We headed to the bake kitchen just in time to catch an incredible sunrise.
Such amazing colors!
The Farm bread we made yesterday that baked after we left.
It first hits you with the aroma of dark, toasted wheat. Then, as you take your first bite, and the thick, caramelized crust gives way to a soft but substantial interior, you taste a delightful nuttiness from the grains with a touch of sourness and a bit of sweetness. This one is baked darker than some other loaves to get the desired flavor.
First up today is pecan raisin bread. A half pound of big, juicy Red Flame raisins and 1/2 pound of toasted pecans are baked into every loaf made with organic flour. Calling it dense is an understatement. It's very firm, something you'll want to be ready for. (Some folks think it's stale, but with all the fruit it's almost impossible for this to go dry in less than a week.)
The New York Times raved that it "redefines the category" of breads baked with fruit and nuts, and I don't think anyone has caught up with it yet.
It’s a very wet and sticky dough.
Ready for the final proof
Scoring the pecan raisin
Spritzing the loaves
Finished product
We started this bread at 8:35 and it came out of the oven at 4/00.
French Baguette: The Law-Breaking Loaf
Did you know baguettes were born out of a law that forbade Parisian bakers from starting their day before 4 AM? In 1920, these crafty bakers whipped up long, thin loaves that have since become the poster child for French cuisine—because who has time to wait for rustic bread to rise?
Alright, I just had to share this gem of me strutting down the streets of Paris with baguettes stuffed in my bag like they’re the latest fashion accessory. Oh, and did I mention we were also taking a cooking class here? Because, you know, why not combine carbs and culinary chaos!
The baguettes have very few ingredients
Shaping the baguettes
The instructor dropped Jo Anne’s baguette. You can see from the pic below that it didn’t look too great before she dropped it either 😂
Scoring our baguettes
In the oven
We've experienced a true taste of Paris right here in Ann Arbor. Now, if you think commercial baguettes are the real deal, think again! Most are as soft and bland as yesterday’s news. These baguettes are crispier than a Frenchman’s attitude when you ask for ketchup on fries! We kicked things off yesterday with a flavorful poolish (that’s fancy baker talk for a pre-ferment) made with organic wheat flour, water, and yeast. Baked directly on a stone hearth until they achieve that perfect golden hue, these baguettes are meant to be torn open and devoured on the same day they’re born. Pair them with fresh cheese or a simple tomato salad, and voilà ! You’ve got an impressive appetizer that took zero effort. It’s a win-win, or as the French say, “Gagner, gagner!”
The baguettes took about 5 1/2 hours, not counting the time making the poolish yesterday.
Look at all those amazing holes.
The chef made some English muffins from the same dough as the baguettes
Next up: country miche (multigrain)
Country Multigrain: The Bread of Champions
Country Multigrain Bread (formerly known as Country Miche, French for “loaf” and typically refers to the large size and round shape of traditional French country bread) is made with a flavorful combination of whole grains including organic buckwheat, regional high extraction hard red spring wheat, regional organic spelt, and Midwest organic rye. This one is also naturally leavened.
Our mise en place
Mixing up the dough
Flipping the dough out and scoring
The fully fermented, aromatic dough is beautifully speckled from the ground buckwheat hulls and boldly baked to a dark caramelized crust, which brings out the grains’ natural sweetness and gives the bread a deep, complex flavor and moist texture. It’s like a flavor explosion in your mouth!
We started this bread at 9:20 and it came out of the oven at about 3:30. It started with a bulk ferment, then 4 folds at 30 min intervals, followed by dividing and shaping the dough and a final proof.
We had pizza for lunch from the pizza dough made yesterday.
With Caesar salad
And fruit and cookies/brownies for dessert
After lunch we made pitas and banana bread
Rolled out pita
Final product
These took about 5 hours start to finish
Banana Bread: The Ultimate Upgrade
Banana Bread: the classic comfort food that just got a makeover! We’re talking fresh ingredients like sweet butter, real vanilla, and, of course, a bunch of organic bananas—peels and all! Yes, you heard me right; we’re going full-on “less is more” here. Using whole bananas means more flavor, texture, and nutrition. Plus, we’ve added freshly milled whole grains from Michigan’s own Kischnick Farms, milled right here in-house. With 60% freshly milled flour, this banana bread is not just a snack; it’s a flavor-packed, moist masterpiece that’ll have you questioning why you ever settled for the boring stuff!
This is what we each baked and left the kitchen with today. Hmmm. Wonder how much of this will make it home with us.
Food for Thought
God sees the end from the beginning and treasures every step of creation. Even in those messy, unfinished moments, He’s right there with us, understanding our deepest needs—He never loses sight of us!
The name El Roi, in Genesis 16, is during a tough time for Hagar. Alone and wandering in the desert, she met the angel of the Lord. In that moment of desperation, she realized she wasn’t invisible to the Creator. Her declaration, "You are the God who sees me," reminds us that He notices our silent struggles, our hidden tears, and the parts of our stories that often go unnoticed. Being seen by God isn’t about shame or judgment; it’s about embracing a deep sense of belonging and worth, no matter what the world thinks.
When God asks us questions like "Where have you come from?" and "Where are you going?," it’s not because He doesn’t know. It’s more about helping us recognize our situation and our need for healing and connection before He unveils the solutions He’s already prepared for us. These paths might lead us to refreshing springs or ask us to revisit tough spots, but trust me, He’s right there beside us every step of the way.
So, what deserts and wildernesses have you found yourself in? Grief, change, despair, hopelessness, pain, shattered dreams, spiritual dryness, loneliness? Have you built walls to keep yourself from being truly seen? Maybe it's time to let El Roi meet you in those places, to show you that you are seen, known, and valued.
Every morning, as I reflected on the names of God and dove into their meanings, I was inspired to create—maybe a painting or a collage. I think when I get home, it’s time to start an art journal, filled with the beautiful names of God! I know of at least 200 so it may not be all inclusive, but what lessons I have learned just from looking at His names. I'm always amazed at how every aspect of His word speaks, when we really dig in and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate it for us.
Tomorrow it's an early morning flight to Dallas, and then on to Lubbock for Jo Anne. Please be in prayer for her as she will have one day at home before having hip replacement surgery.
Welcome to the final two days of our BAKE!-Cation, where two glorious days turn you into a yeast professional! This is the ultimate playground for home bakers.
Over the next two days the only thing rising faster than our dough is the fun! This will be a classroom brimming with laughter, expert bakers, and enough flour to start a bakery (or a snowstorm, depending on how things go). And our BAKE!-Cation today and tomorrow comes with breakfast and lunch—because who can bake on an empty stomach? We made sure to pack an extra suitcase to haul back many of the delectable goodies we've whipped up!
It's a weekend extravaganza of bread baking that’s so intense, it's a shame it doesn't qualify as a workout! Our bread lineup, includes fan favorites like Farm Bread, Jewish Rye, and French Baguettes. But wait, there’s more! We’ll also bake some top-secret recipes, like Country Multigrain and a tantalizing demo of Chocolate Cherry. And because we believe in balance (and a little sweetness), we’ll finish things off with beloved Banana Bread—because what’s a baking adventure without a little potassium? Are you ready to 'rise' to the occasion? :)
Farmhouse Bread: The French Countryside Experience
Imagine sitting down to dinner around a large farmhouse table, somewhere in the French countryside. This would be the bread served at the start of the meal. To make the Farm bread, we started with the star of all naturally leavened breads: the sourdough starter. Then we added organic wheat flour, a handful of freshly milled whole wheat flour, water, and sea salt. Perhaps the most important ingredient though is time; it can be up to 17 hours from the time you mix the starter to the time you bake. But trust me, it makes your morning toast and sandwiches feel like they just got a VIP upgrade!
Our classroom
Instructor showing us how to knead the dough.
Kneading the farm bread dough
Kneading the dough
Every hour for three hours we did a fold.
Loaves are placed in the banneton baskets, face down.
After final proof we turn them out and make the cuts with a lame
Turning the loaf out onto the oven rack
Loaves are scored and ready for the oven.
an amazing contraption to get the loaves all into the oven
We went into the bakery and watched the pros scoring the loaves. You can tell they have a bit of practice. This bread was an all day process. We had just put it in the oven right before we left for the day.
Jewish Rye: The Bread That’s Seen It All
Let’s talk about Jewish rye bread. This isn’t just any loaf; it’s made from a natural rye sour that gets its daily dose of love, yeast, and organic wheat flour, along with freshly milled Michigan rye and ground caraway. This bread has been the unsung hero of Zingerman’s Deli’s famous Reuben sandwiches since 1992. Traditional Jewish rye is practically an endangered species in the U.S., which means we need to treat it like the rare gem it is.
This isn’t just any rye; it’s the rye your grandparents would’ve devoured on the Lower East Side in New York. With about 25% rye flour (most American “rye bread” is more like a sad loaf of white bread in disguise), it also features a “natural rye sour” and an “old” (mush made from leftover rye bread and water). Yes, that’s a real thing! It’s like a time machine connecting the past and present while giving a cheeky nod to our frugal ancestors. Throw in some ground caraway and locally sourced organic rye from Janie’s Mill, and you’ve got yourself a loaf that Saveur magazine dubbed “America’s very best rye.” No pressure or anything!
We learned how to make a rye sour: there are diced onions and caraway seeds in the cheese cloth that we pushed down into a mixture of rye flour, a tiny amount of yeast and water. Tomorrow we will take out the bag and will be left with the rye sour used to make the Jewish rye bread.
Shaping the rye bread into a batard and baguettes.
A batard looks like a football
Our finished loaves of Jewish rye
Chocolate Cherry: Dessert in Bread Form
Oh yes, you read that right: chocolate bread is a thing, and it’s even better than you can dream! This is for all the chocoholics out there. The dough is infused with cocoa and 68% bittersweet dark chocolate from artisan pals at French Broad Chocolate in Asheville. Then, she threw in chunks of semi-sweet dark chocolate and Michigan dried cherries. Pop it in the oven, and soon the kitchen was smelling like a cocoa factory exploded. I can’t wait to make this one at home. Spread it with a hint of sweet butter or plop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and you’ve got yourself a dessert that’ll make you weak in the knees!
Scrumptious! Jo Anne was not a huge fan but I was. She doesn’t like cherries with her chocolate.
We also had a pizza dough demonstration and will be having pizza for lunch tomorrow with the dough she made. Yay!
Today for lunch we had soup, sandwiches, 1/2 cookie and a brownie bite, my sandwich was roasted red pepper, mozzarella and pesto on focaccia. Jo Anne had the the 3 piggy.
What a day! Besides the demos and two breads we made today, we made a levain for the multigrain bread we’re making tomorrow, a rye sour, a stiff starter and a poolish for the French baguettes we’ll make tomorrow.
This is our freezer even without all the goodies we’ve shared with our hostess.
The sun is setting on another glorious day.
Meet Jean, our adorable little hostess! She had one of the chicken pot pies today and said she was going to take one over to her neighbor but decided after she ate it, she was keeping them all for herself. She was struggling to stand, said she needed to sit down, and we figured it was her hip acting up. But then she casually dropped, "I started drinking early today." Let’s just say we raced down those stairs, barely holding ourselves together!
Food for Thought
Ever have those moments when you feel like something in your life is just running out—whether it's time, strength, hope, or patience? Well the name I looked at this morning was revealed for exactly that moment, and it speaks to me loudly in this season of life. El Olam, "The Everlasting God" or "God of the Ages."
Take a look at Genesis 21:33. "Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God." Here’s a man who had been wandering for decades, yet he chooses to plant a tree and declare God’s name in a way that's easy to overlook. Abraham, at this point, was old and weary, worn out from years of following a God who kept asking him to wait a little longer. After settling a dispute over a well and making peace with a local king, he finally plants a tamarisk tree—hardwood, long-lived, the kind that lasts long after the planter is gone. And right beside that tree, he calls on El Olam.
El Olam isn’t just about "forever" in a vague way; it’s rooted in a beautiful Hebrew concept that points to the horizon—the spot where our sight fades and the world feels limitless. Picture yourself standing on a beach, gazing at that perfect line where the ocean kisses the sky. Kody, I’m remembering walking on that beach in Ireland looking out to the endless sea. El Olam serves as a reminder that God is already waiting for us beyond our vision, always present, even when everything else seems to fall short.
Maybe you’re facing a medical situation with a timeline you didn’t choose. Or perhaps you’re dealing with a financial burden that’s been weighing you down, forcing you to do the math at 2:00 a.m., desperately searching for something that just isn’t there. Maybe it’s a relationship—a marriage, a wayward child or grandchild, or a friendship that’s starting to fray, and you’re not sure how much longer you can hold on before it all breaks apart.
Or maybe it’s something harder to identify—just the slow erosion of faith, the creeping doubt that anything is ever going to change. Beneath it all, there’s a fear that we often don’t voice: the fear that God’s patience might have a limit, that He’s waiting for us to figure things out, and we haven’t done it yet. The fear that the window for change is closing, that what was once available may not be for much longer.
This is why Abraham called on El Olam—not in a moment of victory, but in a quiet, reflective moment after years of wandering. By planting that tree, he was defiantly declaring, the God I serve isn’t bound by my timeline. He doesn’t run out when I feel depleted.
We all have our vanishing points, but El Olam doesn’t. Just like Abraham, I choose to plant something in faith today. I’m trusting that what I can’t see past, He’s already holding. He is El Olam. He doesn't have a vanishing point, and everything I trust to Him is safe in His forever.
As Isaiah 40:28 reminds us, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable." And in Psalm 90:2, we find, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
I hope that encourages you and gives you hope as it has me today!
