Parmesan Sourdough Bagel Chips

On January 22, 2026January 22, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Giveaway, sourdoughLeave a comment

I have to admit that bagels rarely go stale at my house. Even when I bake a full-dozen batch of Sourdough Bagels, we eat them before the week’s end as breakfast and lunch sandwiches. But after a disappointing snack of store-bought bagel chips, I had to turn some of my next sourdough bagel batch into a homemade version, which I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. They are so delicious that I might have to start making double batches of bagels just so I can have the dense rolls and crispy chips on hand.

Sourdough bagel chips are just as easy to make as Twice-Baked Sourdough Pita Chips and just as irresistible as a crunchy snack. Along with the recipe in my column, I offer plenty of topping ideas, for both the original boiled bagels and the second baking into chips. Of course, I recommend making the bagels yourself with a sourdough starter, but you can bake store-bought bagels into chips in the same way.
Learn to make Parmesan Sourdough Bagel Chips

Sourdough Bagels

On January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Giveaway, sourdoughLeave a comment

Sourdough bagels are a multistep process, as you can see in this week’s long recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. But that’s bagels in general, whether you make them with active dry or wild yeast. If you want dense, chewy bagels, you need to boil and then bake the dough.

I learned when I first started making sourdough bagels that many commercial bakeries steam rather than boiling, which creates soft, fluffy bagels that seem more like hamburger buns. Immersing the dough in boiling water causes its starches to gel and form a firm crust over a dense interior after baking. This step is particularly important with long-ferment sourdough, which becomes so stretchy and acidic that it wants to rise—and then potentially deflate—if it goes straight into the oven.

Over years of making sourdough bagels, I’ve adjusted my technique to minimize tools and active time and consistently created the classic bagel shape. So the recipe in this week’s column is really Sourdough Bagels 2.0.
Learn to make Sourdough Bagels

Low-Gluten Sourdough Naan

On January 8, 2026January 8, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Giveaway, sourdough2 Comments

When I first started sharing my sourdough recipes and teaching sourdough workshops, I was often asked about gluten-free baking. I experimented with a gluten-free sourdough starter and discovered a completely different behavior and interactions of the wild yeast and flour. I had to make so many changes to the ratios and techniques that simply substituting a gluten-free starter for a traditional one was not possible.

Instead of becoming an expert in gluten-free sourdough, I learned more about how a traditional sourdough starter could be used to make bread that’s more easily digestible than mass-produced versions. As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, mixing in low-gluten flours and extending the fermentation time encourages the wild yeast to break down the proteins that some people find challenging to digest.
Learn to make Low-Gluten Sourdough Naan

9th Annual Sourdough Month

On January 1, 2026January 8, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Giveaway, sourdoughLeave a comment

Happy New Year! What better way to start it off than with the yeasty, tangy aroma of baking sourdough? Since 2017, I’ve dedicated January to the joys of keeping and baking with a sourdough starter. This year, in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I’ll share some of my favorite doughs that use different types of flour to make flavorful flatbread, loaves, and other baked goods.

My sourdough starter has been going strong since 2014. Through feedings after my own baking and sharing the starter with others—hundreds of new bakers around the world over the years—it has developed into a robust and lively wild culture. I explain in this week’s column how I’ve made sourdough baking fit my lifestyle without being overwhelmed by copious volumes of starter and endless loaves of bread, as well as how easily my starter wakes up when I leave it in the fridge for weeks at a time as I travel. I also share ways to get free sourdough starter so that you can make the recipes I’ll be providing this month.

Tom and Jerry Cocktail

On December 27, 2025December 27, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, refrigeratedLeave a comment

As we approach the end of the year, I bring out special beverages that I won’t make again until next December. They include the warm cocktail I shared this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, which hits the spot on any chilly winter night and is worthy of any gathering with friends and family.

I learned about the Tom and Jerry cocktail relatively recently, when I wanted to serve a warm version of my typical eggnog. It starts with a batter, which you can make in advance and refrigerate for days but really tastes and looks best when freshly whipped. You float it as a foamy top over a hot toddy made with water, milk, or another hot beverage and the drinker’s choice of alcohol. As you sip, the cooler foam and warm liquid mingle silkily on the tongue.
Learn to make a Tom and Jerry Cocktail

Cheese-Topped Baked Polenta

On December 18, 2025December 18, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

My husband George will happily eat a bowl of noodles or a baked potato seasoned with just butter and cheese. Give me a simple, starchy base like pasta, rice, potatoes, or cornmeal, and I will bury it in a deeply flavored sauce every time. With the polenta recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I can satisfy both of us.

Homemade stock and dried herbs give polenta just enough flavor to stand on its own, especially when baked or grilled and smothered in cheese. Yet it remains neutral enough to take any of my favorite sauces. I’ve served polenta as a bruschetta-like appetizer, a holiday side dish, and the base layer for a weeknight meal—and then snacked on the leftovers like cornbread. I often make a double batch of polenta and serve half straight off the stove in its soft, porridge-like form. I spread the rest in a baking pan and refrigerate it until the next day to bake and serve as an entirely different meal.
Learn to make Cheese-Topped Baked Polenta

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

On December 11, 2025December 11, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, cookiesLeave a comment

It’s hard to imagine celebrating the winter holidays without a little gingerbread in the mix. The combination of molasses, ginger, and other spices creates cookies and loaf cake that seem made for cozying up next to the woodstove and watching the snow come down.

The gingerbread cookie recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon is an old one that I’ve made bolder with extra spices. When I want an even stronger ginger flavor—any time of year—I make Triple Gingersnaps or Triple Ginger Cake. But expanding just the ground spices gives traditional cookies a little kick yet keeps them smooth and ideal for decorating.
Learn to make Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

Smoky Oatmeal–Cranberry Cookies

On December 5, 2025December 5, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, cookies2 Comments

I usually make more sweet treats in November and December than I do all the rest of the year, mostly because I’m sharing them widely. Last month I was using homegrown fruit in Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie and cherry pie. This month is all about cookies, as I share this week and next in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

These cookies will travel with me across three states when I visit family over Christmas. Some will find their way to gatherings and parties. Others will become my favorite chairlift snack in our just-opened local ski area. So the cookies I make each holiday season vary widely, from aged family favorites, to eye-catching sweets for party trays, to sturdy treats that tuck into a ski jacket pocket.
Learn to make Smoky Oatmeal–Cranberry Cookies

Tangy, Garlicky Mashed Potatoes

On November 27, 2025November 27, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

The garden has been tucked away, with one final visit this week to pluck spinach blanketed by our first real snow. We’re finishing off the last of the box-ripened tomatoes too, and my meals have started to feature dry-stored fruit and vegetables: apples, cabbage, carrots, beets, squash, and potatoes.

The mashed potatoes recipe that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon lands nicely on a Thanksgiving or other holiday table. Although still a starchy side dish, potatoes taste lighter when mashed with vinegar instead of cream. The vinegar, roasted garlic, and chives pack flavor into these potatoes, so vegetarians can skip the turkey or beef gravy or contrast the tang with rich mushroom gravy or tart homemade cranberry sauce. To make these mashed potatoes vegan—and extra fluffy—use extra-virgin olive oil instead of butter.
Learn to make Tangy, Garlicky Mashed Potatoes

Quick Tomato Juice Soup

On November 21, 2025November 21, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soupsLeave a comment

Soup season has just begun, and my freezer is packed to the brim with ingredients I plan to turn into steaming bowls of homemade soups. Having vegetables on hand that have already been chopped, pureed, and sometimes even grilled or otherwise precooked speeds up weeknight soup prep. As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, one of my quickest soups starts with tomato juice.

If you buy all of your tomatoes, choose both bottled tomato juice and cans of whole or diced tomatoes outside of the growing season; they’ll have better flavor than fresh tomatoes that were forced in a winter hothouse or traveled long distances. Fire-roasted tomatoes have become popular in recent years for their bonus smokiness. I grow enough tomatoes to grill in batches throughout the growing season, and I freeze or can the solids and juice to use throughout the winter.
Learn to make Quick Tomato Juice Soup