What so hard about grinding grain?
This excellent post by my good friend Rachel Laudan will spell it all out for you.
READ ONThe Uptight Gourmet Cooks Italian
Love Italian food but abhor the mess it makes in your kitchen? Then this recipe is for you. A full-on cheesy lasagna that bakes up in the hot, watery environment of the dishwasher. Mrs. Pastry loves to tease me because I start cleaning the moment I stop cooking. Imagine my excitement when I discovered a […]
READ ONDog Biscuit Recipe
You don’t have to own a dog to know how much they love peanut butter (I don’t, but my girls are working on me). This recipe should endear you to all your neighborhood canine buddies. 4 ounces water or chicken stock 4 ounces vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 1/2 ounces peanut butter 11 ounces all-purpose […]
READ ONGeek’s Corner: Cold Fermentation vs. Epoxy
I’ve been having some fascinating discussions with a few readers via email, all about Peter Reinhart and the evolution of his whole wheat sandwich bread recipe. The conversations began when three readers alerted me to the fact that Reinhart updated his recipe in his most recent book, Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day. Essentially, he […]
READ ONWhite Flour: Is it Evil?
You hear a lot of wacky conspiracy theories at the fringes of the whole grain baking movement. About how white flour is a conspiracy by General Mills and Hostess to keep us on a steady diet of nutritionally vacant foods, how it’s a Western tool for addicting non-wheat eating cultures to cheap and abundant carbs, […]
READ ONNext Up: Dog Biscuits
Never in a million years would I have thought to do dog biscuits on the site, but I’ve received a flurry of requests this spring. Heck, I’m game. Let’s do it!
READ ONHow to Knead Bread Dough
A few of you have been asking me to put up a basic tutorial on dough kneading for a while, and this seems like a good time. I’m normally a machine guy, I do most of my kneading with a mixer and a dough hook, however there are times when only the personal touch will […]
READ ONSliced Bread and the PB & J
Reader Cindy asks if the invention of one of America’s most distinctive sandwiches, the peanut butter & jelly, had any thing to do with the introduction of sliced bread. Based on what I know, the answer is yes. The PB & J was supposedly invented by American troops in World War II, who, either out […]
READ ONBread Reenactors?
Reader Jim C. asks: OK, uncle Joe, how about a nod towards us bread history buffs? I’m guessing that in earlier centuries [wheat bran, germ and endosperm] WAS crushed together and that separating them out was a relatively recent development? For people who want to make bread “just like” those of earlier eras (“bread reenactors”, […]
READ ONMaking Wheat Sandwich Bread
This bread works every bit as well as a free-form rustic loaf as it does in a loaf pan. If that’s the sort of thing you’re after, you can shape it as you wish, then follow the instructions under the How to Make Your Oven More Brick-Oven Like post under the techniques menu to the […]
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