The Divine Dish

Interview with Master Baker Ben Hershberger

Master Baker Ben Hershberger at the Phoenician

While visiting the Phonenician in Scottsdale for a story on golf getaways I was lucky enough to sit down with Master Baker Ben Hershberger.  I was there to write about golf, but after tasting some of his bread I had to speak with him.  Holding the esteemed title of Certified Master Baker through the Retail Bakers of America, Hershberger is an expert on the “science” of bread making.  By manipulating the time, temperature and hydration rate of the dough, he creates the recipes for the wide variety of breads that are baked fresh daily on property and featured at Il Terrazzo, the resort’s signature Italian restaurant, as well as through In-Room Dining and the Banquet Department.  Hershberger uses organic flour, natural sourdough (which has been passed down for more than 100 years) and Mediterranean Sea salt for the highest possible quality.

Hershberger, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, has been baking for more than 20 years.  He first started as a young child growing up in Nevada, where he would make home-made pastries and breads by milling whole grain millet, rice, barley and wheat by hand to use in his creations.  In the corporate world, Hershberger held the distinctive title of corporate baker and trainer for Ritz-Carlton Hotels, opening bakeries in Japan, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Colorado, here in the United States.  Most recently, he was an instructor at the Florida Culinary Institute, teaching students the art of baking.  He was also a baker at Maddy’s and Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.  In addition to tasting his lovely breads at the resort, he was nice enough to bake me fresh loaves of rosemary, rye, olive walnut, sourdough, chocolate cherry and a huge baget before I took off back to LA.  I received many requests on the plane for samples, which I quickly refused, as I selfishly wanted all that bread for myself.   Here are some pics of his delicious bread:

Pieces of loaves of different breads

My fave, olive walnut

Chocolate Cherry - very nice as a dessert bread

I highly recommend stopping in to try Chef Hershberger’s breads, or if in the Phoenix area you can pick them up at the Saturday Farmer’s market.  I spoke with the chef about his baking philosophy and background – interview is below. 

Ben Hershberger interview [ 16:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download