16 Oct
World Bread Day: Challah
Posted by Chelle as Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 15 Comments
Once again the wonderful Zorra has coordinated a celebration of the World Bread Day, asking bloggers from all over the globe to bake, buy, or photograph bread and blog about it today. World Bread Day is an event created by the UIB (International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners) in an effort to provide an opportunity to talk about bread and bakers, to find out about their history, their importance, as well as their future.
In the spirit of what World Bread Day is all about, I decided to bake a bread that symbolizes a history and heritage that I am unfamiliar with, in an effort to learn more about it. Challah is a special braided bread eaten by some groups of Jews on the Sabbath and holidays. According to Jewish tradition, Sabbath and holiday meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread. This “double loaf” commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or on holidays; instead a double portion fell before the Sabbath and holidays. See, I learned something new! 
05 Oct
Daring Bakers: (Late) Lavash Crackers
Posted by Chelle as Daring Bakers, Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 13 Comments
First, an apology for being so tardy on this challenge. I have no good reason other than September simply ran away from me. Busy weekends, busy work, and this just got pushed to the back burner. But I am so happy that I stayed the course and still gave this a try because this is a phenomenal recipe that can be adapted to suit any taste. This was also an historical month for the Daring Bakers - this month we went vegan (insert shrill shrieking from this bacon cheeseburger fiend)! Thanks to Natalie of Gluten a Go Go and Shel of Musings from the Fishbowl for co-hosting this monumental event. And if that weren’t exciting enough, September was also my 1-year anniversary as a Daring Baker. What fun I’ve had expanding my baking repertoire and pushing my boundaries. Thank you to Lis and Ivonne for creating and maintaining such a wonderful group! And now onto these crackers!
25 Aug
Croissants
Posted by Chelle as Daring Bakers, Pastries, Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 20 Comments
Buttery, flaky croissants. Wow. These are every bit as incredible as I hoped they would be. These were the Daring Bakers challenge in January 2007, which was about six months before I joined. I have been wanting to go back and attempt the challenges that I missed as well as the ones that were difficult for me (I think I’ll be appending all of these to my current “My 100” list), so when Erin asked if I’d be interested in making these croissants with her I jumped at the opportunity. It was also great timing because I knew that my grandparents were coming to visit and I had already planned on making chicken salad, and what better to eat chicken salad on than a croissant?
11 Aug
Italian Bread
Posted by Chelle as Italian, Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 13 Comments
With the uncharacteristic cool August weather here, it’s been feeling like fall is nipping at summer’s heels, and with that, I was hungry for spaghetti and meatballs, which is traditional fall and winter Sunday dinner fare. As a result, I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the kitchen making a big pot of sauce, meatballs, and fresh pasta. As if a light bulb went off, I realized the only thing missing was a fresh loaf of Italian bread to soak up all the extra sauce on my plate. I had made Italian bread once before, and it was very very good, but it also required a preferment, meaning that it had to sit overnight. So I went in search of a recipe that could deliver some fresh bread in a few short hours. I found one, and it was fabulous - a perfectly crisp outer crust and a soft, chewy interior with a tight crumb.
06 Aug
Pain Ordinaire Careme (A Daily Loaf)
Posted by Chelle as Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 22 Comments
Otherwise known as French Bread. When I saw this post over at The Barefoot Kitchen Witch, I couldn’t wait to get started on this beautiful bread. This was almost a redemption of sorts for me, as we tackled french bread by Julia Child for the February Daring Bakers challenge, but I had less than stellar results. I had been planning to revisit that recipe and give it another go, but when I saw Jayne’s pop up, it seemed almost identical, yet much more straight forward and easy to read, so went with it! Unfortunately I had an issue (will discuss in a moment - not due to the recipe, really) when I made this on Saturday, so when my friend Annie asked if I wanted to bake anything together this week I told her I was giving this another go. She was excited and hopped on board, and we completed perhaps the most in sync virtual baking in history. This bread turned out absolutely perfect - it has the characteristic paper thin and crisp crust, with a warm, chewy and airy interior. I am already beside myself with ideas on how to use this bread - french toast, panzanella salad, roasted vegetable sandwiches, plain with cheese… the possibilities are endless!
