The yearly arrival of the King Arthur Flour holiday catalog signals the real start of the season around here. And now, the company has launched Sift, a print magazine that is bringing scrumptious right back into the kitchen.
“Even though our company has been around since George Washington was president, roughly half of the serious bakers in the country don’t know about us,” Sift Editorial Director Susan Reid told Yahoo Food. “We were a regional brand (northeast) until the 1990s, and only (relatively) recently became a national brand.”
“Launched in February 2015, the premiere issue is a feast for the eyes as well as the fingers. Gorgeous full-color photography graces nearly all 108 pages, which are thick and as glossy as the sheen on freshly baked scones,” gushes Yahoo Food’s Joanne Prisco.
Following the recent evolution of catalogs as purveyors of more content than product listing, the magazine serves as homage to baking exploration.
“In addition to recipes for Ginger-Honey Brioche, Rice-Cornmeal Muffins and Beer Crust Pizza Dough, the magazine also includes a well of feature stories on topics such as a food editor’s Mediterranean dinner party, a certified master baker who has a love affair with beekeeping, and a profile on The Pretzel Bakery located in Washington, D.C.,” Prisco continues.
The inspiration for the magazine, according to Reid, is based somewhat on similar titles both from the past and recent past, but more so from the abundance of talent and content they’ve built in house.
“We looked at Kinfolk, Modern Farmer, Garden and Gun, Gather, and Dark Rye for inspiration,” Reid said. “But the title is mostly built on the huge archive of recipes and talent we have in house, with design work from our ad agency, HZDG.”
At a cover price of $12.95, Sift is firmly positioning itself as a high-end niche publication, and it appears to have the editorial chops to back that up. Watch for the next issue, due in newsstands in August.