Frank and Brinna Sands standing side-by-side in front of an assortment of baked goods

About Brinna Sands

Employee-owner from 1976 to 2006

Brinna Sands is King Arthurโ€™s original voice. She and her husband, Frank, were the companyโ€™s longtime owners, leading King Arthur for decades before eventually selling the company to its employees in 2006. 

The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, the companyโ€™s encyclopedic baking book published in 1990, was both Brinnaโ€™s brainchild and a real labor of love. She developed, tested, and tweaked every recipe in the book, then linked them all together with a winning combination of science, anecdotes, and tips born of her vast baking experience. 

Aside from her talent as a baker and writer, Brinna had a long-term vision: that King Arthur would transition from a small regional flour company to a worldwide resource for home bakers. Brinna and Frank launched the Bakerโ€™s Catalogue in 1990, quickly followed by The Baking Sheet, a bi-monthly print newsletter whose subscribers were treated to everything from recipes and tips to travelogues and detailed (yet accessible) articles on baking science. Through it all, Brinnaโ€™s warm, supportive voice was a constant; she was a true friend in the kitchen. 

During her final years with King Arthur, Brinna guided the creation of the companyโ€™s flagship campus in Norwich, Vermont, including the store, bakery & cafรฉ, and Baking School The launch of the school was especially important to her as a longtime devoted educator. Brinna wrapped up her active career at King Arthur by writing parts of The King Arthur Flour Bakerโ€™s Companion, the cookbook that was honored by the James Beard Foundation as its Cookbook of the Year in 2004. 

Recipes by Brinna Sands