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Overconfidence, the Bread Baking Edition

How channeling my dad turned my little kitchen into a (Bittman) bread factory.

Published May 21, 2025

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Jim Henkens

My father drove a black Ford Bronco, blazed with red, orange, and yellow stripes. He had Navy SEAL confidence and 4-wheel drive, yet twice managed to get stuck in muck, one time bad enough to call in a crane.

When a local food organization turned me away from their first pop-up market of the year because they already had a honey vendor, in true Petersen style I pivoted without skipping a beat and said, “How about whole wheat sourdough?” then  shifted into overdrive. 

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