Baking the Best of It

If you've been listening for a while, you've probably gathered that we are pie afficionados. So we've finally done The Pie Episode! We also developed a new pie recipe based on Potatoes and Molasses from Over the Garden Wall (yes). This pie episode is truly exhaustive enough that we go above and beyond to make a pie nobody asked for.

Roxie takes Fiona through some Halloween treat history before they bake a Charlotte Royale together! Come for the brain cake, stay for the hot takes about Halloween baking and style over substance. Happy Halloween!

The Bánh Mì is a perfect sandwich, a glorious harmony of crunch, acid, fat, freshness, and, of course: the shattery-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside bread. You may know that France's colonization (derogatory, always derogatory) of Vietnam contributed to the existence of the Bánh Mì, but the exact details of how are quite specific and, we think, fascinating. Fiona takes Roxie through the history before we detail how we made our own Bánh Mì bread and sandwiches!

This episode might be a little bit about pie. Our intentions here were to cover autumnal apple bakes and recipes that are not apple pie, and we did do that! But because we're so passionate about pie, piessonate, we also talk quite a bit about pie. Plus, a little something called Concord Grape Corner. Cozy up with a mug of tea or mulled cider and enjoy!   A good starter pie crust recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough/ Sources: Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, edited by Darra Goldstein, Oxford University Press, 2015 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Spy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious  

The ratio of historical context to baking content in this extra-long episode is approximately 75/25 because we feel that's appropriate! Angel food cake is so much more than a dry ring of fatless sponge found on grocery store shelves across the United States, it's a distillation of the historical role of "housewife" and how it evolved post-Industrial Revolution. Fiona tells Roxie about how domestic labor roles have evolved in Europe and the United States over the last 800 years and how that evolution relates to capitalism, racism, and gender. Plus, Roxie learns to stop worrying and love angel food cake. Patreon / Instagram / Twitter Sources: More Work for Mother by Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Basic Books, 1983 The Farmer's Wife by Helen Rebanks, Harper Horizon, 2023 The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, Oxford University Press, 2015 https://nonprofitquarterly.org/work-requirements-are-rooted-in-the-history-of-slavery/  

The story of the baguette involves Napoleonic military garb, microbes, (alleged) knife fights on underground construction sites, and ultimately a very tasty bread. Come get your crouquissant on with us. Patreon / Instagram / Twitter Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker%27s_yeast   https://wearegoodinbread.com/all-about-the-french-baguette/#:~:text=By%20a%20law%20enacted%20in,have%20sourdough%20starter%20in%20them.   https://www.britannica.com/topic/baguette-bread   https://www.chezjim.com/books/baguette/#nap   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguette#cite_note-chev-7  

The first cheesecake is closer in time to the construction of the Pyramids of Giza than it is to the creation of the Basque Cheesecake in the 1980s. To make fresh cheese desserts is to be human. We cover cheesecake past, present, and future and make a Basque Cheesecake!    Patreon / Instagram / Twitter Sources:  The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, Oxford University Press, 2015 https://devourtours.com/blog/san-sebastian-cheesecake/   https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/what-is-basque-burnt-cheesecake-where-to-eat-san-sebastian   https://smittenkitchen.com/2024/06/easy-basque-cheesecake/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPZxQ4WvgyI   https://greekreporter.com/2023/09/27/cheesecake-ancient-greece/  

The most important part of this episode is the discussion of UK tax code. We get into confusing cookie taxonomy, chocolate tempering, the bizarre hardtac of the Roman centurions, and bake three fabulous and very different cookies! Patreon / Instagram / Twitter Sources: The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, Oxford University Press, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQiii4pg4s8  https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/03/almond-biscotti/  https://levainbakery.com/pages/our-story  https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-best-way-to-temper-chocolate

  Part 3 of our introductory miniseries on our perfect tea party: Welcome to the Sugar Tier! The stars of this tier are a strawberry and lemon Battenberg cake and a rhubarb & custard mini tartlet. Lots of history in this one, as well as some diversions into our hot takes on fondant, decoration, and pie crust. Patreon / Instagram / Twitter   Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battenberg_cake http://foodhistorjottings.blogspot.com/2011/08/battenburg-cake-truth.html https://www.seriouseats.com/know-your-sweets-battenberg-cake https://labsalliebe.com/en/toot-colorful-persian-marzipan/#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20Toot%20dates,is%20noted%20to%20as%20Haremskonfekt.  

AKA The Butter Tier. We talk you through classic English scones and unravel the history and technique behind clotted cream, strange and wonderful beast that she is. Plus, lavender & lime shortbread! Patreon / Instagram / Twitter   Chef John's Clotted Cream: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-names-cream-clotted-cream.html Mary Berry's Scones: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tea_time_scones_77839  https://britishfoodhistory.com/2019/10/11/clotted-cream/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotted_cream  

Our first full episode and part 1 of our series on tea party baking! Some tea history to set the stage before we get into tier 1 of our 3-tiered tea party menu: our favorite sandwich bread and our twist on classic tea sandwiches. Patreon / Instagram / Twitter   Sources for this episode: The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, Edited by Tom Jaine, Oxford University Press Inc, 2006   For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History by Sarah Rose, Penguin Books, 2011   https://www.mackintosh-architecture.gla.ac.uk/catalogue/name/?nid=CransC   https://www.mackintoshatthewillow.com/2021/03/miss-catherine-cranston/   https://www.miaminewtimes.com/restaurants/tea-for-view-view-for-tea-6383242   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_in_the_United_Kingdom

Welcome to Baking the Best of It! Episode one out Friday, June 21   We're lifelong bakers and best friends who love sharing our recipes, baking experiments, and knowledge.    Patreon / Instagram / Twitter