841: Carla Hall Doesn’t Need a Holiday to Bake Something Special

Carla Hall (0:08)

But there's so many things in the book that I don't want you to wait for a holiday to do.

I don't want you to wait for Christmas to make gingerbread cookies. So, I sort of blur the lines when you will make the thing, which is why I made my gingerbread people black with braids, because I could.

Aliza Abarbanel (0:30)

This is TASTE. I'm your host, Aliza Abarbanel. Everybody loves Carla Hall. Carla Hall is a chef and TV host who has appeared on many of our favorite food programs over the years, from Bravo's Top Chef to Fox's Next Level Baker. Her latest cookbook is also her first baking book, Carla Bakes, Sweet, Savory, and From the Heart. Today on the show, Carla stops by the studio to chat about all things baking and what makes this book so special.

Carla Hall, this is TASTE. Thank you for coming on the podcast.

Carla Hall (1:05)

It's so great to be back.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:07)

Thank you for coming back again onto the podcast and to talk about baking, which is such a fun topic. To start, I have to ask if you've had any good baked goods recently.

Carla Hall (1:18)

Oh my gosh. At my book signing last night, a woman and I, it's in that bag. She brought me some cinnamon rolls from my recipe on chewed up and she had milled her own flour.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:32)

Wow.

Carla Hall (1:34)

They're delicious. It's funny, I was eating some, I was so hungry this morning and I was thinking, wow, this milled flour, it's just a little sturdier. It's really nice and nutty.

I just want to give her a shout out. I'll get the name in a minute. But people bring me things all the time. So that is the latest and greatest thing that I had.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:54)

Is the cinnamon rolls. Do you feel like when people bring you the baked goods, do you try to eat them in front of them or do they want feedback or it's for later?

Carla Hall (2:04)

Sometimes they do.

Aliza Abarbanel (2:04)

Yeah.

Carla Hall (2:05)

Sometimes they want feedback. I say, do you want me to be honest? Do you want constructive feedback?

If they say yes, I'm like, okay, you said that you want it feedback and I will eat it and I will give them feedback as if I'm on a show.

Aliza Abarbanel (2:21)

That must be the thrill of a lifetime though to be critiqued by Carla Hall live and in person.

Carla Hall (2:25)

Yeah.

I mean, people are up for it. I think people are up to learning. They don't necessarily want me to praise it. I will do a positive sandwich. I will never trash anybody's thing. But I think the fact that they want constructive feedback, I feel like, hey, I'd love to give it to you.

Aliza Abarbanel (2:43)

Right. I think that's the right way to approach it and milling on flour. I would never even consider doing that. Is that something that you've done? Okay.

Carla Hall (2:51)

I was thinking about this when I was eating a cinnamon roll. I want one of those-

Aliza Abarbanel (2:55)

The tabletop.

Carla Hall (2:56)

The tabletop flour miller. I have threatened to get it several times and I haven't gotten it. Then I just reminded myself that I do want one. I do. I mean, especially where our food is today.

I was also checking to see how my body feels. I think my body processes that flour very differently than the processed flour. So yes, I'm back on the flour mill.

Aliza Abarbanel (3:24)

Well, I think now that we've talked about it, we're speaking it into existence. Maybe you'll come home and there will be one waiting for you.

Carla Hall (3:30)

Hello, Matthew.

Hello. Do you know where to get that thing?

Aliza Abarbanel (3:34)

You have room for it in your kitchen, I guess is the real question.

Carla Hall (3:37)

I just cleaned out some space. I can throw out some other stuff.

Aliza Abarbanel (3:41)

You knew something was going to come in that you needed room for.

Carla Hall (3:43)

I'm in that season. I'm getting things ready for buy nothing. I'm getting rid of things so I can pull in some other equipment.

Aliza Abarbanel (3:52)

Well, we're already talking about baking a little bit, but this is your first baking cookbook, which I think is so special. And I'm wondering if you could tell me about why you wanted to make a baking cookbook, why this was the right time for it.

Carla Hall (4:04)

I've wanted to do a baking book for a while, even before Soul Food. Soul Food came out in 2018, so I started working on it in 2016 So that's how long I've wanted to do a baking book. I think this is the right time, because I now have a lot of the baking shows under my belt. I have Chasing Flavor under my belt. I've done The Cookie Company. So I have all of these things that I have done, and I'm 62, and I have the bucket of efforts. So my projects now are absolutely things that I want to do. And I know how to share that, what shall I say?