Hidey Holes and Hooch Hounds

October 20, 2017

Design

A few years ago I had the great privilege of teaching bread classes in the Greystone mansion for the Institute of Domestic Technology. The mansion, located in Beverly Hills, was the most expensive home built in the 1920s. It was a gift from oil bazillionaire Edward Doheny to his son Ned Doheny. To put it mildly, things life did not go well for the family. The Doheny family almost brought down president Harding through their involvement in the Tea...

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Keep a Rye Starter!

Mr. Homegrown

September 29, 2023

Bread, Fermentation, Food

1 Comment

I took a pizza class at Josey Baker Bread in San Francisco this month and picked up a great tip from the instructor, JB pizza baker Caitlin (sorry did not get a last name!). She told us the bakery keeps a rye starter. This has two advantages: rye is more active so your starter will have a higher likelihood of success and you’ll always be ready to make a rye loaf. If you want a white or whole wheat dough all you have to do is add white or whole wh...

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That Time I Got Deplatformed

Mr. Homegrown

December 26, 2018

Thoughtstylings

6 Comments

...time, but back in September of 2017 a Meetup group I ran, The Los Angeles Bread Bakers got booted off its payment system, a Paypal competitor called WePay (as of October 2017, owned by JPMorgan Chase). Mike of WePay’s Orwelian “Customer Delight” department sent me this astonishingly rude email: Mike (WePay Support) Sep 1, 2017 1:56 PM PDT Hi there, We apologize for the inconvenience, but WePay is no longer able to process payments for your accoun...

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In Memory of the Rev. Peter Rood

Mr. Homegrown

April 23, 2023

Miscellaneous

10 Comments

...emakers he hosted book events for us. He collaborated with the Los Angeles Bread Bakers in building a community oven which became a place to gather for monthly bread and pizza parties. Peter had the same condition as Kelly and was very supportive during Kelly’s two open heart surgeries. He was a kind, creative and loving soul who will be greatly missed by so many people. I went though my photos to find pictures of Peter at work but he was always m...

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Starting a Sourdough Starter Talk at Artisinal LA

Mr. Homegrown

October 11, 2013

Bread, Events, Food

4 Comments

...I’ll be doing a short talk at Artisinal LA this Sunday October 13th at 4pm on how to start a sourdough starter. Artisinal LA (yep, the “A” word) is a showcase of local small food vendors. In case you’re not in LA this is what I’ll be demonstrating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bGLF8B_pZ0 Mark Stambler, who co-founded the LA Bread Bakers with me and Teresa Sitz, will also be doing a talk on baking bread at 4pm on Saturday....

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