When I was a child I did not like prunes, which is quite silly because I adore plums. My boys also enjoy plums, and if we have some on hand they don’t last long. Every day for the last two weeks the boys have been raiding the plums and I would either find them off [...]
Italian Herb Twist Bread (pane alle erbi)
Michael walked into the kitchen the other night and said, “Wow! Did you make that?” Yes, I did, and it was pretty darn easy. Seriously, this is one of the easiest breads I’ve made from Daniel Leader’s book, Local Breads, and it’s also one of the prettiest. My three-year-old and I had fun rolling and [...]
Irish Freckle Bread
Until recently, I haven’t spent much cooking time delving into my Irish and Scottish heritage. I learned to make Irish soda bread a few years ago and I have found a great recipe for Irish beef stew, and I love Scottish baking treats such as shortbread and scones, but that’s really been the extent of [...]
Quick Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Pizza is a staple around our house, something that we really enjoy making and eating. I have wanted to add a whole-wheat dough to our repertoire, and I’ve tried it a number of different ways but not always with good results. I also wanted to experiment with a quick dough, something that I could whip [...]
The Daring Bakers Make Julia Child’s French Bread
Unlike many of my fellow Daring Bakers, I cannot claim to have watched Julia Child’s cooking shows or even read any of her books until recently. I was more interested in Asian, Mexican, or Italian cooking, anyway. That’s what I told myself, but in truth it’s because I thought her cooking style was beyond my [...]
Local Breads: Italian Ricotta Bread
“You have bread envy.” Michael said that to me a couple months ago, and I had to admit he was right. For years I’ve been drooling over photos of artisan breads, wanting to make my own, but it always seemed out of reach due to time constraints, equipment, lack of knowledge. I bought books about [...]



























