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Taylor Swift is in her sourdough era

Between tours and albums, Swift is kneading her way through some colorful new baking projects

Senior Food Editor

Published

Taylor Swift performs at Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 16, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Taylor Swift performs at Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 16, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

I’m not a Swiftie in the religious sense, but I do know her mythos enough to appreciate a baked-good cameo when I see one. There were the chai sugar cookies with cinnamon-egg-nog icing she shared on Tumblr for her 1989 Secret Sessions. There were the homemade Pop-Tarts for the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line. And, of course, the cinnamon rolls she makes for Travis Kelce’s pre-game meals. Now, Swift seems to have taken it a step further: her kitchen is ruled by sourdough.

On Wednesday, Swift appeared on the “New Heights” podcast, co-hosted by Kelce and his brother Jason, to announce her next album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” arriving Oct. 3. There were the expected big takeaways: reclaiming her master recordings, the album’s more upbeat tone and reflections on her history-making Eras Tour.

But Swift and the Kelce brothers also took a moment to drop some new Taylor baking lore. These days, she spends a lot of what little free time she has scrolling sourdough blogs.

“The sourdough has taken over my life in a huge way,” Swift said with a laugh. “I’m really talking about bread 60% of the time now. It’s become a huge, huge factor.”

Travis Kelce nodded: while her traditional sourdough is one of his favorites, Swift has also been experimenting with other versions. “There’s a blueberry-lemon,” Swift said. “There’s cinnamon swirl, cinnamon raisin. And this one I’ve been workshopping for the girls because they love everything rainbow — funfetti sourdough

She continued: “It’s gotten pretty crazy over here. I’m just like always baking bread and texting my friends, ‘Can I send you some bread?’”

“She’s a loafer for life now,” Kelce confirmed.

And just like that, Taylor Swift’s next era is fully proofed, sprinkles and all

By Ashlie D. Stevens

Ashlie D. Stevens is Salon's senior food editor. She is also an award-winning radio producer, editor and features writer — with a special emphasis on food, culture and subculture.

Her writing has appeared in and on The Atlantic, National Geographic’s “The Plate,” Eater, VICE, Slate, Salon, The Bitter Southerner and Chicago Magazine, while her audio work has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and Here & Now, as well as APM’s Marketplace. She is based in Chicago.


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