The Sustainable Baker
The Sustainable Baker
Caroline Saunders
A miniseries about baking in the era of climate crisis. In each episode, host Caroline Saunders asks questions like: Will birthday cake as we know it survive climate change? And what would climate-resilient bread taste like? She interviews pastry chefs, plant breeders, climate experts, and bakers, all in the name of coming up with a more sustainable way of baking that'll keep the future looking sweet. Follow along on Instagram at @sustainablebaker, and access recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com.
Can our daily bread be nutritious and affordable?
If there’s one baked good that needs makeover while we’re rebuilding our food system for climate change, it’s sliced bread. On the final episode of The Sustainable Baker podcast miniseries, we hear from people taking the humble American sandwich loaf back to the drawing board to make it more nutritious and affordable. And Katherine Kehrli of Community Loaves shares a recipe for a Honey Oat Pan Loaf, available on www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker  More Resources Look into Community Loaves, especially if you’re in the Pacific Northwest Check out Mediterra Bakehouse if you’re in Pittsburgh, and follow them on Instagram Check out The Bread Lab’s work, and follow them on Instagram too
Nov 1, 2021
28 min
Can regional mills make flour more resilient?
Empty flour shelves during the pandemic weren’t just a passing annoyance for all the quarantined sourdough converts. They were also a sign that our food system and its industrialized supply chains are fragile, which isn’t so great in the era of climate change. In this episode, host Caroline Saunders traces the past 150 years of flour history, and the efforts by millers like Kevin Morse and Jennifer Lapidus to bring flour back to its regional roots. Jennifer Lapidus shares a recipe for white wheat cake, available on www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker More Resources Amy Halloran’s useful list of regional mills across the US, sorted by state Check out Cairnspring Mills, and follow them on Instagram Check out Southern Ground, Carolina Ground founder Jennifer Lapidus’s new cookbook, and follow Carolina Ground on Instagram Drop by Bellegarde Bakery if you’re in New Orleans, and follow the bakery on Instagram Keep an eye out for The Bread Book, Tartine Bakery founder Chad Robertson’s forthcoming cookbook
Oct 25, 2021
26 min
Do we need new grains because of climate change?
Cakes, pies, bread, you name it – there’s perhaps no ingredient more central to American baking than flour. But what does climate change have in store for wheat? And are we going to need new or different grains because of climate change? Host Caroline Saunders investigates, talking with Dr. Stephen Jones of the WSU Bread Lab and Dr. Tessa Peters of the Land Institute. And she shares a recipe for perennial-grown Kernza bread, available on www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker More Resources Add the fabulous Tartine Bread to your cookbook collection, if you haven’t already Check out The Bread Lab’s work, and follow them on Instagram Check out The Land Institute’s work with Kernza, and follow them on Instagram, too Follow New Orleans-based Bellegarde Bakery, founded by Graison Gill, on Instagram
Oct 18, 2021
30 min
How can we bake our way out of food waste?
A major contributor to climate change happens right in our kitchens: food waste. But why is it so hard to solve? And how can home bakers bake it away, deliciously? In this episode, host Caroline Saunders traces the evolution of food waste in American cooking – and tips to solve it – with columnist and professor Amanda Little, climate expert Kari Hamerschlag, and cookbook authors Anne Byrn and Anne-Marie Bonneau. The Zero Waste Chef Anne-Marie Bonneau shares a recipe for sourdough discard chocolate cake, available on www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker More Resources Follow the Zero Waste Chef Anne-Marie Bonneau on Instagram and check out her cookbook Follow cookbook author Anne Byrn on Instagram and check out her newest cookbook, A New Take on Cake, available for preorder now Follow Amanda Little on Instagram and Twitter and check out her book The Fate of Food Check out Friends of the Earth US’s work www.foe.org Check out Michael Mann’s book The New Climate War
Oct 11, 2021
27 min
Does the world need to switch to vegan croissants?
We’ve all heard red meat is bad for the planet. But what about baked goods? In this episode, host Caroline Saunders talks with Kari Hamerschlag from Friends of the Earth to learn about the carbon impact of common baking ingredients like flour, eggs, and that holy grail of all things that flake – butter. And what we learn may require a new way of baking. We follow vegan pastry chef Juan Gutierrez through the practice of plant-based pastry, and come out the other end with some tips for low-carbon baking and a recipe for vegan oreo cruffins, available on www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker More Resources Follow pastry chef Juan Gutierrez on Instagram Read the Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health Check out Friends of the Earth US’s work at www.foe.org Follow baker Said M’Dahoma on Instagram and YouTube
Oct 4, 2021
30 min
Vanilla: Climate victim or solution?
Whether vanilla ice cream makes you swoon or makes you yawn, there’s no denying that without vanilla, many of our favorite desserts would fall flat. But are vanilla and other spices in danger from climate change? We get the inside scoop from spice researcher and professor A. B. Sharangi and Executive Director of the Sustainable Food Lab Don Seville, along with some pro tips for how home bakers can help chart a climate-smart future for this delicious baking spice. And baker Said M’Dahoma shares a recipe for vanilla pastry cream that listeners can find on www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker More resources Follow baker Said M’Dahoma on Instagram and YouTube Check out The Sustainable Vanilla Initiative's work  Check out Professor A B Sharangi’s book Indian Spices Follow cookbook author Anne Byrn on Instagram and check out her newest cookbook, A New Take on Cake, available for preorder now Follow Amanda Little on Instagram and Twitter and check out her book The Fate of Food
Sep 27, 2021
30 min
Will birthday cake survive climate change?
What would a chocolate birthday cake taste like without… chocolate? Well, the climate crisis may force us to find out. Because while the food system has been driving climate change, now climate change is biting back – and delicious foods are at risk, including the key ingredients in chocolate cake. Host Caroline Saunders digs in, interviewing the author of The Fate of Food Amanda Little, and even baking a “Climate Disaster Cake” that may be the centerpiece at birthday parties in the future. Listen along and then try the recipe for yourself at www.sustainablebaker.com. Connect with The Sustainable Baker Read the latest blog posts and find recipes from the show at www.sustainablebaker.com Follow the show on instagram @sustainablebaker More Resources Follow Amanda Little on Instagram and Twitter and check out her book The Fate of Food Kate Wood’s fantastic recipe for Chocolate Cake
Sep 26, 2021
20 min
The Sustainable Baker Trailer
How is climate change going to affect dessert? And bread? And all the tasty things we love to bake? On Monday, September 27, join host Caroline Saunders for a special series on baking in the era of climate crisis. In this seven-part miniseries, we'll learn what it means to bake sustainably in the next, hotter stage of life on earth.  Follow along on Instagram at @sustainablebaker. More information available at www.sustainablebaker.com.
Sep 20, 2021
2 min