"home baking" news and stories

I've had bread baking on the brain for weeks now. I think it's the cold weather that does it to me (that and the fact that a couple of new bread baking books recently landed in my mailbox). I actually just finished up a batch of no-knead bread last night that made itself into some delicious toast this morning. However, the bread above puts my lowly batch of no-knead to shame, with its light bubbles and full, perfect rise.

In the blurb below the picture on Flickr, Mike says that this loaf's perfection is an infrequent occurrence for him, and that he owes part of the success to the 'bread proof' mode on his new electric oven. Certainly looks to me like it did the trick!

Thanks Mike!

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Unlike some of the awesome bloggers on Slashfood, I am embarrassed to admit that I am not a baker/pastry chef by any means. In fact, the entire process of baking boggles me - from the frustration of measuring to the aggravation of having to use 82 separate bowls (but why do I have to mix the milk and the egg in a separate bowl, can't I just immediately add them to the butter and sugar?), baking and I typically don't see, well...eye to eye (pun definitely intended).

Not believing me when I told her I couldn't bake, my mother, a baking whiz, got me a super-cool cookbook, Claire Crespo's Hey There, Cupcake, filled with almost too-adorable-to-eat cupcake recipes and decorating techniques. So, with a sudden streak of confidence, I poured through the book until I found a recipe that looked doable: the Eyeball Cupcakes. They're rich vanilla cake with a delectable buttercream icing.

Take a look at my unique step-by-step process in the gallery below (unique essentially because I do not own a mixer and I ran out of vanilla extract halfway through, forcing me to call my mom in a panic). Check it out.

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Several months ago I came into temporary possession of a bunch of my great aunt's recipe cards. One of the recipes that was in the stack my cousin lent me is the one for challah that you see above. I was intrigued by it, especially since she had taken time to draw a diagram as to how you go about braiding the bread. However I didn't make it, instead tucking it away in the file folder that held the rest of my thesis research recipes.

Then I saw this post over on Two Fat Als, and the picture they posted of the gorgeous, burnished loaf of challah they had made recently and my heart started afluttering. I wanted to make challah. I've put this recipe down as one to try out this weekend, when I have a few minutes to spend kneading and hanging out as it rises. Challah is actually a great Saturday afternoon project because while it's wonderful fresh, it's even better dredged in an eggy batter and fried up into French Toast on Sunday mornings.

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A dessert - or any food, for that matter - does not have to be exotic or outrageous to be delicious, nor are those the qualifications for it to be food porn. This Sour Cream Raspberry Swirl Loaf from Paula, a.k.a. the Cookbook Junkie, looks like something that your mother or grandmother might make to serve to family coming over for brunch and it is a good example of comfort food. You could even make it to serve to your own grandmother. The recipe comes from Cooking Light (though this picture makes it look tastier than theirs does) and can be made ahead, as it keeps well in both the fridge and freezer. A light and delicious treat is always a good thing to have on hand.

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