Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast

Things Bakers Know, the official podcast from King Arthur Baking Company, is back with a ten episode second season — starting March 23rd! Join King Arthur’s Jessica Battilana and David Tamarkin as they explore every corner of the baking world. Each episode dives deep into a different baked good — its history and lore, tips and tricks, trends and takes — and they'll always leave time to answer baking questions from listeners. Along the way they chat with the best bakers in America to get their expert advice. Plus this season, we are on video! Things Bakers Know is available wherever you get your podcasts, and now on Youtube, or by going to KingArthurBaking.com/podcast!
Target 30K

We’ve officially unveiled our 2026 Recipe of the Year, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you. Announcing: Flaky Puff Crust Pizza! 
In this episode, David and Jessica are joined by two of our Test Kitchen stars and the creators of this exceptional recipe, Sarah Jampel and Molly Marzalek-Kelly. They discuss how and why they landed on pizza as this year’s Recipe of the Year, the biggest challenges of recipe development, and the keys to this recipe’s unique success. (Hint: It includes butter.) Jessica and David then answer questions from our listeners about how to maximize their pizza success, from saucing to topping, before closing out the show with the recipes they’re making this week.  
This episode concludes our second season, and we’ll be back in March with the next batch of freshly baked episodes!  
Bake our 2026 Recipe of the Year: Flaky Puff Crust Pizza  
Find all of our past Recipes of the Year here 
Preorder King Arthur Baking Company's Book of Pizza: Recipes for Every Pizza Maker, publishing April 7, 2026  
What David’s baking this week: Delicata Squash Galette with Cheese and Herbs 
What Jessica’s baking this week: Ultimate Flaky Biscuits  
Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here! 
This episode is sponsored by Plugra. Learn more about their premium European-style butter at plugra.com. 
Target 30K

Celebrating Holiday Cookies with Dan Pelosi 
‘Tis the season to bake as many cookies as you can!  
We kick off the show by unveiling King Arthur’s 2025 holiday cookie lineup before being joined by Dan Pelosi, a baker known for his annual holiday cookie party. He chats with Jessica about the keys to successfully throwing a cookie party, including his holiday cookie philosophy, then David and Jessica answer your burning baking questions with their advice for avoiding cakey cookies and making cutout cookies that actually keep their shape. In this week’s Jess-opinion, Jessica gives her thoughts on the controversial inclusion of chocolate chip cookies in the holiday cookie landscape, and we close the show with the best cookies she and David are baking this season. 
Introducing our 2025 holiday cookie platter  
Find our list of all the classic holiday and Christmas cookies you should bake 
Level up your cookies with our scoop set  
Learn more about Dan and his recent cookbook, Let’s Party, on his website  
Blog: Why you should always bake a few test cookies 
Find our Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies recipe  
We like decorating with this Simple Cookie Glaze  
What David’s baking this week: Rugelach and Piped Vanilla Shortbread Cookies 
What Jessica’s baking this week: Whipped Lemon Shortbread 
Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here! 
This episode is sponsored by Plugra. Learn more about their premium European-style butter at plugra.com. 
Target 30K

We have a very special episode today. Ahead of the busiest baking season of the year, we’ve got an entire show dedicated to answering your biggest holiday baking questions! And we’ve invited some friends to help us. We’ve assembled an all-star collection of our King Arthur colleagues, including Molly Marzalek-Kelly and Sarah Jampel from our Test Kitchen, Amber Eisler from our Baking School, Martin Philip from our YouTube channel, and Melanie Wanders from our R&D team. Together, we tackle pressing questions like how to make holiday cookies ahead of time, what to do if your cream puffs keep deflating, and the best way to make whole grain dinner rolls that are still light and fluffy. Let’s get baking!  
Take Mel’s Cookie Decorating Essentials On Demand class 
Find Martin (and more King Arthur bakers!) on our YouTube channel 
Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here! 
This episode is sponsored by Plugra. Learn more about their premium European-style butter at plugra.com. 
The recipes mentioned in this episode include:  
Latke Focaccia recipe 
Everyday Olive Oil Cake recipe 
Gingerbread Biscotti recipe 
Fluffy Frosted Orange Rolls recipe 
Buckwheat-Cardamom Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe 
Olive Oil Sufganiyot recipe 
Jelly Doughnut Cake recipe 
Chocolate Bûche de Noël with Cookie Butter Whipped Ganache recipe 
Target 30K

It’s high time for pie, and we couldn’t be more excited!  
David and Jessica kick off the show by sharing some of their best pie tips and tricks, before bringing in a real pie expert — Stacey Mei Yan Fong, author of the award-winning cookbook 50 Pies, 50 States — to offer her advice. We’ve got some great Thanksgiving pie questions to answer, from the best way to prebake your crust to advice for preventing a runny apple pie filling, before closing the show with a Jess-opinion about the other dessert you should make for Thanksgiving and the pies Jessica and David are making this year.  
Read David’s article: How My Brother-in-Law Stole Thanksgiving—and How I Got it Back 
Find our Pies On-Demand Baking Class  
Check out all our pie resources: How to Bake Pie  
Learn more about Stacey and her book, and tune in to her Instagram page for her virtual pie hotline  
Find everything you need for your holiday pies in our Pie shop  
Mix it up this year with Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie  
Read PJ’s blog about baking pie crust upside down  
Find our Pie Thickener chart  
What David’s baking this week: Cranberry Chiffon Pie  
What Jessica’s baking this week: Classic Apple Tarte Tatin  
Record your question for our Ask the Bakers segment here! 
This episode is sponsored by Plugra. Learn more about their premium European-style butter at plugra.com. 
Target 30K