Emma Writes a Cookbook

Behind the Scenes of the Hayden Flour Mills Cookbook Project

Hello Friends and Bakers,

I’m writing to you because you signed up to be a recipe tester for my forthcoming Hayden Flour Mills Cookbook back in the summer. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the response I had. However, I could only select a handful of those who applied.*

BUT based on your applications, I would love to be friends with everyone of you. More than 80% of you responded that you cook from scratch 5-7 nights a week. And 95% of you said you were already familiar with Ancient and Heritage Grains. I thought, These are my people!!

My everyday friends (whom I love) aren’t as interested in hearing what I cooked for dinner and which market stand I got the ingredients from and the latest cookbook I pre-ordered.

So… I thought I would stay in touch with you like-minded food friends through a once-a-month newsletter. I chose this platform because it allows subscribers to leave comments on each newsletter I send out. That way it can be a two-way (but private) conversation. I’d love to hear and learn from you all!

Hayden Flour Mills has an official newsletter where we share coupon codes and upcoming events. But this will be much less polished and more personal update from my desk. (Think private blog posts just for you.) In the last two years I’ve hired an amazing team to run the day-to-day operations of Hayden Flour Mills allowing me to work on the big picture projects like this cookbook. But honestly, it can be kind of lonely work (thanks pandemic!) and sometimes I need a sounding board or someone I can share exciting news with.

*Recipe Testers: If you haven’t received a recipe to test yet. Don’t worry. They are being sent out in batches as I finish them. You might be in a later group. And it’s taking me longer than I thought it would take.

Here’s some things you’ll be seeing in this newsletter over the next few months:

1. Behind the scenes of cookbook writing-- How did I get a cookbook deal, a peek at my recipe writing process and sneak peeks at the book cover and design.

2. Kitchen Favorites- As I’ve been recipe testing, I’ve discovered some new favorite sources for ingredients that I can’t keep to myself. Everything from my favorite new spice company to my go-to dish soap.

3. Recipe Polls- Sometimes I just can’t tell if a new recipe idea is genius or just plain gross. I’d love your help deciding!

4. All things cookbooks! Your favorites. My favorites. And what we’re cooking from them.

5. Sneak peeks at upcoming secret HFM products I’ve been working on.

6. Bread! & Sourdough (I know you all are bread obsessed!)

If you’re here for it, WELCOME FRIEND! If not, no hard feelings, go ahead and hit that unsubscribe button below.

And if you still have no idea who is sending you this email…A little bit about me:

Hi! I’m Emma Zimmerman. My dad and I started Hayden Flour Mills together almost 10 years ago. Or I should say, REstarted. As Hayden Flour Mills is a historic mill in my hometown of Tempe, Arizona that went out of business about 30 years ago. It’s been a ton of work getting this project off the ground, but it’s been extremely rewarding, and I can easily say I have my dream job.

Before Hayden Flour Mills, I was working on a PhD in Neuroethics. (A story for another time.) And I have two degrees in Bioengineering that I never got around to actually using. My husband and I have two young children and we are in that hands-on parenting of young children stage-of-life. Life is very full!

I’m very immersed in the food world, so I don’t think my hobbies are going to surprise you—gardening, composting, cooking, collecting obscure pasta making tools, reading bucolic nature books and I’m addicted to the NYT Sunday crossword. I really can’t think of a single shocking hobby. I guess I’ll have to work on becoming edgier in 2021.

In the meantime, I look forward to getting to know you a bit better and sharing our love of cooking!