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My name is Cindy, and I’m a food writer, recipe developer and former professional cook living in Ottawa, Canada. I started Salt and Serenity in 2009, which means I’ve been testing recipes, photographing food and making a spectacular mess of my kitchen for a very long time.

I’m a firm believer that food should have big flavour and plenty of texture. I test my recipes obsessively—not because I’m a perfectionist (although my family may have opinions about that), but because I want them to work just as well in your kitchen as they do in mine.

I’ve been told that some of my recipes are a little long. Too many steps. Too much detail. Fair enough. But there’s a reason for that: I really want you to succeed. I’ve probably already made the mistake, so you don’t have to.

I tend to get cranky if I go more than a few days without baking. Several spin classes and weight training sessions a week and judicious amounts of salt help, but baking is what really keeps me serene.

For me, one of the best parts of cooking and baking is sharing what I’ve made with family and friends. My desert island food is salted caramel, I believe almost everything can benefit from a little crunch, and my favourite way to eat a chocolate chip cookie is straight from the freezer.

You can also find me on Instagram at @saltandserenity, where I share new recipes, behind-the-scenes kitchen experiments and whatever I’m currently obsessing over.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen

#24. A very expensive Panettone.

#23. Pane Siciliano and lessons about yeast relearned!

#22. Pain de Campagne – As much fun to make as it is to eat!

#21. Brutti Ma Buoni Bread

#20. The Best Toast in the World?

#19. Marbled Rye – A Work of Art!

Week # 18, in which I discover I may have actually become a bread snob.

#17. Lavash Crackers

#16. The Kaiser Buns that killed the Kitchen-Aid.

#15. How Italian bread lead me to infidelity.