and roasted garlic focaccia.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to sourdough baking and episode overview

01:02 Mindy shares her three-day sourdough process

02:29 Visuals of Mindy's beautiful loaf and crumb

03:26 Mindy stumbled over her words trying to describe that Instagram baker @mothership_breads is an insanely talented baker who is also somehow incredibly accessible to people

06:25 Bake club: sourdough jalapeno cheddar bread

07:34 Discussion on crust color and baking preferences

08:55 Achieving airiness with coil folds and lamination

10:10 Inclusion ideas: cubed vs grated cheese in bread

12:17 Candied jalapenos recipe and flavor profile

16:13 Mindy's go-to focaccia recipe is roasted garlic focaccia by @amybakesbread

17:28 Stuffed focaccia with cheese and fillings with a genius idea from @_lacebakes_

19:41 Next week's bake club challenge: focaccia with inclusions

20:19 Overview of sourdough process and initial mixing techniques

22:22 Managing hydration, mixing, and gluten development

24:23 Signs of dough readiness and avoiding over-folding

26:54 Shaping, scoring, and preventing holes in bread

28:49 Tips for storing bread and prolonging freshness

33:32 Listener questions: scoring tools like cool lames from @wiremonkeyshop and bread storage tips

39:40 Closing thoughts and upcoming episode preview

Also, a shout out to @ciaobellabreads for her amazing bagel guide that every Instagram sourdough baker seems to be baking from :)

Our first episode is finally here! We’re Mindy and Voxy, two home bakers who are completely obsessed with sourdough and almost as passionate about talking about it as we are about baking it. In this episode, we’re checking in on what we’ve been baking, dreaming about future bakes, and answering questions from fellow bread people. We’re learning this podcasting thing as we go, and we’re so glad you’re here to join the conversation!

Join us on Instagram at Bread People Podcast

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the podcast and hosts

02:03 How the hosts met and started baking together

03:01 The purpose of the podcast and community building

03:49 Recent baking experiments: Japanese milk bread by @adeputriwjy and flaxseed loaf by @marielesterbaker

05:01 Baking bagels and experimenting with proofing times

06:00 Making tangy sourdough discard crackers by @amybakesbread and other recipes

08:04 Tips for managing sourdough baking with a busy lifestyle

09:59 Achieving the perfect open crumb and shaping techniques

12:03 Learning from other bakers and recipe inspiration

13:57 Introducing the Bake Club and upcoming baking challenges

16:12 Tools and gadgets for sourdough baking: Must-haves and splurges

20:03 Using the refrigerator to manage sourdough schedules

23:55 Answering listener questions and community engagement

27:59 Closing remarks and next steps for listeners