French bread is the ultimate juxtaposition of refinement and simplicity – just fresh ground flour, water, salt, and yeast. While making bread can challenge home bakers (part of the fun!), the purpose of our “cool control” technique is to eliminate heartbreak and make your baking endeavors easy and delicious.
The bread behind the iconic New York City Deli sandwich. It typically contains 20-30% rye flour, fermented with sourdough starter, giving it a subtle tang and malty rye notes, while the wheat flour lends a soft crust and tender, even crumb. Amazing stacked with pastrami, corned beef, or smoked whitefish.
The arrival of summer screams for the most classic of all backyard grillable foods – the burger! These buns are quick and easy (25 minutes) to make and keep well in the freezer. Golden brown on the outside, sweet and soft on the inside, these whole grain buns are the perfect base for a classic beef or bean burger, portabella mushroom or grilled chicken breast.
Challah is an ancient bread with sacred origins in the Jewish culture. Enriched with honey or sugar, and often topped with sesame or poppy seeds, this style of bread has become popular worldwide, inside and outside the Jewish community.
This type of roll was popularized by Italian American immigrants, who filled them with Italian-style cured meats, cheese and pickled vegetable antipasti (like giardinera). The original “Italian” sub inspired many variations that are now famous in their own right, like the Philly Cheesesteak (recipe below!).
This hearty, nutritious rye bread is delicious sliced thin and topped with cheese, spreads, smoked meats and pickled vegetables. Because of its density, it doesn’t go stale as quickly as wheat bread, so you can keep it on hand for a healthy snack.
This style of sourdough bread is what opened my eyes to the aesthetic and transformative side of bread making. It’s biology, chemistry, engineering, pleasure and adventure all at once.
Layers upon layers of buttery, soft dough sheets, surrounded by crispy outer layers of the same…what’s not to love? When I owned a bakery I worked hard at creating the perfect croissant and refining the process so I could teach others. It takes time and skill to achieve, but the results are well worth it.
Our whole wheat pizza dough is the perfect canvas for pizza and calzones, from traditional favorites like pepperoni and cheese to creative combos like Pizza Mousakka and Duck with Brie and Seasonal Fruit.
These perfect little morning treats made from fresh ground cornmeal are pretty as they are tasty! The blueberries burst as they bake, making moist little pockets of goodness.
These crispy, crumbly, buttery scones were a favorite at the bakery I ran. The secret to the perfect texture is cutting the butter similar to how you would for a shortbread or pie dough. The dried sweetened cherries add a extra special sweet and sour chew, with a hint of caramelization at the edges.
These enormous dark and crusty whole wheat loaves can be made any time you like. They don’t have to be big, but they are at their best when they are a larger loaf. The balance of flavors and textures, the tangy, cool, and moist crumb, and the chewy, dark molasses crust make for a satisfying slice of toast, or loaded with your favorite sandwich toppings.
Before developing my recipe and process for making bagels at my bakery, I toured the famous bagel houses of New York and Montreal, each with their own unique style. This recipe is akin to the New York style, with a dense, chewy crumb and toothsome crust.
This paper thin flatbread is prepared much like pita, except the dough is rolled and stretched as thin as possible and baked in under two minutes on a very hot pan, griddle or tandoor oven. Delicious served in a wrap with Falafel and hummus, bhabaghanoush and cucumber tomato salad.
This simple, crumbly shortbread dough keeps indefinitely in the freezer so you’ll always have it on hand to whip up pies, tarts, quiches, and more. Try it with whole wheat flour! It’s even better! I makes a tender crust that adds depth of flavor.
Although traditionally baked in a tandoori oven, naan is easily baked in a pan or griddle. Slather in turmeric, ghee, or butter and enjoy with your favorite Indian meal!
Easy to make and whipped up in a matter of minutes, you can’t argue with a cookie. As long as your leavener is fresh and sifted, and you mix your dry ingredients well before combining with the wet, you’ll have great results time after time.
Fresh milled buckwheat flour imbues these traditional French crepes with a rich, earthy flavor. I first discovered this dish in my early 20s and was immediately in love with the combination of mildly sweet leeks, nutty gruyère and grassy buckwheat.
The buckwheat crepe or “Galette” became common fare in the west of France (Brittany and surrounding areas) in the 14th century when depleted soils struggled to grow wheat (the name buckwheat is a misnomer; it’s actually a seed). Crepes are typically filled with sweet ingredients, but buckwheat’s grassy flavor lends itself particularly well to savory fillings. For something that looks and tastes so fancy, this is actually incredibly quick and simple to prepare.
The number one requested birthday cake in our family, this decadent chocolate dessert is made with whole wheat flour. The extra bran and germ not only make it healthier, but extra moist and dense.
