ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS DANGER
When he’s not his full-time marketing gig, self-taught baker Josh Lehenbauer is dishing up pastries and other delicious baked goods for visitors to his website, joshisbaking.com, and his other social media accounts (@joshisbaking on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube). We talked to him about how he got started, his most popular posts, and the importance of kitchen scales.
How did you get into baking?
Baking, growing up, was always in the periphery. It wasn’t until much later in life I would actually start to bake for myself. My earliest memories of baking include me sitting at the kitchen island as my mom worked on wedding cakes for close friends or family. It was then that the seeds were sown and over time, slowly fostered themselves into the love and passion I have for baking now. In 2019, I found myself baking more and more just for fun, which my husband welcomed and encouraged. I mean, who says no to more baked goods within reach? Then, I started @joshisbaking to hold myself accountable and share the journey with friends. Little did I know at the time it would become what it is now, but I’d say the roots are firmly planted and I’m excited to see what it grows into.
How do you describe your food style?
In three words, I’d have to say: fun, vibrant, and flaky. At the risk of sounding overly cheesy, I’ve always strived to make people feel something with my videos or bakes, hopefully in the realm of joy. Pastry is definitely my comfort zone, so you’ll definitely find lots of it on my page—there’s just something so therapeutic about the process. It feels like a constant amidst all the chaos; should everything else in my life be toppling out of control, pastry has a way of centering me back into reality.
What’s your most popular post in terms of views/shares/likes/comments?
I shared a timelapse [on TikTok] of how to assemble a lattice crust with pie dough; it’s currently sitting at 3.3 million views and counting. Just insane. On Instagram, my most popular post was this recipe video for some cinnamon sugar pie bites. It teaches you how to turn scrap pie dough into some tasty—and flaky—little bites that are tossed in cinnamon sugar after the bake. That one is just shy of 750,000 views and easily my most-saved post.
What do you think made those so special?
With the pie lattice it could be that most have seen one, but never knew how it was done. Maybe it piqued their curiosity or they wanted to finally tackle it for themselves. With the pie bites, outside of being delicious, it makes great use of an item you might otherwise discard. The no-waste girlies (and those aspiring to be) loved that one. I’ll say this though—in both cases, I put little thought behind the actual editing or process. Naturally it’s always the content we put less effort into that finds the light, which can be frustrating. I’m not sure the lesson there of “don’t try so hard” is accurate, but sometimes less is definitely more.
Do you have any events/special recipes coming out soon?
Currently, I’m partnering up with Betty Crocker, releasing fun twists on classic Betty Crocker recipes each month, so while I can’t exactly reveal what’s coming for October, I can say that it’ll be cozy. It is the fall, after all! No better season to be a baker.
Do you have any baking secrets you’d like to share?
The best advice I could give to an aspiring home baker is to not expect perfection the first time you’re baking something. It’s better to set more realistic expectations and exceed them than to anticipate the cookbook cover photo, fail, and discourage yourself from ever trying it again. Baking should be fun, so if you can take any excess stress out of the equation—do it! If in doubt, just say you were going for that “rustic” look and call it a day. No one can argue with rustic
Do you refer to yourself as a food influencer or a food blogger? Is there a difference to you?
If forced to choose I’d label myself as a food blogger over influencer, though I’d say the title is always changing for me. I’m not a blogger in the traditional sense as my website occupies very little of my headspace at any given point. I try to put out content I think people will enjoy rather than create for the sake of a trend or pigeonhole myself into any one category. If you don’t enjoy the process, it’ll consume you. Social media is fickle, so just make content you love and want to see yourself—the rest will follow.
With that said, something I’m often vocal about is my sexual identity. It’s not to label myself as a “gay baker,” however technically accurate that may be; it’s to send a message to anyone struggling with their own identity that this is a safe space. Queer visibility and representation, not to mention advocacy, was lacking in my own coming out, so if I have the chance to be a potentially positive voice in the all the noise for someone else, I’m going to try.
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
Do yourself a favor and buy a food scale! Baking is way more accurate with a kitchen scale, allows you make virtually any recipe out there, and is also surprisingly affordable. Once you go grams, it’s hard to go back. Trust me.
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