"baking" news and stories

• Some bakers are taking homemade a step further, unplugging their appliances and getting their hands dirty.
• If you're a fan of matsutake mushrooms, this is your moment.
• The California grape harvest is running late. Really late.
• Top Chef's head judge, Tom Colicchio, gives his restaurant, Craft, the same critical attention he gives his contestants.

The flour aisle can be confusing with all its choices. What's the difference between all-purpose flour, self-rising flour and cake flour?

Beating egg whites? Keep a few simple things in mind to guarantee success.

Parchment paper comes either in sheets or on a roll, and in natural brown or bleached white, but one thing's consistent -- its versatility.

Gary Martinez, manager of Utah's hottest patisserie, hates it when you use the word "foodie" to describe Les Madeleines's customers. He and chef/owner Romina Rasmussen believe that people don't need to know the difference between pâte à choux and pâte sucrée to appreciate their shop's travel-inspired, made-from-scratch goodies, particularly their ultra-popular kouing amans (traditionally spelled kouign amann). Not familiar with these pastries? They're buttery, sugary, slow-baked round layer cakes that originated in Brittany, France in the 19th century and the name literally means "butter cake."

We recently caught up with Martinez and got his feelings on everything from the SLC food scene to Les Madeleines's growing cult status.

More from Martinez after the jump...