Hello and welcome to Letters to Beloved, a newsletter from Ali Bakes Bread! If by some miracle, you’ve found your way over here but are not yet subscribed, let me help you with that:
If you’re a free subscriber, you now have access to last month’s letter, which featured my family’s straightforward recipe for Pakistani dal (lentils). The flu season this year is a rager, and dal is the perfect pick-me-up. I highly recommend you give it a shot.
This month’s letter has a recipe for one of my favorite desserts—butterscotch pudding. It’s sweet, salty, rich, and best of all, you probably already have all the things to make it. You don’t need me to tell you, but you deserve a little treat.
If you’d like a paid subscription but can’t swing it financially, send me a message on Instagram, and we’ll work something out.
As always, thanks for reading <3
Baker’s Note
I’ve been sick for the better part of this month. A nasty flu evolved into bronchitis which slapped me around and put me on my back. I’m just beginning to come out of it and find my feet again.
Needless to say, this baker has not been baking.
But before I went down with the sickness, I was on a pizza kick. I love making pizza. If you do the work of mixing your dough ahead of time, it takes just a couple minutes to make something hot, fresh, and delicious. And pizza is endlessly versatile. All I had on hand one night was a can of roasted tomatoes, chives, and garlic. It was perfect.
However, I am a purist at heart. Plain cheese is my favorite.
Perhaps another day, I will serenade you on the many virtues of the plain cheese, but for now I’ll leave you with a few pictures of my lovely pizza pies.
Until Ooni sponsors and gifts me one of their ovens, I use a simple pizza stone at 550 in my home oven and broil it until the cheese bubbles like lava. For the dough, I use the recipe from Roberta’s, but I like substituting the flour with Butler’s Gold ‘00’ from Barton Springs Mill and increasing the hydration by about 3% (about 9 grams of water). Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Because I didn’t bake much this month, I want to highlight some of the delicious things from other bakers that I ate. Like this chocolate passionfruit cake from Future Bakery Cooperative.
One of the best loaves of sourdough I’ve had came from R&R Bakehouse, a cottage bakery that unfortunately is taking a break. Their last market day will be this Saturday, February 22nd at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market (3200 Jones Rd, Austin, TX 7845) from 9am to 1pm. If you’re in Austin, I highly recommend checking them out and getting one of their loaves before they go on a much-deserved hiatus.
What other delicious baked things should I try? DM me on Instagram and let me know where I should go next and what I should order. Until next month, beloved.
xoxo, Ali
The Bread Queue
Here’s who came up on the queue this month and got some bread! Ridha, Emily, Mike, Jennifer, Tala, Emmy, Lian, Sohaila, and Chrissy. Thank you for letting me bake for you.
Another thank you to all of the subscribers for supporting this newsletter that supports the bread project <3
If you’re interested in becoming a paid subscriber to support the bread project, we’d love to have you.
Looking for free bread? DM @alibakesbread on Instagram to get on the bread queue.
Amplify Austin
Before we dive into this month’s recipe, I wanted to shout out one of my favorite nonprofits: Austin Bat Cave. Not to be mistaken with the Bat Conservancy, Austin Bat Cave organizes and hosts creative writing workshops for kids all over the greater Austin area. At the end of the year, the students become published authors and have their work featured in a beautiful anthology. Giving students a voice and an outlet is more important than ever, and I’m proud to support this organization and their incredible work.
During Amplify Austin, they are hoping to raise $7,000 to cover the cost for their 2025 Anthology as well as other student zines/publications.
While Amplify Austin runs from March 5th-6th, you can schedule your donation today and support an organization doing really important work. Just hit the button below to make a contribution.
Thank you <3
Taste This
Simple Butterscotch Pudding
Butterscotch pudding does not photograph well, so you’re just going to have to trust me on this one.
This is a recipe for when you crave something sweet and decadent and don’t want the fuss that comes along with making dessert.
There are desserts that demand reverence—French pastries, soufflés, anything that requires a sugar thermometer and the patience of a saint. And then there’s butterscotch pudding. No pretense, no stress, just a deeply satisfying, wildly underrated classic that you can make with pantry staples. It’s rich but not too sweet, nostalgic without feeling old-fashioned. Think of it as the pudding you wish came in those little plastic cups.
Ingredients
260g brown sugar (dark or light, doesn’t really matter)
40g cornstarch
3–5g salt
710g milk (whole, please)
4 egg yolks
40g butter
A handful of butterscotch chips (Optional)
Method
In a medium pot, mix together the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Pour in the milk and yolks. Turn the heat to medium and whisk like you mean it, bringing the whole thing up to a boil. It’ll start to thicken—this is good.
Once it starts to boil, take it off the heat. Stir in a knob of butter and toss in your butterscotch chips
Pour into whatever you’ve got—ramekins, mismatched coffee cups, a single big bowl if you plan on eating it with a spoon straight from the fridge (respect).
If you can wait, chill the pudding for a few hours. If not, warm pudding is also a vibe.
This pudding doesn’t need anything, but if you must gild the lily, a little flaky salt on top wouldn’t be the worst idea. Maybe some vanilla wafers?
That’s letter #6. We’ll be back next month with another round. Please reach out, let me know what you liked, didn’t like, and if there’s anything I should eat or try.