From Scratch

I like this bread a lot. It’s perfect for snacking, whether as an afternoon pick-me-up or for kids after school. It’s terrific tucked into a backpack while hiking or trail walking. A schmear of cream cheese would be delightful but I prefer it on its own. It’s just sweet enough.
It’s a small loaf, only one pound […]

Let’s be honest. Making corn bread is dead easy but despite that, dump and stir mixes abound, I suppose because they’re fast. This recipe is ready for the oven in the time it takes to pre-heat and it has the added appeal of being one of those “can’t mess it up” recipes. I think the reason […]

It’s been a year to the day since Mark Bittman’s Minimalist column in The New York Times turned conventional wisdom upside down and prompted who-knows-how-many people to make bread for the first time. This crusty, holey no-knead bread featured in that column is the brainchild of Jim Lahey of Manhattan’s Sullivan Street Bakery. It’s become […]

I can’t think of many common ingredients that confuse people as this one does. Is it only for bread machines? Is it only for super-fast breads? Does it produce inferior loaves?
The answer to all three questions is no.
The yeast industry can blame itself for some of the confusion, having sold it under names such as Rapid […]

Several months ago Gold Medal replaced its Better for Bread flour, in the yellow sack, with Harvest King bread flour, in an earth-tone sack reminscent of Al Gore’s earth-tone alpha-male campaign wardrobe in 2000. It’s not just a cosmetic change; this is a different flour, the same one previously available only to professionals and favored […]

It’s rare for me to cut into a warm loaf of bread; crust and crumb both benefit from complete cooling as the hot-from-the-oven moisture dissipates. This loaf, which I’ve made for more than a decade, is an exception. The kitchen smells divine while it bakes and it’s heavenly when it’s warm.
Semolina flour (not meal) is […]

Whenever I’ve made challah or other braided loaves of bread, I haven’t posted a recipe because I find it very difficult to describe the simple technique of proper braiding. It’s not like braiding hair. And it’s nearly impossible for me to describe how to use the thumbs in shaping dough professionally.
Technology to the rescue. This video lesson, […]

There’s nothing that’ll cut down on pizza consumption faster than moving from the Big Apple to the Little Snowball. The local pizza joints’ pies range from bad to worse to inedible. At least one of them uses frozen crust already rolled into a thick circle and all of them have chewy, doughy crusts. That’s blaphemy for someone […]

When I am back in New York, I torture myself by going to the Greenmarket at Union Square. It’s enormous and the variety of foods for sale, not just produce, is amazing. It was at the Greenmarket that I was given this recipe ages ago when I bought either basil or tomatoes, perhaps both, I don’t recall.
They’re […]

I created this with several kinds of “goodness” in mind. Of course, I wanted to take advantage of sweet, local corn but I also strove to cut down on the bad fats and cholesterol in most cornbread. And I wanted the double goodness of fast prep and minimal cleanup; there’s no pot of water to […]

Notice I did not say bread “making” although of course they go hand-in-hand. No, I’m talking only about the baking of that wonderful magic we call yeast bread.
I started making bread soon after college. I could barely boil an egg back then, but I’d grown up watching one of my grandmothers make bread, so I wasn’t […]

One of my greatest pleasures in life is a lazy Sunday. No alarm, the Sunday talk shows and lots of hot coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice with an armload of newspapers. Ideally, a leisurely breakfast is part of the equation but sometimes I (or we) don’t get around to it until it’s so late it […]

I like to do ahead as much of a big meal as I can, and since I love crusty, holey bread, I developed this recipe for what are basically brown ‘n’ serve mini breads, shaped like rolls. They’re a mainstay for holiday meals. I make them in the food processor with the metal blade or in […]

Many years ago, I spent a week or so at an equestrian center in rural Ireland. At every meal we were served thin slices of the most delicious, almost nutty-tasting, whole wheat soda bread, called simply “brown bread .”  It was made daily by a wonderful baker and cook named Nuala. She was happy to share […]