“Sortachef” Don Hogeland and Bagels

Many of you know that the Tandem Tasters like to discover lesser known chefs, exceptional chefs, and good cooks. Our taste in food goes from the simple to the complex.

We follow quite a few food bloggers on Food Buzz and Don Hogeland is one who has an impressive selection of posts. His bagels won us over. The link to this recipe on Big Blend Magazine is after his bio.

Don isn’t a chef. He has name himself “Sortachef” on Woodfiredkitchen.com.

He may not be a chef, but he is a great cook and a good writer which shines through on his blog.

Hogeland says, “I studied journalism at an east coast university and then moved to Seattle, where I set up shop making custom furniture. Woodworking allowed me flexibility to pursue my true passion: baking bread.”

Don built a wood fired oven behind his house in 2004. It enables him to bake crusty European-style breads, Italian pizzas, and a variety of succulent dishes tinged with the fire of apple wood. Don’s inquisitive mind and taste buds keeps his continually adding to his repertoire of recipes, juggling many different ones at the same time.

Sortachef on Woodfiredkitchen.com includes an eclectic mix of travel, food memories and photographs to accompany his recipes. Since we believe food, wine and travel are the best geography lesson you can have to understand and appreciate various cultures, his style of sharing his message what we enjoy.

As a bonus, Don shares his recipes and techniques for wood fired cooking. He is also kind enough make sure they are translated for conventional baking as well.

Don finishes by saying, “The name Sortachef fits me to a T. Although most of my equipment is high end and my ingredients, techniques and recipes are of proven quality, I have never studied as a professional chef.”

Don’s Bagle Recipe in Big Blend Magazine.