Weekend Bakery
Weekend Bakery wants to offer and share information, tips, techniques, recipes and tools for the ‘professional’ home baker, with an above average interest in the art of artisan bread making. Weekend Bakery points to the fact that a lot of people, like us, concentrate their baking activities around the weekends and holidays. The moments you look forward to, thinking about what recipes to try or which favorite loaves to bake.
Weekend Bakery is serious about artisan bread making. We have our own ‘at home micro bakery’. Making bread in small quantities with time and attention will deliver great and rewarding results. So why not try and make your own too? It’s a hobby with great benefits for your mind as well as your body. Making good bread appeals to all your senses. Working with dough can be your own form of meditation. Your body can seriously benefit from the bread you make.
So there are lot’s of good reasons to make your own. Maybe you’ve already discovered them. So if you are serious about good bread making, Weekend Bakery is the place for you. Get your hands stuck in a piece of dough and smell the aroma of your own sourdough starter.
Our Artisan At Home Bakery
We are passionate home bakers. We have been sharing our quest for good food and especially good bread for over 18 years. We love sharing our homemade bread and recipes with friends and family and everybody who’s truly interested. We are especially enthusiastic about the ‘artisan’ way of baking. Traditional methods, few ingredients, lots of taste. It’s amazing and rewarding to discover you can make a wonderful bread with just flour, water and salt and a bit of homemade sourdough.
Our Bakery Tool Shop
We are proud to offer a range of bread baking tools that are perfect for the home baker and small bakeries. All bread baking tools are made within the European Union and of the highest quality. And there’s some very original sweet baking stuff too. Plus we ship all over the world. Come and take a look and get inspired to bake!
Things we love to bake and make
There are some items that we have really ‘made our own’ over the years. Next to our “Pain Rustique’ and Pain au Levain’ that has an ever growing enthusiastic following, we have perfected the art of croissant making and baguette baking. We also make traditional Dutch specialties like suikerbrood (sugar loaf) speculaas, cinnamon buns and roggebrood (rye bread). We love making our own pizza and flatbreads. We also make our own marmalade from the Sevilla oranges when in season and like to experiment with chocolate and caramel too and love to roast our own coffee beans.
Besides the baking
We love to travel. Our favorite destinations are Italy, France, Norway and Canada. Favorite cities: New York, Venice, Amsterdam.
Also fond of (outdoor) cooking, the Italian kitchen, Indian and Japanese food and much more…
Happy baking from Weekend Bakery!
Ed & Marieke
Netherlands
Lou says
Hi there!
Hope you are doing well 🙂
I just started following your lovely article here:
www.weekendbakery.com/posts…asy-steps/
I started the mixture just 24 hours ago, and it already seems very active, it has a lot of bubbles and has already doubled in size.
I am wondering if I should follow the same steps for the same number of days, or should I do something different?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
Lou
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Lou,
Great to read you are off to a good start, this is very positive, but do not be discouraged when this initial activity slows down a bit. Just follow the steps and directions day by day, hopefully noticing your culture develops a nice fresh / fruity smell and make sure your culture doubles in size consistently after each refreshment for some days to be ready for your first baking project.
Also check out our handy sourdough tips before you start baking:
www.weekendbakery.com/posts…ough-tips/
Good luck with it!
pam says
Hello Ed & Marieke!
Thanks so much for your hard works. I am really thankful and appreciate.
Cheers!
Say Hi from Chiangmai,Thailand.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Pam,
Thank you for dropping a line all the way from beautiful Thailand.
We have a very hot summer over here, so it feels almost tropical and too hot for baking! But we do have a new pizza oven for outside and you will be reading about our pizza baking adventures soon we hope.
Greetings / Groetjes from the Low Countries,
Ed & Marieke
Valeriy says
Hello, I am Valeriy. I am decided to make my own bakery with wood burning stove. I have same experience to make a stoves.
When I finding more information in internet found your website. And I hope same cooperation with you.
Weekend Bakers says
We hope you will enjoy your adventure of opening a bakery and hope it will be a great success!
Rob says
Sorry, found the yeast measurements
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Rob,
For the sugar you could use ‘caster sugar’ (just scroll down in the list and it is right there with raw, brown and icing sugar.
As for water, it weighs (almost exactly) the same is it measures, so 100 ml water is also 100 grams of water.
plus all the conversions you see in the baking conversion table, where it says ‘capacity’ you can think of the ingredient being ‘water’. So one cup = 240 ml (water).
Rob says
Please incorporate to your “Baking Conversión Tools”:
water, instant yeast and granulated white sugar
thank you
Paula Bright says
Thank you for publishing English versions of your posts. It’s really helpful to me, and I appreciate it. 🙂
Paula
Tonia Mees says
Heb weer een serie ‘rustique’ gebakken. je hebt volkomen gelijk met het routine krijgen van de handelingen.. ik hield tijd over.. en het brood is echt heel erg lekker! Met een duidelijke levain geur en smaak maar niet azijnachtig.. en zooo veel makkelijker te controleren wat tijd betreft. Ik weet nu dat 3 en een half uur later heerlijk brood uit de oven komt.. zelfs de temp in keuken is niet zo belangrijk meer!
Wow dank! Kanjers
Weekend Bakers says
Helemaal mee eens Tonia,
Geniet van het bakken en vooral ook van het mooie weer nu natuurlijk!
Tonia Mees says
Heb het pain rustique gebakken. Beeldschoon en super lekker. Maar wel erg veel werk. Zijn er shortcuts? En kan je levain en levure altijd samen gebruiken? Mits eerst een poolish laten rijpen en daarna de gist toevoegen????
Weekend Bakers says
Hallo Tonia,
Dank!
De doorlooptijd is misschien wel de nodige uren en verdeeld over twee dagen, maar de handelingen zijn bij elkaar ongeveer 10 tot 15 minuten werk. Als je het vaker doet, dan wordt dat steeds meer routine. Juist die tijd voor de ontwikkeling van het deeg zorgt voor meer smaak en een betere verteerbaarheid. Als je dingen gaat veranderen dan boek je daarmee niet veel tijdwinst qua handelingen en je krijgt ook meteen een ander brood. Je kunt wel bv de koelkast gebruiken of dingen beperkt anders indelen om ze ‘naar je hand te zetten’.
En ja, je kunt zeker de levain en levure samen gebruiken op de manier zoals je aangeeft.
Happy baking!
Tonia Mees says
Jullie zijn kanjers!
Ida Smith says
Hello,
I am a student at Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, California, USA. I have been in an 8 week artisan bread class. Our last assignment which was given to us yesterday is to present on the 15th, next week. We have to give a 3 minute presentation on a bread blog. I signed up for Weekend Bakery. I noticed you end each section with Netherlands. Is that where the blog is, where you live or could it be a sur name. Is there anything you could share that is not on the blog. but relates to it.
Thanks for you help, I hope you see this in enough time.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Ida,
We will contact you directly via mail and you can maybe post some questions we can answer for you.
Greetings,
Ed & Marieke
MARY-ANNE says
I was wondering if I can make the exact same croissants in half or full day.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Mary-Anne,
You can check out the one day version of the croissant recipe plus our tips on slowing down and speeding up the process here:
www.weekendbakery.com/posts…nt-recipe/
Sharon Sander says
Ed and Marieke, I recently found your website and am so excited about the way you present the recipes.
My next baking day I’m going to try your Flammenkuchen, which I fell in love with when I vacationed in Europe. Yum!
If you have a “print” button so that we could follow the recipes without the pictures I can’t find it, and it sure would save a lot of paper and ink.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Sharon,
You can use the print option in your browser (usually found in the upper right hand corner). Just press print and you will get a print out of the recipe without pictures.
Hope you will like the flammkuchen, let us know how it goes. Suggestions for other toppings are welcome too of course.
Happy kuchen baking!
Sejal says
Thanks Ed & Marine, for the step by step process of making good artisan breads. I’m a home baker & absolutely loved reading the whole process. Would definetly try it out
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Sejal, and let us know when you do!
Happy baking
Aimee Ryan says
Excited to try some of your recipes!
Weekend Bakers says
Let us know about your results Aimee!
Happy weekend baking
simon says
Love your recipes and very helpful ideas – Many thanks
Simon
Weekend Bakers says
Appreciate you letting us know Simon!
Happy baking,
Ed & Marieke
Suzana Zarnescu says
What brand of scale do you recommend. Bear in mind I am from USA. Thank you.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Suzana,
We are no experts on all types and brands of scales and do not know which brands are most prominent in the USA. But we do use a scale from a brand named OHaus, which is American. us.ohaus.com/en-US/
We are very happy with this scale, but it is a scale for commercial use and more expensive. Here in Holland you can also buy digital kitchen scales for around 20 dollars that work perfectly well for baking and are sold at kitchen / household appliance stores.
Meir Ido says
Hi Ed and Marieke,
I am following your wonderful site and like what I see.
As a home sourdough bread weekend baker, I’m looking to experience other flours that I can find locally.
My best part will be in Utrecht in two weeks time for business trip, and she is willing to bring back local milled flour.
May I ask for your recommendation for a place where she can find heritage flours like: Kamut, Einkorn and Emmer or other similar local Duch one.
May I extend my request if I may for a good locan cheese store.
Unfortunately, she will not drive but rather use public transportation, thus she will be not able to visit your recommended local flour mill.
I hope that it is ok to ask such questions….
Best Regards and Thanks,
Meir ido
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Meir,
As far as we know there are some mills in the province of Utrecht, but not in the city of Utrecht and they sell spelt and rye and wheat but usually not the ancient grain flours you are looking for. It will also be a challenge to reach them with public transport, plus they all have different and limited opening hours. Our suggestion would be, if possible, to contact Windmill De Zuidmolen in Groesbeek in the Province of Gelderland. They have all the grains you are looking for and a web shop and you could ask them to have delivered what you need to the address your partner is staying at.
As for cheese, it is much easier to find a good cheese shop, also in the city center of Utrecht.
For instance Kazerij Stalenhoef, Twijnstraat 67,
Cheese & More by Henri Willig, Vismarkt 8
Peek en van Beurden delicatessen, Nachtegaalstraat 56
You can have your cheeses sealed / vacuum packet to take them with you.
Good luck with the quest and happy baking!
Marieke & Ed
Meir Ido says
Marieke and Ed,
Thank you very much for your recommendations, this is exactly what I was looking for!
Meir Ido
Weekend Bakers says
Glad to be of help 🙂
Marieke
Tere Van Diest says
Good morning from St Petersburg – Florida, USA!!
Thanks so much for the Black Currant Bun recipe.
I was eager to get back to baking some authentic Dutch recipes. I am not Dutch but my husband was and I enjoyed so many baked items that his grandmother and mother made decades ago. Until recently I lived in California where there are many Dutch families and communities. And, so many great bakers among them.
I also appreciate the metric conversion chart. So helpful. I want to make the recipes you offer exactly as you intended and the chart is a time saver for me.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Tere Van Diest
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Tere,
Thank you so much for your comment and kind words. Hope the recipes will be to your liking and taste.
Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy New Year / Gelukking Nieuwjaar from Holland!
Greetings / Hartelijke groeten,
Marieke & Ed
Weekend Bakers
Claartje Devos says
Beste Ed en Marieke,
You saved the day!! Again!!
Ik was op zoek naar een cookie cutter in de vorm van een ster voor wat hapjes en ja hoor …… ik heb er een! Als verrassing gevonden bij een bestelling van jullie!! Helemaal super!
We wensen jullie hele gezellige feestdagen en heel veel bakplezier in het nieuwe jaar!! Ik kijk er naar uit! Claartje (Schotland)
Weekend Bakers says
Hoi Claartje,
Wat leuk dat je dat nog even laat weten 🙂
Dat heeft zo moeten zijn…
Een heel gezellige kerst met jullie familie en vrienden en ook een fantastisch 2018 met veel lekkers uit de oven!
Succes met alles!!
Marieke & Ed
Maggy says
Good Morning,
I love your web site and can’t wait to try out these recipes.
Is there anyway that it could be changed to tsp…tbsp ..cup.etc.
I have never used grams..metric..I am from old school I know some web sites have a place at the top that you can hit a button and all recipes change conversion .It makes it so easy….just wondering.
Merry Christmas…Thank you Maggy
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Maggy,
Thank you for your friendly comment. Sorry we do not have such a button, we only have a conversion page: www.weekendbakery.com/cooki…nversions/
We want to explain to you why we are advocates of the metric system (but we understand it is not easy changing after many years of using a different method) but this is what we say in general:
Professional bakers use scales (also in the US) and in Europe home bakers do too. A scale will give you the exact same weight every time. Which is absolutely essential if you consistently want to make good bread and especially good pastry. You can get a scale for the same price as a few sacks of good flour and less than a lot of baking tools you already own, so if possible, go and get one!
You know exactly what you put in and will discover that there is a difference in taste when putting e.g. 8.2 or 9 grams of salt in your bread.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday baking to you Maggy!
Jenny Newtson-Schick says
WOW I’m loving your site! Clear and concise information and great videos. I am very jealous of your amazing bread oven with the steam vents, and the stainless steel counters. I’m adjusting a tiny old kitchen in Denver to be a good bread baking spot. Thankfully we have a gas stove that gets nice and hot.
I laughed that so many of the recent comments are from Oregon! I just left there after a few decades, moving from sea level to the Rocky Mountains, and over 5,000 ft elevation – armed with an 1862 sourdough starter dating back to the Oregon Trail pioneers. However, I never baked bread in Oregon (just pies, cakes, etc.) and am learning about bread baking at the same time as adjusting recipes for elevation. This means more liquid (so far I usually up the starter, not the water) and higher temperature for the oven (I’m typically baking at 450 – 500 Fahrenheit.) If there are any other tips you can give me for adjusting the recipes for elevation, I will thank you in advance!
Again, I really appreciate your videos, because seeing the texture of the dough is easier when you can see it being worked (better than just a still photo) and as you note — you can get different results from every bag of flour so knowing your proper texture is key.
PS – I agree with your list of cities; Venice and Amsterdam are especially spectacular!
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Jenny,
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. We loved reading it, especially the bit about your pioneer culture. We cannot give you extra tips from experience on adjustments for elevation. Here in Holland everything is as flat as a pancake, but as you already pointed out, baking is adjusting all the time, for the flour, the new equipment, the climate, the season, the hands…
Key is practice, bake and bake some more and make notes and find a good place for high quality flour, (in our case often a windmill 🙂 because it makes a lot of difference too.
Glad to read you liked Amsterdam too and were able to visit.
Wishing you lots of loaves and happy baking from the low countries!
Marieke & Ed
Weekend Bakers
Paul Reno says
I have only scratched the surface of your website (perhaps just to the autolyzed step?) and am enjoying it very much. I visited the site because I had a recipe for celery-sesame bread that was originally written in German and called for german flour type “550” and I had never encountered that designation. I used the table you provided and found that it was equivalent our our American “all purpose flour’ (sigh. I wish the Americans utilized more precise designations for things like flour such as is used by the European Union. It would also be way better for America to actually switch to the metric system. It’ll never happen. Sigh; sorry for the digression). I often make pizza at home as well as various breads. I’ve been using typo 00 from Anima Caputo, under the assumption that it was a finely milled, high gluten flour. Your table however, indicated that it had a low protein content relative to typo 0 , 1, 2, or 3. Am I mistaken in the assumption that typo 00 is high gluten?
thanks for any help you can give me on this. Now I can go and explore the rest of the site!
Best regards,
Paul Reno
p.s. I live in Oregon and concur with Tim and Agneta and her description of the “left coast of the US” and its dedication to food.
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Paul,
Thank you very much for your very kind comment.
The thing with typo 00 flour is that it is an indication for the fineness of milling and it can be both low and high in protein, depending on the type you buy. The complication occurs because the 00 type used for pastry usually has low protein content but the Caputo you bought has a higher (and probably also different) protein content because it is especially made for pizza. So there are different 00 flours for different baking needs. In Holland the most readily available 00 type usually has a low protein content and can be used for pastry. So, if it has an indication for bread or pizza, it will have a higher protein content. So in our overview the type 00 Italian flour is of the pastry variety.
So great you are a fan of the metric system (and weighing ingredients very probably 🙂 and thank you for exploring our site and recipes.
Happy baking in Oregon.
Greetings from tiny Holland,
Ed & Marieke
Agneta Dahl says
Just found your site and am lo9king forward to making my rye starter. I got my first wheat starter from a friend when we lived in AK and that served me well for 8 years. It died after moving to VA, too humid.
Now we are in Seattle, WA and I’m getting back to my sourdough. Rich food culture here and sourdough was carried by the hopeful gold miners leaving the lower 48 through Seattle heading to Alaska to become rich. You should add Seattle to your list of wondrful foodie cities, especially because of your sourdough passion.
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Agneta, for your lovely comment. Hope the culture will be happy too in Seattle.
We would love to go there some day, because of the bread and coffee and the food and also the beautiful surroundings in WA of course. I think we would like it very much indeed.
Wishing you many happy baking moments from the low countries,
Marieke
Sandip says
I am going to try making the Sourdough starter for 2nd time, my concern is that the coolest temperature in the Apartment is 24-25C, will this cause a problem? The fridge is too cool ? We live in a very hot region hence this high.
Any suggestions??
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Sandip,
We do not think it will be a problem. Just keep an eye on it and maybe, depending on the ‘enthusiasm’ of your culture, you need to carry out some steps just a bit sooner, than we suggest. But overall the temperature will not be too high for this.
After the whole process of 7 days, when you are going to use your starter for baking, we would suggest to keep it in the fridge between bakes.
Susannah Powell says
Oh My!
Wish you lived next door! I could live off the aroma!
Susannah
…Who lives far far away in the Blue Ridge Mts of N.C.
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Susannah,
Thank you for ‘stopping by’ 🙂 and your kind words.
Greetings from the low countries over the pond,
Ed & Marieke
Tim Armstrong says
I just discovered your site and I am thrilled to have done so. Today, my wife and I visited a local grain mill that uses the grains grown by its owners here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Fortunately for us, the grains are perfect for the recipes you offer on the site. After our visit (Camas Country Mill), I started thinking about a rye sourdough starter. Your version popped up at the top of the Google heap when I did a search. Thankfully. I plan to get it started this weekend. At the mill, we were able to buy a flour from a wheat called Einkorn which we will try next week. I don’t know much about this grain except that it is an ancient traditional one. While I have been baking bread for more than 50 years, your site has inspired me to try a number of new recipes and techniques. Thank you.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Tim,
Thank you so much for your very kind and interesting comment. On our website we have an overview of Dutch mills that people can visit and, being Dutch, we of course associate (wind)mills with our own little country. So great to read you can visit a mill and buy flour where you live and even the Einkorn. Einkorn (Eenkoorn in Dutch) and ‘ancient’ grains like emmer, spelt and kamut are all very popular with bread bakers over here and also in Germany. Every flour, every brand and even every sack of flour can be different and give different results, we have found, so we are always looking at the dough, adjusting where needed.
So very great, with your experience, you want to try some of our recipes and techniques.
We would love to hear about your results and above all we wish you many happy hours baking, eating and sharing with your family and loved ones.
Greetings from the low countries,
Ed & Marieke