Featured Baker of the Month

Britany DeFlorio | A Mom on a Quest to Achieve the Perfect Crumb.

@ciaobellabreads

With open crumb for days, this bake was achieved using: 103g King Arthur Bread Flour, 247g Bob’s Artisan Bread Flour, 25g Janie’s Mill Turkey Red flour, 75g starter, 8 g salt, 287+g water, and baked in her #ChallengerBreadPan at 480 degrees for 23 minutes (lid on), then 450 degrees for 25 minutes (lid off, using Challenger Inversion Method: full tutorial in our Baking Techniques ).

Tell us about your Starter.

I had the same starter for almost two years, but after it was neglected while I was on vacation, I struggled to rebalance it. That experience led me to experiment with creating new starters using fruit. I built one with pineapple juice and, after only nine days, I made the difficult decision to throw away the original starter that began my sourdough journey. Since then, I’ve also created a lievito madre for panettone using crushed grapes.

Who or what first inspired you to bake?

My biggest inspiration is my kids and husband. I started baking bread because I didn’t like the ingredients in store-bought loaves. It feels good knowing I’m nourishing my family with bread made the traditional way with simple, recognizable ingredients.

What's a tip or technique you'd like to share?

I think the pan is the secret! I really don’t do anything special. I preheat my oven and let the pan work its magic.

The Ultimate Bread Pan®

Discover the Challenger Bread Pan and fall in love with its perfectly placed handles (large enough for your oven mitts), its thick cast iron construction that ensures steady high heat, a tightly sealed environment for optimal steam creation, and its versatile design that accommodates numerous bread shapes and sizes.