Friends, hello.

This week, I spent a few days in Philadelphia for a pizza class I was teaching at ​The Bread Room​, the recently opened bakery by Ellen Yin, the owner of ​Fork​, where I worked many years ago.

During class, we made the Neapolitan-style pizza dough from Pizza Night​ and topped it with four different topping combinations: 3 from Pizza Night and one with crème fraîche and persimmons, which I will write more about soon.

It was a blast to be back in the city, highlights including the baguette I brought home from The Bread Room — highly recommend! — and the dumplings at Kalaya, where we ate for dinner one night... they were tiny and delicious and so very cute:

​The Bread Room: ​

This weekend, I plan on making more soup and bread. Yesterday, I got started on this ciabatta:

And I'm so looking forward to dipping it...

... into a bowl of Carrot-Ginger Soup:

I hope you all had a great week. Find a few more recipes to make this weekend below 👋

Review of the Week

​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️​

​Simple Black Bean Soup​

"What a great recipe! I will no longer be soaking my beans, this method was great! Such a delicious soup, enjoyed by the whole family."

— Amy

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Paula Wolfert's Oven-Baked Polenta

Friends, it's time! Time to put polenta under everything 🎉🎉🎉

Many of you already know of the genius of Paula Wolfert's Oven-Baked Polenta, but if you are unfamiliar, let's review:

Unlike stovetop polenta, which requires constant monitoring and stirring, oven-baked polenta is completely hands off: simply combine all of the ingredients in a pot, transfer it to the oven, and one hour later it's done.

Here's how you make it:

Gather your ingredients: 1 cup cornmeal, 5 cups water, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Add all of the ingredients to a large pot and stir to combine — the mixture will not look emulsified.

Transfer the pot uncovered to a 350ºF oven for 40 minutes. Give it a stir; then return to the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

That's it! Top with anything your heart desires. Find a few ideas below. Get the recipe here:

PS: For this recipe, you need cornmeal, which can be labeled in various ways: corn grits, polenta, or cornmeal. This Bob's Red Mill Brand can be found in most grocery stores, and I like its coarse texture.

And to serve with your polenta...

​Slow Cooker Gigante (or other white) Beans​

​Perfectly Poached Eggs​

​One-Pot Sherry Vinegar Chicken​

This is another fun polenta dish: Roasted Mushroom Polenta Bake:​

Popular Right Now

🍞 Sourdough! 🍞 Every January, out come the starters from hibernation and on goes the oven. The three recipes below are among the most popular on my site right now. Reminder:

• If you need help getting started with sourdough, I have a free email course: ​Sourdough Demystified 🍞🍞
• I also have a free course on how to build a sourdough starter from scratch: How to Build a Sourdough Starter from Scratch

You Are Loving These 3 Recipes...

• ​Simple Sourdough Bread, Step by Step​
• ​Simple Sourdough Focaccia​
• ​Sourdough Flour Tortillas​

PS: ALL the popular recipes right here → Popular Recipes​

Thank You

Thank you to all who have ordered Pizza Night. If you haven't left a review yet, I would be so grateful if you did! 🙏🙏🍕🍕🥗🥗

5 Free Resources Available to You

• ​8-Video Chopping Tutorial​
• ​5 Secrets to Foolproof Bread Baking 🍞🍞 (email course)
• ​Sourdough Demystified 🍞🍞 (email course)
• ​How to Build a Sourdough Starter from Scratch (email course)
• ​Pizza School 🍕🍕 (email course)

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PS: All previous editions of this newsletter can be found here.