taylor's tastebuds

Continuing through my King Arthur Baking School Journey, it is time for the sourdough chapter. The chapter begins by instructing on how to make a sourdough starter, a good first step in sourdough baking. Although I've owned this book for a few years, I only recently began my baking journey. Using this guide, I made my first starter in early 2025. Unfortunately, I dropped and shattered the container, leading to a brief sourdough hiatus. Later, when a coworker asked me for a st

Last week, I shared my reflections about the first half of the yeasted breads chapter of the King Arthur Baking School book, as well as my start to the journey of baking through this book cover to cover. I am still chugging along through this journey, and I can say I am eating more food fully prepared in my own home now, than ever. I am in a two person household though, and trying to bake through this book much faster than we can eat everything, while also completing other p

Chapter 1 of the King Arthur Baking Company book, Baking School, is on the topic of yeasted breads. With this chapter, I was introduced to the various ingredients in bread, as well as their functionality, and what happens if you substitute ingredients, and how to manipulate the recipe to still bake properly with these changes. Essential equipment is also introduced in this section. I ended up investing in a large baking stone for my oven, various bread bannetons, a couche for

I am beginning my baking journey with the King Arthur Baking Company book, Baking School. This book shares recipes, techniques, guides, and tips to develop one's skills as a baker, no matter where you start. I chose to start baking my way through this book because the introduction of this book heavily emphasizes  that the purpose of the book is understanding how and why certain techniques, ingredients, and equipment may be used in a recipe, which is exactly the information I

During my time at the Culinary Institute of America, I earned my Bachelor's degrees in Applied Food Studies and Culinary Arts. The Culinary Arts credits in my degree heavily focused on savory cooking, with classes such as "Introduction to A la Carte Cookery", "Modern Banquets", and "High Volume Cookery". I took hands-on theory classes; we studied and fabricated fish and meat. I studied the cuisines of the Mediterranean, the Americas, and Asia, and while in those classes, I ha

Here is a little look at some of the meals and snacks I have had over the past couple of days as a busy culinary student. Some of these...

I currently live in a dorm room with limited space for storage, cooking, and living. This means, while I love coffee and exciting ways to...