Martin Philip is an award-winning baker and author. In 2025 he was nominated for a James Beard and an IACP award as a co-author of NYT bestseller, The Big Book of Bread. His newsletter, the Sassafras Curio, was additionally nominated for an IACP in 2025. His critically acclaimed book, Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes, is a Wall Street Journal best seller and won the 2018 Vermont Book Award.
A native of the Arkansas Ozarks, he is a sought-after voice in the world of bread and baking and was named to the list of Top 25 Baking Educators and Mentors in America by Bake magazine. He has taught for the Bread Bakers Guild of America, the New England Culinary Institute, Johnson and Wales University, the Kneading Conference, the Grain Gathering, and the King Arthur Baking School among others. As a lecturer and presenter, he has appeared at Tufts University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, the Bread Lab, and the International Symposium on Bread.
In 2006, Martin left New York City, moving with his wife and family to Vermont to work under Jeffrey Hamelman at the King Arthur bakery. Over the course of 14 years as a production baker, Martin rose to Head Bread Baker and was chosen to represent the United States on Team USA in competition at the SIGEP World Cup in Rimini, Italy. Additionally, Martin was first US runner-up for the coveted bread spot on Team USA for the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris, France.
Martin’s interest in baking is deeply tied to the intersection of food and community. From teaching wood-fired baking in the Dominican Republic to time with organizations such as Hot Bread Kitchen and Homeboy Industries, he has consistently used food as a means of outreach and connection. Martin’s project in 2018, The Baker Maker Roadshow, garnered attention as he bicycled through rural Arkansas, cold-called homes, played his banjo, and baked biscuits for strangers.
As a writer, Philip’s essays have been published in the Kenyon Review and the Green Mountain Review. In 2016, he was awarded a prestigious MacDowell Fellowship for work in creative nonfiction. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Philip performed broadly as a baritone in both opera and concert work.
Beyond baking, writing, and work as King Arthur’s Baking Ambassador, Philip enjoys endurance sports, foraging, hunting, picking his five-string banjo, and time with his wife and three children. He can be found on social platforms as @breadwright.
