David “DT” Turner joined King Arthur Baking Company as a Baker Support Specialist on the Baker’s Hotline at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he was on the front lines supporting America’s obsession with sourdough baking. In 2022, he leveraged his eye for detail and interest in helping home bakers achieve success by becoming a Recipe Developer in the King Arthur Test Kitchen.
Since joining the Test Kitchen, DT has tested or developed over 200 recipes for King Arthur’s online recipe collection, catalog, and cookbooks, including New York Times #1 Bestseller Big Book of Bread. Seen as the Test Kitchen’s resident pastaiolo, DT has appeared on our YouTube channel, aiming to demystify homemade semolina pasta. He also makes regular video appearances on our TikTok and Instagram platforms.
Before joining King Arthur, DT worked at America’s Test Kitchen in Boston, Massachusetts, and represented America’s Test Kitchen at sea as an onboard culinary host and presenter with Holland America Line cruises. He was an inaugural baking instructor at Milk Bar’s flagship store in Washington, DC, teaching a wide audience of recreational baking enthusiasts all about cake and pie. DT also spent time as lead baker at Praline Bakery & Bistro in Bethesda, Maryland, where he specialized in laminated pastry and production baking. Prior to that, DT cut his culinary teeth as a savory line cook in the 3-star Michelin kitchen of The Inn at Little Washington in Rappahannock County, Virginia.
DT holds a master’s degree in foreign language education from the University of Virginia, along with an undergraduate degree in Spanish and linguistics. He spent over a decade working in higher education administration in both Georgia and Maryland before switching careers to pursue his passion for food and food media in 2014, studying culinary arts at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
When DT is not baking or writing a recipe, he is probably pet-sitting somewhere in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire or planning his next getaway in beautiful New England or beyond.
