This October, the Guild welcomes back Martin Philip, a native of Arkansas, for two special events at Brightwater in Bentonville, Arkansas: Breaking Bread with Martin Philip (October 21) and Variations on a Bread: Maximizing Output with a Single Dough (October 22).  

Opera singer. Banjo player. Career-changer. Baker. Author. Teacher. Martin's career path reads like the story of a Renaissance man.  Along the way, he has shared his passion for baking around the world, even representing the United States in international bread competition. 

His love affair with bread happened almost by accident. He was in town for an opera gig and was visiting a friend who had made some bagels. The homemade bagel unlocked something in its taste and craftsmanship. Next to the bagels was a book about bread (Bread Alone by Dan Leader!). And so, the center of gravity quickly became bread. 

Baking gave Martin the daily practice of making, the discipline of repetition, and the connection to community. It also gave him bandwidth to channel his creativity continually; space to write, teach, and explore. Since joining the Guild, Martin has shared this philosophy with fellow bakers. At King Arthur Baking Company, where he rose to become Head Bread Baker and now serves as Baking Ambassador, he has built a career that is both rooted in craft and open to constant evolution. His books: Breaking Bread: A Baker's Journey Home in 75 Recipes, and The Big Book of Bread, along with his upcoming project, a pizza book (2026), reflect his belief that bread can support and inspire all bakers. 

Now, returning to Arkansas, Martin brings that blend of craft, creativity, and community back to where it began. We spoke with Martin recently about what it's like to bring his baking back home. 

You had an unconventional path before becoming a baker. What drew you into bread? 

I need to make things every day. Bread gave me that. It gave me a way to connect my hands and my heart. It gave me a way to connect to people. When you share bread, you share community. That’s what drew me in.

You're returning to Arkansas for these Brightwater classes. How does it feel to come back? 

It feels like coming home. I grew up here. My first restaurant jobs were here. Some of the Brightwater faculty are people I worked with years ago. The ingredients here are part of who I am too...black walnuts, pawpaw, sassafras. Teaching here is not just professional for me. It's personal. 

You're teaching both a demonstration and a hands-on workshop. How will those two experiences differ? 

The first night is about connection. I'll tell stories and demonstrate how one dough can become many things. It's like a live version of my Substack (Sassafras Curio) with stories, essays, and some baking along the way. The second day is hands-on. We'll work on a single enriched dough and make pan bread, rolls, pizza, babka. I want bakers to see how one dough can serve a whole bakery. It's about efficiency and creativity at the same time.  

You often describe bread as more than food. What do you mean by that? 

Bread is where food begins. It centers us. It creates space for people to gather. It can be a tool for inclusivity. For me, it has always been about more than the loaf. 

You've said you found the Guild very early in your baking journey. How did that begin? 

In the early 2000s I was just looking for recipes. I was looking for anything I could find. We didn’t have YouTube. We had some online resources, and then we had a lot of message groups, if you remember those days. There were some serious bread message groups. And I’m sure that’s where someone said, you should check out the BBGA. 

I saw the website and thought, I should join the Guild. Quickly after that I was taking classes at King Arthur. That’s when I met Jeffrey Hamelman. I had classes with him and then met Karen Bornarth. Karen and I both assisted Jeffrey when he came to teach a class in New York with Sarah Black. Sarah was a friend of mine, always supporting my baking growth. I was just a rank amateur who didn’t know anything. But she said, hey, Jeffrey’s coming to town, why don’t you assist him? I didn’t know anything, but I could run a broom. That was enough. That’s how it started. 

The Guild gave me a sense of what was possible. The Guild was a kind of on-ramp for me...a way to find community and see the craft up close. 

Tell us about your current role with King Arthur? How has it changed over time? 

I started as a baker. I became Head Bread Baker. Now I'm Baking Ambassador. I write; I test recipes. I work on books, and I create media. My role has changed but my mission is the same...to help people bake better and to share bread with more people.  

What projects do you have on the horizon? 

I have a pizza book that I wrote with my colleagues at King Arthur that will land in April of 2026. We’re really excited about that. I’m also excited to get back to my newsletter (The Sassafras Curio) as it’s been on hiatus. It was just nominated for an IACP award and while it’s a big commitment to produce, I’m excited to get back to the stories, the photography, and the compelling recipes.