Just Baking

The other day I was catching up on a few of the regular food blogs I read, Susan’s Farmgirl Fare being one of them. Truth be told, I don’t get to visit as many as I’d like to regularly, but the lure of the impossibly cute animals on Susan’s farm is nearly too much to […]

It’s that time of year when many of us find ourselves thinking about how to create festive dishes for our holiday gatherings. For bread bakers, creative shaping is one way to add that extra flair that can elevate a loaf from the everyday to the celebration-worthy.
This rosette looks complicated to make, but in fact it […]

My husband and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary last week. We were married on November 19, 1999 and have been going strong ever since. Nick spoils me rotten, is a fantastic husband in each and every way, and is one of the best fathers I know. He works extremely hard, is very good […]

You know how there are certain foods that just go together? You could not even fathom having the meal with out its perfect counterpart? Pizza and a coke is one example. Pizza just does not taste the same with a glass of milk or water accompanying it. Chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes. They just […]

I messed up somehow, big time. I was trying to make a recipe from Hamelman’s “Bread”, and I thought I would double the recipe to make more loaves for a party I was having.
The recipe called for a poolish to sit overnight. This part was easy, just flour, water and yeast. Overnight, […]

The first days of November mark Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), a lively and rich tradition in which departed loved ones are honored and the cycle of life is celebrated.
Although I have never had the opportunity to visit Mexico during this festive time, I wanted to try my hand at making […]

I knew this day would come…I am officially a ma’am. I was at the grocery store yesterday and was having a nice little conversation with the young checkout guy. Then, I moved down to pick up my bags of groceries and the young kid bagging the groceries started up a conversation.
Him - “How are you […]

We have been back from Atlanta for more than a week now and I think it’s high time to revisit my resolution I set earlier on. Like baking bread when the weather is cooler.

I am not much of a bread baker. For one, my bread usually doesn’t rise as high as it’s supposed to be. Maybe […]

For years, I have been anti-bread-machine. From my knowledge of them, I thought they were a cop-out way of making bread. However, thanks to one of my culinary heroes, Alton Brown, I have come to realize that bread machines are quite handy for kneading and proofing dough. So, in light of my […]

I’ll admit it… I’ve been unmotivated to bake. There are several reasons, but the main reason has been this stinking heat!
We have relief in sight. The high on Sunday was almost 90 degrees, and it was humid. Same on Monday. But yesterday, that all changed, and today, on Wednesday, the high is… […]