The Artful Baker
Founder of the Focaccia Bread Art Project Teri Culletto shares the secrets of using bread as your canvas.
Q+A
Have you always been a baker?
Absolutely. My grandmother immigrated to the US from Czechoslovakia with her husband, and I spent summer holidays at her home along the Hudson River, just outside New York City. She was a true artisan baker. Because she couldn’t write in English, there were never any written recipes, but I would watch and learn. It was a true apprenticeship.
When I became a single mum twenty-eight years ago, bread became a means to support my family. I opened a small cottage bakery and sold bread at the farmers market and grocery stores. Though self-taught, I also took classes at King Arthur Baking and gathered as much knowledge as possible through cookbooks.
Was cooking a big part of your childhood?
Growing up, my life was chaotic and crowded. We lived in a very small home with six children. There were two sets of bunk beds in one bedroom and two cribs in another. I never had my own room, so baking was a chance to have time alone in the kitchen because my mum was not a big cook.
Because we didn’t have much at home, I used to forage for foods on my bike. Farmers would give me eggs and dairy, and my best friend and I would pick wild apples. I didn’t really know how to follow a recipe, and we only owned one cookbook, so I baked without recipes. Later, I took home economics in high school and honed my technique.
What is focaccia?
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread with a creamy, airy interior and a crisp deep brown crust.
