Episode 55 – Martin Siemann
After a short hiatus where SnapSessions!’ Techmeister Marshall Brown first got married and then went down with Covid, SnapSessions is back with Episode 55 featuring “Deutsche Brotbacken” including an interview with German master bread baker, Martin Siemann and a look at the bakeries of Central Europe. Also featured this month is another of our environmental reports—“The Hottest Summer on Record” where we investigate our ongoing Climate Crisis, COP 28, and our past horrific summer of world-wide fires.
This past May SnapSessions had a chance to visit German Master Baker, Martin Siemann at his bakery in Heidelberg, Germany. Our interview and article “Deutsche Brotbacken” introduces our listeners to many of the highlights of German bread baking as well as talking with Martin Siemann about his career as a baker and his family legacy. “Deutsche Brotbacken” looks at the long-time baking traditions of Central Europe—Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—and how they are valued. In addition SnapSessions was given a tour of Martin’s bakery—Mahlzahn Bäckerei in Heidelberg in May, where we saw everything from how various grains are milled, how basic wheat, rye, millet, and spelt flours are combined, and how they are turned into loaves, rolls (Brötchen) and baguettes. Martin also talks about his family’s history as bakers over seven generations, starting near Hannover at the beginning of the 19th century. If there was ever a SnapSessions episode that should have had “Smellarama” or “Tastearama”, it would be Episode 55.
We also post “The Hottest Summer on Record”, an in depth look at the fires of this past summer around the world from Quebec, to Maui, to Greece and southern Europe. SnapSessions! ongoing environmental reporting hones in on Earth’s precarious Climate tipping points from melting glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica to changes in the flow of the Gulf Stream. A recent speech by Al Gore is featured as is an ending warning from comedy great, George Carlin.
Episode 55 is 45 minutes long and includes an intro, the article “The Hottest Summer on Record” (starts at 1:17), and ends with our interview with Martin Siemann in “Deutsche Brotbacken” (starts at 18:14).
SnapSessions! includes original music by Marshall Brown, production by Marshall Brown and interns Max Oatney & Frej Barty, voiceovers by Doug Nunn and Marshall Brown, and articles and interviews by Doug Nunn. Our SnapSessions! artist and logo maker is caricaturist, Daniel Stieglitz.
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