Freshly Milled Flour
Kernza Sourdough Bread Recipe
Added flavor and nutrition with freshly milled grains and seeds.
December 12, 2023
Maurizio Leo
Maurizio Leo is the creator of The Perfect Loaf, the leading independent resource for baking sourdough bread and pizza at home, and the James Beard Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Loaf and The Perfect Pizza. He lives in Albuquerque, NM, with his wife and two sons, and he's been labeled "Bob Ross but for bread." Read his full story →
Expertise
- Maurizio is the author of two cookbooks: The Perfect Loaf (2022), winner of the 2023 James Beard Foundation Book Award and the 2023 IACP Cookbook Award and a New York Times bestseller, and The Perfect Pizza (2026), his follow-up on sourdough pizza and focaccia.
- He has baked and written about naturally leavened bread daily since founding The Perfect Loaf in 2013—the site won Saveur Blog Awards in 2016 and 2018 and was a 2019 Webby nominee.
- His work and recipes have been featured by The New York Times, Food52, King Arthur Baking, WIRED, Food & Wine, and TASTE.
- Maurizio is primarily a self-taught baker, though he has since taken professional-level baking courses at École Internationale de Boulangerie in France, The San Francisco Baking Institute, and at the WSU Bread Lab with King Arthur in Washington State.
- He hosts small-group bread travel and workshops, most recently in western Sicily.
Background
Maurizio grew up in his family’s Italian restaurant, Mimmo’s Ristorante, in Albuquerque, where his father’s pizza dough was his first education in fermentation. He took the long way back: after obtaining a master’s degree in computer science and years as a software engineer, he founded The Perfect Loaf in 2013. While he loves the craft and creativitiy of making bread and pizza, his engineering side still shows through in every recipe on the site. Each recipe is thoroughly tested over many iterations in his home kitchen, with dough temperatures, fermentation times, and results logged before anything is published. He wrote his first cookbook, The Perfect Loaf, after nearly a decade of working with dough. The James Beard Foundation named it the best bread book of 2023 and it won an IACP award the same year. He lives in Albuquerque with his wife and two sons and bakes and writes for The Perfect Loaf.
Read the full story on the About page →
5 Quick Things About Maurizio
- The sourdough starter I use for baking is the very same one I created in 2012
- No, my sourdough starter doesn’t have a name (though it’s definitely a family member at this point)
- I’m unusually obsessed with temperature
- I love traveling and find myself in a different country at least a few times a year (usually in search of great bread)
- He’s been called the “Bob Ross of Bread”
Posts by Maurizio Leo
Fall
Flaky Sourdough Discard Pie Crust (Sweet or Savory)
A Tender and Ultra-Flaky Pie Crust Starts with Your Starter
September 26, 2023
Ingredients
How To Make Great Sourdough Bread With High-Protein White Bread Flour
Navigating strong flour for delicious loaves.
August 21, 2023
Sourdough Guides
How To Feed Your Starter Less Often, Thanks to the Sourdough Home
Save flour and time by keeping a starter cool, not fridge-cold.
August 7, 2023
Essay
Sourdough Bread, Pastry, and Panettone: My French Baking Adventure
A behind the scenes look at my trip and a little of what I learned.
June 13, 2023
Essay
I Made This AI-Generated Sourdough Bread Recipe, and It Actually Wasn’t Too Bad
How Artificial Intelligence Would Craft The Perfect Loaf
May 2, 2023
Best Baking Tools
The Best Kitchen Scale for Making Bread
Weighing in on my top pick after countless bakes.
March 27, 2023
Sourdough Guides
How to Bake Sourdough Bread at High Altitude
Great sourdough bread, even up high.
March 16, 2023
Best Baking Tools
Simplify Sourdough Starter Maintenance with the Sourdough Home
Keep your starter thriving at just the right temperature.
March 10, 2023
Freshly Milled Flour
The Perfect Loaf x Hayden Flour Mills Custom Bread Flour Blend (with Recipe!)
My uniquely-mixed freshly milled flour for incredible sourdough bread.
February 24, 2023
Recipes
Pane Siciliano (Semolina and Sesame Sourdough Bread)
Golden and nutty with a satiny crumb.
February 8, 2023
Other Food
Sourdough Starter Discard Cake: Ciambella
An effortless classic Italian cake that’s flavored with lemon.
January 16, 2023
Best Baking Tools
The Best Jar For Your Sourdough Starter
Over 10 years of real-world use in my kitchen.
January 15, 2023
After Baking Tools
The Best Bread Knife for Sourdough
Your sourdough bread deserves a clean cut.
January 10, 2023
High Hydration
High-Fiber Seeded Sourdough Bread Recipe (With Video)
A healthy and nutritious sandwich bread with whole grains, seeds, and oats.
December 30, 2022
Sourdough Guides
How to Use the Dough Poke Test
A simple poke for perfectly proofed sourdough bread.
December 7, 2022
Cookbook
The Perfect Loaf Cookbook is Now Available!
The Perfect Loaf cookbook is now available everywhere!
November 8, 2022
Cookbook
The Perfect Loaf Cookbook Sneak Peek!
Let’s take a little look at my not-so-little new book.
October 28, 2022
Porridge Bread
Brown rice and sesame sourdough bread recipe
Rice and sesame lend an earthy flavor, tender interior, and golden crust.
September 1, 2022
Sourdough Guides
The Simplest Way I Improved My Baking (With Free Baking Notes Worksheet)
Better baking through note-taking.
August 18, 2022
Enriched Dough
The Best Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
A delicious and nutritious pan loaf that’s as soft or softer than white bread.
July 28, 2022
Sourdough FAQs
21 Common Sourdough Starter Problems with Solutions
Have a starter problem? I (probably) have the solution.
June 6, 2022
Pan Bread
Focaccia Pugliese (Focaccia with Potato)
The chewiest, fluffiest, most delicious focaccia.
May 27, 2022
Recipes
Wood-Fired Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe
A step-by-step guide to the best sourdough pizza in a high-heat oven.
April 29, 2022
Pastry
Sourdough Chocolate Knots
Naturally leavened twisty knots filled with rich, decadent chocolate. Yes, please.
March 21, 2022
Sourdough Guides
How To Top Bread Dough (With Seeds and More)
Learn the best way to add seeds, nuts, and other items to the outside of your bread.
March 10, 2022