Martin Philip is an award-winning baker and author. In 2025 he was
nominated for a James Beard and an IACP award as a co-author of NYT
bestseller,
The Big Book of Bread. His newsletter,
the Sassafras Curio, was additionally nominated for an IACP in 2025. His critically acclaimed book,
Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes, is a Wall Street Journal best seller and won the 2018 Vermont Book Award.
A
native of the Arkansas Ozarks, he is a sought-after voice in the world
of bread and baking and was named to the list of Top 25 Baking Educators
and Mentors in America by Bake magazine. He has taught for the Bread
Bakers Guild of America, the New England Culinary Institute, Johnson and
Wales University, the Kneading Conference, the Grain Gathering, and the
King Arthur Baking School among others. As a lecturer and presenter, he
has appeared at Tufts University, Yale University, Dartmouth College,
the Bread Lab, and the International Symposium on Bread.
In 2006,
Martin left New York City, moving with his wife and family to Vermont to
work under Jeffrey Hamelman at the King Arthur bakery. Over the course
of 14 years as a production baker, Martin rose to Head Bread Baker and
was chosen to represent the United States on Team USA in competition at
the SIGEP World Cup in Rimini, Italy. Additionally, Martin was first US
runner-up for the coveted bread spot on Team USA for the Coupe du Monde
de la Boulangerie in Paris, France.
Martin’s interest in baking is
deeply tied to the intersection of food and community. From teaching
wood-fired baking in the Dominican Republic to time with organizations
such as Hot Bread Kitchen and Homeboy Industries, he has consistently
used food as a means of outreach and connection. Martin’s project in
2018, The Baker Maker Roadshow, garnered attention as he bicycled
through rural Arkansas, cold-called homes, played his banjo, and baked
biscuits for strangers.
As a writer, Philip’s essays have been
published in the Kenyon Review and the Green Mountain Review. In 2016,
he was awarded a prestigious MacDowell Fellowship for work in creative
nonfiction. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Philip performed broadly
as a baritone in both opera and concert work.
Beyond baking,
writing, and work as King Arthur’s Baking Ambassador, Philip enjoys
endurance sports, foraging, hunting, picking his five-string banjo, and
time with his wife and three children. He can be found on social
platforms as @breadwright.
