Hi Everyone,
Susan and I are back from a short vacation and I just returned a few days ago from leading a bread baking retreat at the Mandala Center in DesMoines, New Mexico. It was a wonderful experience, with 14 fellow pilgrims in search of the connection between and bread and spirit. The center is located on a bluff facing an ancient volcano (dormant, we think), and certainly is We had thoughtful conversations and discussions, made all sorts of tasty breads, and even had a concert from a few of our attendees. On the way back to the Albuquerque airport I stopped for an overnight visit with one of our recipe testers (Linda R.) and her family, and was treated to a spectacular lightning show and torrential rains--very exciting!
Now that the book has gone to press I am beginning to work on setting up a teaching tour for the fall and winter. It will be limited at first because of my fall teaching schedule at Johnson & Wales, but I think it will pick up steam in January and beyond. Please check back here from time to time for updates, as I'll post the schedule as it comes into focus. The only thing on the schedule at this time is a focaccia class at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill on August 8th. If you live in the area, I hope you'll be able to come.
We just shot a series of 2 minute demos for Johnson & Wales that will air soon on our local Time Warner Cable News channel. Don't know if it will get picked up in other cities but, maybe, they'll eventually show up on YouTube. I did a few demos from the new book, including sweet dough variations, crackers, focaccia, and biscuits. We also started a series of pizza classes at Pie Town last Saturday and had 14 people crammed into our tiny kitchen. Everyone got to make a couple of pizzas in out Woodstone oven. Lots of fun for all of us (and good eating, too). The next one will be in late August. I'll post the date here as soon as it's confirmed.
Other news as it comes in. Till then, may your bread always rise!
Peter
