Dec
18

Popovers

Popovers are a uniquely simple and scrumptious treat that truly exemplify the magic of baking. A quick batter made from flour, eggs, milk, and salt rises up to 4 times their original size with no leavener other than water.

Dec
07

Great Grandma Rifka’s Matza Ball Soup with Ancient Grain Matza

While I am not religious per se, making matzah is certainly a spiritual act for me. The fact that this type of bread has been prepared for thousands of years makes it an act that connects us to so many generations of our ancestors in such a profound way.

Nov
23

Pumpkin Cheesecake

In America, when we think of cheesecake, we usually think of New York Style cheesecake, which uses a cream cheese filling and a graham cracker crust. In other parts of the world, Cheesecake may incorporate cottage cheese ricotta, or other soft cheeses baked im a pie crust or phyllo dough. This recipe combines the best of all worlds, with a buttery shortbread cookie crust, creamy ricotta interior, fresh roasted pumpkin and warm spices.

Nov
13

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is the definition of easy as pie. The secret is simple: use roasted sugar pumpkin and a half whole wheat. Most pumpkin pie recipes call for evaporated milk, but this isn’t necessary. If you like you can roast your pumpkin and prepare your pie dough a day ahead.

Nov
09

Smoked Atlantic Mackerel or Bluefish

Smoked Bluefish is a delicious alternative to cured salmon, and it’s easy to make at home. If you don’t have a smoker don’t worry; smoked salt and your oven make a perfectly good substitute! Tastes great on our ancient grain bagels with capers, onions and cream cheese.

Nov
06

Whole Grain English Muffins

If you enjoy english muffins, and have never made them at home, you’re in for a real treat! Whether you serve them with butter and jam, sausage, eggs and cheese, or go the distance and make Eggs Benedict, you will never regret a batch of homemade English muffin.

Nov
06

Sourdough Pain Au Levain

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. The idea such a seemingly simple ingredient as wheat flour could grow into a culinary masterpiece enthralled me. This recipe uses a wild yeast and lactobacillus culture, recipe here, which gives it a chewy, bursting crust and a cool, moist, subtley tangy crumb.

Nov
04

Honey-Kissed Brioche Buns

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, portabello mushroom or grilled chicken breast. top with LTO and your favorite condiments. The dough is quite versatile and can also be shaped into a loaf, hot dog buns, or a filled with custard or cream for a decadent Maritozzi pastry.

Nov
02

Sourdough Starter

the quality and vitality of your culture determines the texture and tang of your sourdough. It’s important to become familiar and comfortable with your starter before making bread as it is very discouraging to have a bread failure due to poor starter.

Nov
02

Philly Cheesesteak

Like many of the world’s most scrumptious food inventions, this iconic sub, born in the city of brotherly love, inspires passion and debate. From its humble origins in the 1930s as “frizzled beef and onions” at Pat and Harry Olivieri’s hotdog cart, the Philly Cheesesteak was a winner. It was such a hit that by 1940, the brothers had made enough money…

Nov
01

Buttermilk Biscuits

Crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside, buttermilk biscuits are in many ways similar to croissants, only much quicker and more practical to make at home! The layered texture is the result of repeated stacking and rolling (steps 8 and 9 in the following recipe).

Nov
01

Homemade Lox

Not only can you make bagels at home; you can make your own lox too! In America, lox is synonymous with smoked salmon, but lox is actually just salt-cured salmon, which is easy to do in your fridge, no fancy equipment required.

Nov
01

Fresh Corn Masa

Once you master the simple and ancient process of nixtamalization, it’s easy to whip up your own tacos, memelas (see recipe below!) sopes, tamales, or pozole. Masa (nixtamalized corn) is the base preparation for all your Mexican and central American favorites. The Nixtamalization process softens the corn and makes b vitamins (Niacin)nutritionally available. Warning, once you have the real deal, there’s no going back to the industrialized imitations found all over!

Oct
31

Ancient Grain Challah

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. Whether you’re serving challah with a sprinkling of salt as part of the Sabbath, or whipping up some french toast over the weekend, there are endless ways to prepare it. It makes fantastic sandwiches or little toast points with fancy toppings for a brunch – a great bread to experiment with! You can even add raisins or chocolate and spices for an excellent babka.

Oct
30

Italian Rolls

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!). These rolls contain just enough oil and sugar to make the crust thinner and softer than a baguette or other “straight’ dough (dough without sugar or oil), but not as soft as a hamburger bun or sandwich loaf. They freeze well, so go ahead and make big batch to keep on hand for when you need a quick sandwich fix

Oct
30

“Cool Control” French Bread

French bread is the ultimate juxtaposition of refinement and simplicity – just fresh ground flour, water, salt, and yeast. This recipe yields a moist, supple crumb and crackling, caramelized crust. While making bread can challenge home bakers to no end (part of the fun!), the purpose of our “cool control” technique is to eliminate heartbreak and make your baking endeavors easy and delicious.

Oct
26

Tzatziki

With the refreshing taste of yogurt, and the subtle tang of citrus and herbs, Tzatziki is a simple but stunning compliment to hummus and pita bread, as a topping for grilled meats and vegetables, and a dip for raw veggies.

Oct
17

Ancient Grain Bagels

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.

Oct
09

Char Siu

Char Siu is a celebrated Cantonese dish made of honey-glazed roast pork, marinated in red rice fermented tofu, hoisin sauce, five spice, soy sauce and honey. In the fast food industry, red rice tofu is often replaced with red food coloring, but the traditional flavors are of course far superior (and non toxic). Many cuts of pork can be used, although I recommend pork butt or shoulder.

Oct
05

Red Merlot Bean Hummus

For years, I thought that hummus wasn’t hummus without chickpeas, then I learned that in some parts of the middle east and north Africa, hummus is traditionally made with fava beans – an entirely different species of bean altogether. My eyes opened to the wider world of hummus, I began to experiment with our own local heirloom beans, and the results did not disappoint!