Saving Bread

Saving Bread explores sourdough, grain, fermentation, craftsmanship, and the people keeping real bread alive. Join baker and educator Allison White for practical lessons and thoughtful conversations with bakers, millers, farmers, oven makers, and others shaping the future of bread. Long live real bread.

Saving Bread is a education podcast hosted by Allison, with 14 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Allison hosts Saving Bread, a education show with 14 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #14

  Interviews E07 Tom Cucuzza of The Sourdough Journey: Bulk Fermentation & Starter Health

  Aug 19, 20261h 2mS1

  Send us a question or voice memo! How do you actually know when bulk fermentation is finished? What makes a sourdough starter strong and healthy? And how can understanding the science of fermentation help you become a more intuitive baker? This week on Saving Bread , Allison White talks with Tom Cucuzza, creator of The Sourdough Journey , about his years of experimentation with sourdough bread, starter health and bulk fermentation. Tom has built an enormous body of educational work around understanding what is actually happening inside our starters and doughs. In this episode, we get into the details. We talk about: Sourdough starter strength and accumulated acidity Why repeatedly underfeeding a starter can create problems over time Tom’s peak-to-peak feeding method How to recognize when your sourdough starter has reached peak How to judge the end of bulk fermentation Dough temperature and percentage rise Why fermentation does not stop when bulk fermentation ends Gluten development and using the windowpane test throughout fermentation Pre-shaping, bench rest, shaping and cold retard Refrigerator temperature and continued fermentation Using pH as one tool rather than a hard-and-fast fermentation endpoint How changing one variable at a time can help you learn faster Developing baker’s intuition through observation and experimentation The relationship between science, precision and creativity in bread baking Tom describes himself as both analytical and artistic. For him, understanding the science is not the final goal. It gives him more opportunities to create the bread he wants to make. We also talk about why sourdough should not feel like an exclusive hobby and Tom’s belief that everyone should be able to learn how to make bread. LEARN MORE FROM TOM CUCZZA + THE SOURDOUGH JOURNEY The Sourdough Journey website https://thesourdoughjourney.com/ Instagram: @the_sourdough_journey https://www.instagram.com/the_sourdough_journey/ The Sourdough Journey on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thesourdoughjourney Sourdough videos and Mastering Bulk Fermentation resources https://thesourdoughjourney.com/videos/ SAVING BREAD Instagram: @savingbreadpodcast https://www.instagram.com/savingbreadpodcast/ Saving Bread is a podcast about sourdough, bread baking, whole grains, fermentation and the people working to preserve and move bread culture forward. Hosted by Allison White.

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  Episode #13

  Interviews E06 Parker Cook of Basil & Bloom: Becoming a Better Baker, Building Trust and Learning Sourdough

  Aug 12, 20261h 3mS1

  Send us a question or voice memo! This week on Saving Bread, Allison talks with Parker Cook, baker, educator and content creator behind Basil & Bloom. Parker has built a large online community teaching sourdough bread baking, fermentation, starter maintenance, whole grains, freshly milled flour and microbakery production. But there is already a lot of information online about how Parker makes bread. This conversation looks more at the person behind that information. Parker shares how he went from learning to cook while living in Italy to working as a research and development chef, and how that analytical background shaped the way he approaches sourdough today. They talk about how Parker actually learns a new technique, why he tests ideas repeatedly and side by side, the importance of building experience through repetition, and why becoming a better baker may be as much about becoming a better observer as it is about collecting more information. Parker and Allison also get into what makes an online educator trustworthy. Parker talks about creating content from real questions within his community, simplifying complicated baking concepts without losing the useful information, and the responsibility that comes with recommending products to a large audience. The conversation also covers beginner sourdough mistakes, bulk fermentation, sourdough starter maintenance, stiff starters, freshly milled flour, whole grain baking, microbakery systems, content creation, entrepreneurship and building Basil & Bloom alongside Parker's wife and business partner, Camille. They finish by talking about being open to different approaches to bread and Parker's belief that there are no strict rules in sourdough, only techniques that help you make the bread you want to make. FOLLOW AND SUPPORT PARKER Basil & Bloom Basil & Bloom website Instagram Follow @eatbasilandbloom on Instagram School of Sourdough and online baking courses Explore Parker's sourdough courses Whole grain, freshly milled flour and additional courses Basil & Bloom course library Parker's Picks and affiliate links Shop Parker's recommended baking tools and products If you enjoy Parker's free educational content and purchase a product he recommends, using his affiliate links is one way to directly support Basil & Bloom. If you enjoyed this episode, follow Saving Bread, leave a rating or review and share the episode with another baker. Long live real bread.

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  Saving Bread

  Interviews E05 Inside Great Bakes with Martin Sorge: Local Grains, Rye and Midwest Baking

  Aug 5, 20261h 3m

  Send us a question or voice memo! This week on Saving Bread, Allison talks with Martin Sorge, self taught baker, writer, winner of The Great American Baking Show and author of the new cookbook Great Bakes: Modern Classic Recipes from the Midwest. Martin has spent more than a decade baking with local flour, whole grains and unique grain varieties, and his approach makes experimenting with unfamiliar ingredients feel surprisingly approachable. In this conversation, Martin and Allison talk about why flour deserves the same attention we give local produce, cheese and other regional foods, and how getting to know the grain itself can completely change the way we bake. Martin shares one of his favorite ways to test a flour he has never used before: make a very simple shortbread and let the flavor of the grain speak for itself. They also get into rye bread and some of the misconceptions surrounding it. Martin explains why the flavor many Americans associate with rye is actually caraway, how rye dough behaves differently from wheat dough, why acidity and sourdough are so important in high percentage rye breads and why some traditional rye loaves are actually better when you wait until the next day to cut into them. The conversation also covers buckwheat, spelt, black emmer, soft honey emmer dinner rolls, local grain from Janie’s Mill, German bread culture and Martin’s experience baking with Arnd Erbel in his centuries old bakery in Dachsbach, Germany. Martin also shares what competing on The Great American Baking Show taught him about trusting simple flavors and his own point of view, why failed bakes are an important part of becoming a better baker and why he believes bread deserves to be brought back to the center of the table. Great Bakes: Modern Classic Recipes from the Midwest is available now and includes more than 100 sweet and savory recipes inspired by the ingredients, people and baking traditions of the Midwest. Follow Martin on Instagram: @martinsorge Martin Sorge: martinbakes.com Great Bakes: martinbakes.com/books Martin’s upcoming cookbook events and classes: martinbakes.com/events Janie’s Mill: janiesmill.com Arnd Erbel and Bäckerei Erbel in Dachsbach, Germany: arnderbel.de If you enjoyed this episode, follow Saving Bread and share it with another baker. Ratings, reviews and sharing the podcast are some of the best ways to help more people find these conversations. Long live real bread. Martin Sorge, Great Bakes, Great Bakes cookbook, Modern Classic Recipes from the Midwest, The Great American Baking Show, whole grain baking, whole grain flour, rye bread, rye sourdough, sourdough bread, local grain, local flour, ancient grains, black emmer, emmer flour, buckwheat flour, spelt flour, Janie’s Mill, German bread, German baking, artisan bread, bread baking, sourdough baking, Midwest baking, baking podcast, bread podcast, Saving Bread podcast

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  Episode #11

  Interviews E04 Stone Milled Flour and Whole Grain Sourdough with Baylin Speidel of Chimacum Valley Grainery

  Jul 29, 20261h 28mS1

  Send us a question or voice memo! What changes when flour stops being the background of a loaf and becomes the whole party? In this episode of Saving Bread, Allison talks with baker and miller Baylin Speidel, head baker at Chimacum Valley Grainery in Chimacum, Washington. Chimacum Valley Grainery brings farming, stone milling, baking, malting, and brewing together on one property. Baylin shares how working this closely with grain transformed the way she understands flour, flavor, fermentation, and bread. Baylin walks us through what happens when a wheat berry passes through a stone mill and explains the meaning of extraction rate, high extraction flour, and one hundred percent whole grain flour. She also shares a practical and encouraging path for bakers who want to begin using more local and freshly milled grain without changing everything at once. You can begin with a familiar bread formula, replace five or twenty percent of the flour, observe what changes, and slowly build your confidence from there. For bakers ready to use larger percentages of whole grain flour, Baylin offers guidance on choosing a flour blend, increasing hydration, shortening mixing time, using an autolyse and bassinage, managing levain percentage, and paying attention to fermentation. She explains why whole grain dough often needs more water than expected, why fresh flour benefits from a gentler approach, and why the way a dough feels is often more important than the hydration number written on the formula. This conversation is also about the relationships behind a loaf of bread. Baylin and Allison discuss the importance of connecting bakers with farmers, millers, grain breeders, and other bakers. They explore how curiosity, communication, and community can help create a stronger and more resilient local grain economy. Whether you are curious about stone milled flour, beginning to experiment with whole grains, or already baking with one hundred percent extraction flour, this episode offers practical guidance and plenty of encouragement to keep learning. IN THIS EPISODE How stone milling works Stone milled flour compared with roller milled flour What extraction rate means High extraction flour and whole grain flour How to begin using local flour Starting with five or twenty percent whole grain Choosing strong and supporting grains for a flour blend Hydration for whole grain sourdough Autolyse and bassinage Mixing fresh milled flour with a gentler touch Using levain percentage to manage fermentation How dough temperature and dough mass affect fermentation Building relationships with local farmers and millers The farming, milling, baking, malting, and brewing model at Chimacum Valley Grainery LINKS AND RESOURCES Chimacum Valley Grainery https://chimacumgrain.com Order stone milled flour and Grainery goods https://chimacumgrain.com/store Chimacum Valley Grainery workshops https://chimacumgrain.com/workshops Follow Chimacum Valley Grainery on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chimacumgrain Follow Baylin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thedustedstone KEY WORDS Baylin Speidel, Chimacum Valley Grainery, stone milled flour, whole grain sourdough, fresh milled flour, freshly milled flour, high extraction flour, extraction rate, sourdough bread, whole wheat sourdough, artisan bread, local grain, local flour, flour milling, stone milling, bread hydration, autolyse, bassinage, levain, pre fermented flour, bread fermentation, production baking, organic grain, grain farming, local grain economy, Washington grain, Olympic Peninsula, Saving Bread podcast

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  Episode #9

  Rabbit Hole E02 Pineapple Sourdough Starters, Beloved’s Bakery & Meaningful Inclusions

  Jul 22, 202639 minS1

  Send us a question or voice memo! Ally and Leah are back down the Rabbit Hole for a casual conversation about sourdough experiments, bakery field trips, and the stories we tell through bread. Inspired by Sourdough Culture by Eric Pallant, Leah creates a sourdough starter from scratch for the first time—funky smells, mysterious liquid, daily feedings and all. Meanwhile, Ally compares a traditional flour-and-water starter with one made using pineapple juice. They discuss false rises, acidity, starter pH, unpleasant early-stage bacteria and whether the pineapple juice method actually makes creating a starter easier. Then they recap their visit to Beloved’s Bakery & Café in Reno, Nevada, where they sampled sourdough bread, bialys, pretzels and an impressive assortment of laminated pastries. Finally, they go deep on inclusions in bread. Are jalapeño cheddar and cranberry walnut loaves simply delicious products that customers love—or can inclusions become something more? Ally and Leah explore how local, seasonal and culturally meaningful ingredients can help bakers differentiate their work, celebrate their communities and turn a loaf of bread into a story. This episode is an invitation to experiment, stay curious and consider not only what goes into your bread, but why it belongs there. KEYWORDS sourdough starter, pineapple juice sourdough starter, pineapple starter method, how to make sourdough starter, starter from scratch, sourdough culture, Eric Pallant, Debra Wink, sourdough starter pH, sourdough false rise, sourdough bacteria, beginner sourdough, bread inclusions, sourdough inclusions, artisan bread, artisan bakery, Beloved’s Bakery Reno, whole grain bread, local grain, cottage bakery, bakery business, seasonal bread, jalapeño cheddar sourdough, community baking, Saving Bread podcast, Matriarch Bread LINKS & MENTIONS Sourdough Culture by Eric Pallant https://www.ericpallant.com/book/sourdough-culture/ Debra Wink’s Pineapple Juice Solution — Part One https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1 Debra Wink’s Pineapple Juice Solution — Part Two https://www.thefreshloaf.com/10901/pineapple-juice-solution-part-2 Kathryn Shields — Amore Fermentum Instagram: @amore_fermentum https://www.instagram.com/amore_fermentum/ Laila — The Early Rise Instagram: @theearlyrisebaker https://www.instagram.com/theearlyrisebaker/ Alexandra Allen — Wild Woman Bakery Instagram: @wildwomanbakery https://www.instagram.com/wildwomanbakery/ Beloved’s Bakery & Café 299 E Plumb Lane, Suite 129 Reno, Nevada https://www.belovedsbread.com/ Instagram: @belovedsbread https://www.instagram.com/belovedsbread/ Love, Yvonne Cakes Instagram: @ love.yvonne https://www.instagram.com/_love.yvonne_/ Graison Gill Instagram: @graisongill https://www.instagram.com/graisongill/ Sarah Owens Instagram: @sarah_c_owens https://www.instagram.com/sarah_c_owens/ Music by Joshua from DOPE.

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