I used to make these bread sticks all the time, before I knew how to make bread. My husband put in a request for them last week, and it reminded me how good they are, and a snap to make.
Also fun if you have little ones who love to roll dough snakes.
Recipe here.
I baked this very large, rustic Italian loaf (pagnotta) a couple weeks ago from Daniel Leader’s wonderful new book, Local Breads, page 197. He states that it is to bake until almost black or charred for the most authentic loaf. I didn’t go quite that far but you can see it developed a lot of color which I always prefer in my loaves.
Nice to be back baking :)
Here's some challah from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. My first try at challah, they're as tasty as they are nice to look at. The inside is soft, sweet and light. Exactly what I think of when I think challah.
-Joe
Here is a miche that uses a large proportion of high-extraction flour. Heartland Mill's Golden Buffalo is great for this. This is probably the heartiest bread I have ever made.
The recipe is here.
I have done a lot of scattered baking the past two months. These are pics of most of it. OK, so only one loaf was actually bad. That was the one where I thought I forgot to add the salt to the evening mix, so I added it the next morning. That was one of Peter Reinhart’s epoxy sandwich loaves. Not only was it too salty, but as you can guess it also didn’t rise very well. It still had a very nicely textured crumb. That loaf went in the freezer for use as breadcrumbs. I just hope I remembered to label it!
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When people hear that I make virtually all our bread, they nod in approval and invariably ask what kind of bread machine I have. Here is how the conversation generally continues:
Me: No, I make it by hand. I don't have a bread machine. They: No bread machine?? Me: No, all by hand. They: (awestruck) Wow... that must be hard...
Entertaining my little boy again tonight, so time for another easy baking project he could help with. He loves pineapple and we had some a couple of days old, so time to do something with it. Recipe from The Joy of Cooking (I've always had good luck with the basics from there). Took about 20 minutes to prep and get in the oven, bake at 350F for a little over 35 minutes.
Pineapple upside down cake
My interest in the 19th century comes from researching my family history. Four of my ancestors were soldiers during the American Civil War (1861-1865). This peaked my interest in doing more than just researching names and dates. I have been participating in living history events and reenactments (with my Civil War reenacting unit) and teaching the ways of a typical 19th century Pennsylvania German woman since 2000. I dress the part and strive for authenticity by using reproductions or originals items.
