Friends, hello!
A funny thing happened recently - I encountered myself on the internet.
Not current me. Current me is fairly easy to find on the internet because I keep insisting on putting myself here. I found myself, just the 2017 version, preserved forever in a Bon Appétit article about my grocery list.
At the time I had just moved into what would become The Bakehouse, in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans. I was working on recipes (a solid nine years into blogging), I was just getting cozy in my jambalaya era, I was workshopping the idea of teaching baking classes in my home, and I was well stocked with what the article very accurately called “cat lady supplies” for Tron.
I read the whole article and recognized the person immediately. But I’ll tell ya, what nine years won’t do to a grocery list (and the life attached to it)!
Most notably, added to the grocery list is a monthly bakery in the backyard that requires a tremendous amount of butter, flour, chocolate, pecans, cheddar cheese, did I mention butter?,
Here’s a glimpse at the list in 2026.
Shopping for The Bakehouse Texas
I’m getting ready to crank on the ovens and open the gate to The Bakehouse Texas this coming Saturday October 3rd. This is the week I try to plan for how many baked goods human beings can reasonably eat before noon.
As I found out last month, the answer was: more than I made. So I’m upping production this week.
October’s menu includes giant chocolate chip cookies, Apple Pie Biscuit Jammers, Sticky Pecan Banana Bread, Loaded Baked Potato Quiche, Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls, and Giant Sprinkled Snickerdoodles (though I’m tempted to switch this to a big thick Coffee Cake which is exactly the kind of switch up that makes a cottage bakery fun).
All of this to say, I no longer buy “some butter.” I buy BAKERY BUTTER.
For October, the shopping looked something like:
14 pounds butter
5 dozen eggs
15 pounds flour + flour I had on hand
10 pounds of both granulated sugar and brown sugar
18 bags of Guittard chocolate chips
1 large jar of vanilla bean paste
7 pounds apples
So freaking many bananas, maybe 40?
2 pounds pecans
plus 10 pounds of potatoes, 5 pounds of bacon, 3 pounds of cream cheese, more heavy cream than you care to know about, 6 cans of pumpkin, all the buttermilk left in my fridge, a huge block of Tillamook cheddar cheese, parchment paper, bakery boxes, and the blind faith required to believe it will all become breakfast by Saturday morning.
Come on by The Bakehouse this Saturday October 3rd! I’d love to see you! If you can’t make it - best believe I’ll keep sharing my best Bakehouse recipes here and on the blog. No gatekeeping the goods!
An Interview with Carla Hall on her book Carla Bakes
What an absolute delight and honor it is to have the legendary Carla Hall here with us today.
Her new cookbook, Carla Bakes, is exactly the kind of book I want on my counter going into the biggest baking season of the year: joyful, generous, playful, and full of things I immediately want to make (see: the giant poptart).
Carla talks baking, kitchen wisdom, and what keeps her excited to turn on the oven. Let’s get into it and of course, stay for the cookbook giveaway at the end!
What was the “aha moment” recipe while writing this book - the one that made you think, oh, this is the heart of it?
The 4th day that I was working on a fool proof pâte a choux recipe. In the end, after much research, I cracked the eggs, added an additional white, whisked them and then measured the desired amount so that it would be consistent every time!!
I knew that I wanted this book to be the teacher, but also the FUN teacher that everyone liked.
If your cookbook had a playlist, what three songs would be on it?
“Golden” - Jill Scott
“Brand New Day (Everybody Rejoice)” - The Wiz
“Let’s Go Crazy” - Prince
What’s one ingredient you’re evangelical about?
Malted milk powder!!!!
If someone cooks just one recipe from your book to understand you as a person, which should it be?
Southern Pecan Crinkle Baklava
It’s a recipe that is clearly rooted in my Southern upbringing, but with a nod to my travels abroad AND on socials. Even a viral recipe can be inspiring.
What’s a mistake you hope readers make at least once?
Underbake a pound cake without using a thermometer to determine the internal temperature.
What kitchen tool deserves more respect, and which one do you think is wildly overrated?
A scale deserves more respect, and a garlic press is wildly overrated.
Fill in the blank: People think I’m willy nilly in the kitchen, but actually I’m more of a scientist.
If you could hand-deliver this cookbook to one person (living or not), who would it be and what would you want them to cook first?
My culinary school teacher, Pascale Dionot.
Custard Danish with Raisins.
My inspiration was the classic French pain aux raisins danish.
What’s your most controversial food opinion?
Sweet Grits vs savory grits (hands down!), as a porridge (the qualifier).
Which is why I have a recipe for grits brulee in the breakfast chapter. It MUST be made with sugar in the grits. 🤭
When you’re not eating your own recipes, what are you absolutely guilty-pleasure ordering for takeout?
Over-ordering 7 dishes from a local Thai restaurant, whether I’m eating with or without my husband.
Tom Kha Soup
Vegetable spring rolls
Papaya salad
Basil Fried Rice
Drunken Noodles
Pad Thai with chicken
Green Curry w/ Tofu
What do you hope someone feels (like, truly feels) when they cook from your book for the first time?
That they’re a better baker than they thought.
GIVEAWAY: Win a copy of Carla Bakes!
Carla’s Thai takeout order is seven dishes deep whether her husband is home or not, which is the kind of confidence I aspire to.
So tell me: What’s your no-restraint takeout order?
Leave your answer in the comments below for a chance to win a copy of Carla Bakes. Open to US residents. Giveaway closes Tuesday October 6th and winner will be notified by Substack message.
More soon, friends!
xo Joy
Ordering a dessert when ordering takeout is such a treat. My favorite spot has warm vanilla bread pudding with a scoop of Hagen Das vanilla on the side. Absolutely unnecessary for takeout, and yet, absolutely necessary.
Actually, baked goods. I can go into a petite bakery without getting so many treats to try and the inevitable stomach ache that will follow!🤣 but so worth it!
Jaci