We know each other as bakers. We share our loaves, compare crumb shots, and spend a lot of time talking about flour, fermentation, and everything that happens in between. But I've been thinking. How much do we really know about the people we're baking alongside? There's a whole lot more to our members than what comes out of their ovens. So, I'm starting something new here at the Academy. The People Behind the Bread. Our first spotlight features @Leigh Skowronski , someone many of you already know from our Bake-Alongs and conversations around the kitchen table. A few months ago, Leigh sent me something that started a conversation I wasn't expecting. The more I learned about her, the more I realized there was a story here worth sharing. And there's a personal connection that makes this one particularly special to me. I've put together a little feature about Leigh, her remarkable talents, and the story behind that unexpected gift. 👉 Meet Leigh Skowronski: The People Behind the Bread I hope you'll take a few minutes to read it. And when you're finished, I'd love to hear what you think. Maybe we'll discover that some of the most interesting stories in this Academy have nothing to do with bread. The Proof Is in the People. Henry Hunter

After making me wait 40 minutes beyond my appointment time this morning, the doctor comes in and asked how I was doing. I told her that she was going to have to give me 5 minutes because I needed to finish this up for you all. It turns out she's a Baker! I am always recruiting. We bake tomorrow. Before we do, here's every question you all asked this week about the Soft Multigrain Scald Sandwich Bread, gathered up and answered so nobody has to scroll three threads at 7am. Recipe (yeasted): https://recipepantry.app/recipes/soft-multigrain-scald-sandwich-bread Recipe (sourdough): https://recipepantry.app/recipes/sourdough-soft-multigrain-scald-sandwich-bread ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🌾 THE CEREAL "I found 10 grain instead of 7 grain, will that work?" @Jenny Pichardo Yes. Ten grain is fine, five grain is fine, nine grain is fine. "Can I use a 5 grain rolled hot cereal blend?" @Deborah Karaban Yes. Rolled flakes work the same way once they're ground. Don't skip the grinding step just because they're already flat. "Would Red River cereal work?" @Sandra Jager It will, and it's a good choice. Cracked wheat, cracked rye, and flax is exactly the kind of blend this method was built for. The flax will make the scald a little slicker than usual. That's the mucilage doing its job and it's not a problem. @Rhonda Talamo , the Mountain blend you ordered follows the same rule. Here's the rule so you can judge any bag yourself: plain, unsweetened, grains and seeds only. No dried fruit, no sugar, no granola clusters, no flavoring. If it belongs in a pot on the stove with a pinch of salt, it belongs in this bread. Grind 60g to the texture of coarse cornmeal, about 30 seconds. "My cereal isn't going to get here in time."

This week we're baking the soft multigrain scald sandwich bread. Here's the part most people get wrong with multigrain. You throw a handful of oats, cracked wheat, or seeds into a dough and the loaf comes out dense and dry, and you blame the recipe. It wasn't the recipe. Those grains are thirsty. Dropped in raw, they pull water out of the dough while it ferments, and they stay sharp enough to cut the gluten strands you spent all that time building. The scald fixes both problems at once. You pour boiling water over the grains and let them sit. They soften, they drink their fill before they ever touch the dough, and the starch gelatinizes, which holds onto moisture through the bake. That's why this loaf stays soft for days instead of going to cardboard on day two. It's a sandwich loaf, so it's forgiving. Pan bread, no shaping drama, no scoring pressure. Good bake for anybody who's been nervous about jumping in. The yeasted version is live now: https://recipepantry.app/recipes/soft-multigrain-scald-sandwich-bread The sourdough version goes up this afternoon, so if you're baking with starter, watch for it. Read it through today, get your grains and your flour lined up, and make your scald the night before if that fits your Saturday better. Post your questions in the comments this week, not just Saturday morning. Somebody else is wondering the same thing. Post your loaves in the thread when they come out of the oven. Crumb shots too. That's how we all learn what the same recipe looks like in fifty different kitchens. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥

I've been quiet the last few days and it's been sitting on me. So let me pull up a chair and tell you where I've been, because you deserve to know. I've been on the phone. I've been in my inbox. I've been locking down things for this fall that I've wanted for us for a long time, and some of it is finally real. Here's what I can tell you. We're going to mill our own grain. Crust & Crumb Academy is now an official NutriMill partner. That part is signed. What it means for you is that home milling stops being the thing you read about and becomes the thing you actually do, with instruction, with settings that work, and with your own hand on the machine. I'm building a milling school for us this fall. Six weeks, start to finish, from the whole berry all the way to a holiday loaf made with flour you milled yourself. There are giveaways attached to it and I'm not going to describe how they work until the ink is dry, because I'm not going to promise you something and then walk it back. When it's locked, you'll hear it here first. I'm also talking with a family grain farm out west about getting real ancient grain into our hands for honest side by side testing. Nothing signed yet. The day it is, I'll tell you. The Holiday Bake is finished. Thirty five holiday recipes, and thirteen of them brand new, sitting in the Recipe Pantry. Panettone. Stollen. Fruitcake, including a sourdough version with no chemical leavening in it. Bremer Klaben. Julekaka. Danish kringle. A Christmas tree pull apart the kids can help with. It also has a make ahead calendar, because four of you asked me the same question in different words: when do I start? Now you'll know. And we've got nine bake along Saturdays running from September into the end of December, so nobody's doing this alone. https://skoo.ly/s/holiday-bake The Holiday Shoppers Guide is about 85 percent done. This one's a curated list, and I want to be clear about what curated means here. Nothing goes on it that I don't personally own and use. If it's not in my kitchen, it's not on the list. I'm working out discounts on those items that aren't available to the general public, and that's taking some phone calls, which is part of why I've been scarce.

Most bakers assume the best butter is the most expensive one on the shelf. The data says otherwise. I pulled prices on four unsalted butters at Walmart this week specifically for Croissant Bread Week, and what came back is worth knowing before you shop. 🛒 What it actually costs 🧈 Great Value Unsalted Size: 1 price: $3.06 Per ounce: about 19¢ Fat content: not listed, standard grocery butter is usually around 80% 🧈 Land O Lakes Unsalted Size: 1 lb Price: $4.46 Per ounce: about 28¢ Fat content: not listed, standard grocery butter is usually around 80% 🧈 Kerrygold Irish Unsalted Size: 8 Oz Price: $4.84 to $5.24 Per ounce: about 60 to 65¢ Fat content: higher fat, usually around 82% 🧈 Danish Creamery European Unsalted Size: 8 Oz Price: $3.44 Per ounce: about 43¢ Fat content: 85% butterfat, confirmed on the label Prices from Walmart, Columbia SC. 👀 Here’s what the numbers are telling you Danish Creamery is 85% butterfat. That’s the highest fat content of anything on that list, and it’s sitting there for $3.44. Kerry gold, the one everybody reaches for when they want to upgrade, costs about 60 to 65 cents an ounce. Danish Creamery beats it on butterfat. And it beats it on price. It’s not even close. 🥐 Why fat content matters for this bake Less water in the butter means cleaner layers. When your frozen butter shreds hit the oven, the water in that butter turns to steam and pushes the dough apart. That’s what gives you those flaky layers. Higher fat means: ✅ less water ✅ cleaner separation ✅ better layers ✅ more butter flavor in every bite 💵 Now here’s the per-loaf reality For Croissant Bread, you’re using one stick of butter for the lamination. That’s 4 ounces. Here’s what that stick actually costs: 🧈 Great Value: about 77 cents 🧈 Land O Lakes: about $1.12 🧈 Danish Creamery: about $1.72 🧈 Kerrygold: about $2.42 to $2.62 So going from standard grocery butter to the best lamination butter on that shelf costs about 95 cents more per loaf. That’s the whole upgrade.