ON THIS WEEK’S episode of Dinner SOS, test kitchen director and host Chris Morocco hands it over to senior test kitchen editors Shilpa Uskokovic and Jesse Szewczyk to introduce us to Bake Club.
What is Bake Club? Think of it as a book club, but for baking. Jesse and Shilpa love to bake and they also love to talk–a lot—about what makes (or doesn’t make) a recipe work. They figured there had to be more people like them out there–readers who enjoy baking, and discussing all the nitty-gritty particulars of it. So they decided to create a space where like-minded bakers can get together, bake a recipe, and rehash everything in great detail. Welcome to BA Bake Club.
Every month Jesse and Shilpa will debut a new subscriber-exclusive baking recipe they’re excited about. Readers will bake through the recipe and interact directly with Shilpa and Jesse over on Instagram, where they offer real-time advice and encouragement. In this companion podcast the pair will walk listeners through their recipe development process, and address any particularly interesting feedback, questions, or curiosities from subscribers and listeners just like you who might have made the recipe.
First up is Jesse Szewczyk’s Caramel Apple Monkey Bread, a recipe that highlights the many merits of enriched doughs. (A type of yeasted dough typically bolstered by eggs, sugar, fat, and other functional ingredients.). It’s a project bake through and through. The dough recipe is like a primer on how to make a tender enriched dough with a lofty rise. The caramel is a lesson in how to make a foolproof caramel without any worry (no thermometer needed!). These techniques can be used in countless baking projects and will set up home bakers for future successes.
Listen now to hear more about Jesse and Shilpa’s process, how to join the club, and the recipe that’s been taking the Bake Club IG Close Friends Chat by storm! For future listener questions, e-mail bakeclub@bonappetit.com.
Jesse Szewczyk: I am Jesse Szewczyk.
Shilpa Uskokovic: And I’m Shilpa Uskokovic.
JS: We are both senior test kitchen editors at Bon Appetit.
SU: And this is BA Bake Club.
JS: Today we are taking over and turning dinner SOS into a Bake Club party.
SU: Jesse, can you explain for our listeners what is Bake Club?
JS: Yes, that is a great question. So Bake Club is the nerdiest corner of the baking internet. We are scale obsessed and we love a project bake.
SU: We do. Every month Jesse and I will share a recipe we’ve developed for bonappetit.com that’s a little advanced because we know that some of you like a challenge.
JS: After you’ve had a chance to bake through the recipe, we’ll get together here on the Dinner SOS feed to chat about what went well, help you out if maybe something didn’t go so well,