Other
Jeffrey Hamelman
baker
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Certified Master Baker Jeffrey Hamelman’s bread work belongs to an apprenticeship line: upbringing in New York and Pennsylvania, baking education in Germany, and bench work beginning in 1976. The lineage is functional. It is carried through hands, flour, fermentation, and the working knowledge of prior bakers. Hamelman states the obligation directly: "What a wonderful feeling it is to turn and look behind us at the hundreds of generations who have baked before us and realize that we have inherited the accumulation of their experience."
The Path
Professional bread production, in Hamelman’s record, followed training in Germany and began in 1976. The King Arthur Flour years added both production and instruction to that base: employee-owner from 1999–2017, developer and teacher of professional classes at King Arthur Flour Baking School, and captain of Baking Team USA. the work remains tied to production and teaching: Jeffrey is director of King Arthur Flour Bakery and teacher around the world.
The Work Today
Bakery direction at King Arthur Flour is the formal post; baker is the bench identity Hamelman keeps in use. The Certified Master Baker credential records training and peer recognition, while the daily subject remains bread practice. "I love bread. I love straight doughs, sourdoughs, seeded breads, breads with fruits and nuts, flatbreads, egg breads, rolls, braids, giant loaves, baguettes, round and oval loaves." The list is a working baker’s range: straight doughs and sourdoughs, seeded and fruited breads, flatbreads, egg breads, rolls, braids, giant loaves, baguettes, rounds, and ovals. The standard is process-led. In Hamelman’s terms, bread has standing when fermentation and ingredients are handled with respect, care, and authenticity: "If a bread is made with respect for fermentation and ingredients, if it's made with care and authenticity, then I think it has a place in our collective bread basket."
Signature
The named breads associated with Jeffrey Hamelman map several bread disciplines without reducing them to one style: dense rye tradition in Horst Bandel’s Black Pumpernickel, minimal-mix handling in Jeffrey Hamelman's Unkneaded, folding structure in 6-fold French Bread, levain work in Jeffrey's Liquid Levain, preferment use in Bagels with Pâte Fermentée, and grain inclusion in Five-Grain Bread with Pâte Fermentée.
In Their Words “What a wonderful feeling it is to turn and look behind us at the hundreds of generations who have baked before us and realize that we have inherited the accumulation of their experience.” “I love bread. I love straight doughs, sourdoughs, seeded breads, breads with fruits and nuts, flatbreads, egg breads, rolls, braids, giant loaves, baguettes, round and oval loaves.”
Acclaim
Peer recognition in Hamelman’s record includes the Golden Baguette Award / Raymond Calvel Award.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jeffrey
What is Jeffrey Hamelman's current role?
Jeffrey Hamelman is Director of King Arthur Flour Bakery.
Where did Jeffrey Hamelman train or study?
Jeffrey Hamelman trained at Germany.
What recognition has Jeffrey Hamelman received?
Golden Baguette Award / Raymond Calvel Award.
