Category: Giveaway

6th Annual Sourdough Giveaway

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

I’m giving away sourdough starter through January 31, 2023. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Welcome to the 6th Annual Sourdough Giveaway! I’ve been sharing my starter every January since I started this blog, but last year’s giveaway broke all of my records, with 154 sourdough packets leaving my kitchen and heading out into the world.

Many of those packets went to readers of my Twice as Tasty column in the Flathead Beacon, so thank you for supporting local journalism, as well as reading my column and blog. Twice as Tasty starter has now traveled to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Slovenia, and throughout the United States, and I hope to share it with even more new sourdough bakers this year. Request your starter by the end of January to get in on the sourdough adventures.
Read more about starting with sourdough

Sticking with Sourdough

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic5 Comments

Sourdough baking should fit into your lifestyle and let you build a habit of using it. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Another Twice as Tasty sourdough giveaway is winding down; there are just a few days left to get your starter. This month, I delivered jars of bubbly starter to local bakers and shipped dehydrated starter as far away as Slovenia. People have been sharing their creations of longtime and new Twice as Tasty recipes, including this month’s cracker, cookie, and ciabatta recipes and variations. I’m excited to see what everyone makes in the coming months.

For some of you, just remembering your starter may be the biggest challenge as the year takes off. Sourdough baking should fit into your lifestyle and let you build a habit of using your starter often enough to keep it lively. It may take a few attempts, and I’m always happy to resend starter if you need a fresh try. But a sourdough culture is more resilient than you think. So as life distracts you from baking, you have several options to bring your starter back to life.
Read more about sticking with sourdough

Sourdough Ciabatta & Bread Variations

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic1 Comment

With a handful of easily mastered recipes, including Sourdough Ciabatta, you can make every batch of sourdough look and taste unique. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Long before I got hooked on sourdough, I made yeast-based Italian slipper bread using Patricia Wells’s Trattoria. I used the recipe from the 1993 edition of her book without changes because it is so good.

Once I started into sourdough, I fell for the flavor and texture of long-ferment loaves, and Sourdough Cabin Bread, aka Auntie Julie’s Special Bread, became my go-to recipe. But one day I flipped passed the slipper bread recipe and was inspired to create a version that could use sourdough starter.

Wells describes Italian slipper bread, or ciabatta, as “ideal for those who want great flavor in a hurry.” This sourdough version takes a little more time to build than a yeast loaf but far less than long-ferment doughs that spend hours to days in the fridge. It’s definitely a high-hydration dough: expect it to be wet, sticky, and hard to shape. Your final loaf will look different every time, with lots of holes inside, and will cool and be ready to eat more quickly than denser loaves.
Learn to make Sourdough Ciabatta and bread variations

Sourdough Cookies

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic2 Comments

Putting sourdough starter in cookies bumps up against some problems, but you can solve them. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Sourdough cookies, like last week’s sourdough cracker recipe, have two goals: capture some sour flavor and use your starter. Sourdough’s leavening power doesn’t take charge: you’re still relying on baking soda, baking powder, or both to create the cookies’ shape. That puts them in the same category as Sourdough Pancakes, Sourdough Waffles, and quick breads.

But unlike those baked goods, putting sourdough starter in cookies bumps up against some problems. Most cookies have a low hydration level—they have little or no added liquid. The “wet” ingredients they do have usually contain fats, proteins, and other elements that balance the cookie recipe. This week, I focus on things I’ve learned about baking cookies with sourdough and the best recipes to use with your starter.
Learn to make sourdough cookies

Sourdough Crackers

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic3 Comments

My master recipe lets you make cheese, wheat, herb, rye, and more. Get sourdough crackers recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
If you jumped on the sourdough bandwagon last spring by making your own starter from scratch, chances are you’ve already experimented with “discard” recipes like crackers. When you take weeks to build a starter from just flour and water, you end up with a lot weak starter that many instructions advise you to throw out—and in my opinion, it’s the only time you should. Since my sourdough adventures started with a dormant gifted starter, I don’t toss starter, never clamored for discard recipes, and began baking bread long before I fell for sourdough crackers.

I started baking sourdough crackers for one reason: George loves Goldfish crackers. He’ll plow through a box of the cheesy bites in a sitting, so of course my thought was, “How can I make these—and make them better?” This led me to develop a master recipe whose techniques I now use for a variety of crackers: cheese, wheat, herb, rye, and more.
Learn to make cheesy and other sourdough crackers

4th Annual Sourdough Giveaway

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic3 Comments

Get free sourdough starter—or wake up your dormant one. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Happy end of 2020 from Twice as Tasty! Celebrating the end of this year seems more important than reveling in the start of a new one—the revels in many ways are still on hold. But January is still Sourdough Month here on the blog, and for the 4th year I’m giving away Twice as Tasty sourdough starter through January 31.

Over the last 4 years, I’ve had a 100% success rate with people receiving, waking up, and baking with their Twice As Tasty sourdough starter. When baking with sourdough became all the rage last spring, I reopened the 2020 giveaway and shared more starter than in all prior years. I hope to do the same again over the next month. Read on to get Twice as Tasty sourdough starter—or wake up your dormant one.
Read more about starting with sourdough

Winding Down Year 5

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Cookbook, Giveaway, OtherLeave a comment

I’m celebrating the end of 2020 and kicking off 2021 with giveaways. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
2020 has been quite the year for us all. But fortunately, I can focus on positive changes for Twice as Tasty. Despite limits on in-person workshops and other live events, Twice as Tasty has grown and thrived this year, particularly with the publication of my first cookbook and its accompanying recipe collection. It feels fabulous to be able to reflect on happy developments and highlight good news in such a challenging year. Read on, and you’ll be smiling too, or skip down the page to read about the year to come.
Read more about what to expect in 2021

Sourdough Giveaway: Extended Edition

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, TopicLeave a comment

Get your free sourdough starter and answers to some of your sourdough questions. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Sourdough Pancakes by Brenda

The sourdough starter giveaway continues! Last month, I reopened my 2020 Sourdough Giveaway. I’m extending it another month, since many people will still be in stay-at-home mode at least that long. I’ll send you free sourdough starter through May 31. Read on to get Twice as Tasty sourdough starter, as well as answers to some of your sourdough questions.
Read more about starting with sourdough

Staying Home

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Giveaway, Topic, Using1 Comment

Be happily occupied in the kitchen and well fed at every meal. Read more about eating well while staying home. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
So much has changed in the last few weeks. As our personal worlds narrow to our homes and backyards, many of us are changing what and how we eat. Most of us are spending more time in our kitchens, cooking more often and trying new recipes. I had no trouble scratching my original plans for this month’s blog posts to focus on eating well while staying home. But with such wide variation in what’s available in stores, in backyard gardens and from local farmers, and in pantries, it’s hard to know what I should emphasize. So I’m spreading my net wide, hoping that you’ll each find something on Twice as Tasty that makes your life a little easier and more enjoyable.

Like you, I have been focusing on staying home and have been spending plenty of time in the kitchen. On the downside, we canceled our sailing adventure planned for this month. On the upside, I’m busy writing my first cookbook! Focused on pickles, it’s scheduled for release before the end of the year. Read on to discover how you might win a copy, as well as to learn more about eating well while staying home.
Read more about eating well while staying home

3rd Annual Sourdough Giveaway

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway4 Comments

I’ll be giving away sourdough starter through January 31, 2020. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Happy 2020 from Twice as Tasty! January is Sourdough Month here on the blog. The Sourdough Giveaway Experiment has been so successful over the last 2 years that I’ve made it an annual event. I’ll be giving away sourdough starter through January 31, 2020.

There’s even more reason to get your free starter this year: later this month, I’ll be launching a Twice as Tasty Challenge for newsletter subscribers. All you have to do to participate in the challenge is to subscribe here to the monthly newsletter. Details on the challenge will be sent to you later this month. And although you don’t have to be baking with sourdough to participate, you’ll have more fun and be more involved in this food community if you do!
Keep reading to get in on the 3rd Annual Sourdough Giveaway