This year, Thanksgiving and Chanukah (or Hanukkah) fall at the same time. Everybody is really excited about Thanksgivukkuh, and we’re no different. Apparently, the two holidays won’t coincide for another 70,000 years or something! Of course Jewish Americans everywhere are eager to celebrate! Continue reading
Category Archives: Breads
5 Pounds of Challah
I love baking challah. When I taught 3-year-olds, I baked it with them every week. That made me an expert on kneading the dough by hand and knowing what it should feel like before setting it aside to rise. I still occasionally baked challah, in big batches and small ones, and always by hand.
Last year I got one of the greatest presents ever for my birthday: a Bosch Universal Plus mixer! It is THE ultimate kitchen toy for bread making. Just throw the wet ingredients in the bowl, top with flour, and mix. There was a bit of a learning curve using a machine vs. my hands to make the dough. I never knew how long to mix and stopped the mixer every few seconds till I thought it felt right. I actually still do that sometimes, since bread baking is different based on the weather, your mood, and just about anything. Continue reading
Cronuts
What are cronuts, you ask? Well, really they’re just croissants cut into the shape of doughnuts and fried. And they’re amazing. Really. We made these a while ago, but because of a crazy busy summer we have not had time to post much.
We’ve been hearing about the cronut craze for a while now, but have never been to Dominique Ansel for a real one. We’re pretty sure these homemade, fresh out of the fryer ones are just as good though! Continue reading
Cheese Babka
I love baking babka. And I don’t use my challah dough when baking a giant batch. Nope, instead I make a buttery (or fake buttery) dough that’s soft, fluffy, and all around delicious, ready for the filling of chocolate, cinnamon, or in this case cheese! Continue reading
Dinner Rolls
This is one of the most beautiful dishes I’ve ever made. And they were really easy! I know a lot of people are scared of yeasted breads, but this one is so impressive when served to guests, especially if you’re making a dinner party, that you should really just try.
Plus, I adapted this hand-kneading recipe to use with a mixer so there’s hardly anything you need to do. I also made it pareve, since I ate it with a meaty stew. I’m sure it would be even more amazing with some melted butter on top, though I love the flavor of a good olive oil. Or, you can dress it up with some herbed oil.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
This is no ordinary bread. Forget the fact that it’s filled with raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. It’s also made with a rich, buttery “breakfast” dough. That’s right, I used the same dough for this that I used to make cinnamon buns. So you know it must be good.
Thinking of something different to make for the break-fast? Well, you can’t go wrong with this! People don’t want to eat TOO much (well, I don’t, at least) an this will be a perfect post-fast meal along with a big cup of tea. Continue reading
Raisin, Rosemary, and Cinnamon Focaccia
This is Richie eating his piece of focaccia for breakfast one morning. Notice the happy face he is making because he loves it so much. Also notice those pajamas. everyone likes sleepy lions.
But really, I served this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to a number of people, and they all loved it. Though I made them taste it before I told them about the weird flavor combination. Continue reading
Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti
I love making biscotti. But it’s always a dessert or after dinner treat. This biscotti is savory, and can be served before a meal or alongside a salad. It’s really yummy, and can be eaten in place of bread sticks.
Parathas
So you thought I was finished with sharing Indian recipes with you? Think again! I was only taking a break. This Indian flatbread is easy to make and hard to ruin, because it’s a yeast-less bread! So if you’re scared of yeast, this is the bread for you.
Did I mention it’s “fried” in ghee?
Cinnamon Babka
Way back when this blog was just a baby (and before this baby was around), we shared a recipe for chocolate babka with you. We love this babka recipe. We double it to freeze some. We make it with chocolate, cinnamon, white chocolate, and just eat it up. We impress dinner guests and impress hosts with it. We make it all the time. And we love it all the time. And hope you do to. If you don’t, this is just a friendly reminder that you should. Continue reading