#17 - Lavash Crackers

Lavash Crackers with Kosher Salt

In February of 2008, I took my first bread-making class, from, of course, Peter Reinhart. Of all the breads we made that evening, the crackers were the standout. And these lavash crackers were almost as good as those, but then it is hard to replicate a memory, isn't it?

The only challenge that I worried about was rolling out the dough so that it would be thin enough. I was right to worry. While the end result was not bad, the few that were rolled a bit thinner, were more like a cracker than pita bread. I only used Kosher salt as the topping, and even then only on part of the dough. I liked them both. Next time, I will roll the dough in two batches, which I think will make it easier to achieve a thinner and therefore more crackerlike result.

Before breaking into shards.

I love the irregular shapes. They're like shards of cracker.

Lavash Crackers - The Finished Product

#16 - Kaiser Rolls

Look! Kaiser Rolls! Homemade, Hand-formed Kaiser Rolls! Amazing!

In all my years of bread baking, not once did it ever occur to me to make Kaiser Rolls. Sure, I’ve bought them at the bakery from time to time when making uptown turkey or veggie burgers, but make them? It never even entered my consciousness to try.

But along comes the BBA Challenge, and voila, here I am, making Kaiser Rolls. I must confess, though, this was one of those formulas that I thought I had to “get through” to move on to more interesting breads. So I went about mixing and kneading the dough, let it rise, shaped them (which took some practice) set them for their final rise, and baked them.

I had friends over for dinner that evening, and we all let a whoop and a holler when we saw them come out of the oven. They actually looked like Kaiser Rolls! As always, though, the real test is the flavor. These were amazing! They were everything one could possible want in a dinner roll – great flavor and texture. When one of my dinner guests went back for seconds, I knew I had a winner.

The next day, I made paninis with the leftover rolls. Even better! I used smoked turkey from the deli counter, provolone, sliced tomato, and fresh basil. Fabulous!

In the Oven

Close-up While Still in the Oven

The Finished Product – They Weren’t Around Long!

#15 - Italian Bread

Italian Bread

I found this bread to be almost identical to the French bread, with the French edging past with superior flavor. I attribute that to the pate fermentee vs. the biga. I find that interesting, though, since one of my favorite "go to" breads is from Martha Rose Shulman and relies on a biga. (It is her Whole Wheat Country Bread from her latest book, Mediterranean Harvest.) After comparing the French with the Italian, I think I'll stick with the French.

After Rising - Ready for the Oven

In the Oven

Check Out That Texture!

#14 - French Bread

The French Bread

Many years ago, I was baking several breads from Bernard Clayton's wonderful tome, The Complete Book of Breads. During this time, Mr. Clayton (the Peter Reinhart of his time) returned from an extended journey throughout France, where he visited countless bread bakers learning their trade secrets. The outcome of this journey was the publication of his great masterpiece, The Breads of France. I baked several different versions of our beloved French bread during those years, finally choosing one to call my own. It was Monsieur Monfort's French bread, and I believe it was from the Complete Book of Breads.

I made this bread so many times over the years I have long since lost count. I became somewhat famous, at least among my family and friends. In fact, my then sisters-in-law said that I was making them look bad by having this amazing bread coming out of my oven on a regular basis. My two children grew up on this bread, and it is as much a part of their childhood memories as their favorite books and toys.

When I read that this challenge would include a French bread, I sniffed with disdain. Why would I need to make this, I wondered, when I already had perfected this fabulous formula?

I am happy to say that I was wrong. When this bread came out of the oven, with its deep, golden-hued crust, it literally crackled as it met the cool air outside of the blast-furnace oven temperature of 500 degrees. And the flavor is far and away superior to my previous formula. I think it is the extra step of making the pre-ferment. It gives just a hint of added flavor without it tasting like sourdough. Not that there's anything at all wrong with that tart, pungent quality in a good sourdouch loaf, but that is not French bread, whereas this is.

This was so amazing that I made it again for my birthday party in November. At first my daughter, who grew up eating the now iconic Monsieur Monfort's bread, was skeptical. "Nothing could be as good as your 'old' French bread, Mom." Later, though, she changed her mind, reluctantly agreeing that this current formula yielded a superior loaf. Everyone at the party concurred, and even though they all know about this project of mine, they were still amazed at this fantastic bread.

Here I am with my daughter, Cate, at my birthday party.

Dough - Ready for Shaping

Pinching the seam of the underside of the baguette helps to seal it.



The formed baguettes before rising.

The Risen Loaves Ready for the Oven

In the Oven

The Trio of Baguettes
Look at that crackling, golden crust!

#13 - Focaccia

The Finished Focaccia

Before it became the trendy rage it is now, I played around with some recipes trying to make what was then a bizarre, foreign-sounding bread. But was it bread, or was it cake? Sometimes it was hard to tell. One recipe in particular from the Frugal Gourmet days (anyone remember him?) looked like a fluffy cake with tomato paste on top. Very strange visual, but a decent bread.

While that initial attempt may have been tasty, this focaccia was fantastic! First of all, it looked like focaccia. Since my early attempts, it seemed like everywhere I went for a sandwich, one could find the ubiquitous focaccia as one of the bread options. This was a welcome change from the standard sub roll, so I was eager to make this bread when I saw it coming up on the BBA list.

When I finally made it, I was not disappointed. It was delicious! I was a little worried when I saw all that olive oil called for in the recipe, but as Peter Reinhart assured us, it was all absorbed into the dough lending its silky texture to the finished loaf.

That's a Lot of Olive Oil!

After five minutes, most of the olive oil has been absorbed!

In the Oven

The Finished Loaf Hot Out of the Oven

The finished loaf was unbelievable! It was great just as is; did not need any further embellishments. I could not resist, however making a killer panini the next day. I used provolone, sliced tomatoes and fresh basil. It was fantastic and the perfect accompaniment to my favorite soup - Rachael Ray's Broccoli Rabe Soup with Beans and Italian Turkey Sausage. That may just be one of my all-time favorite meals!

#12 - English Muffins

The Magnificent English Muffin

Just Look at Those Beauties!

In 1988, when my son, Matthew, was but a toddler and I a stay-at-home mom, I had a very small baking business, which consisted of one order. But that one order was a tall one: two gross per week of my stellar English muffins that had delighted my friends and family. And just like the episode of the I Love Lucy Show where her friends and family convince Lucy she should prepare and market "Aunt Martha's Old-Fashioned Salad Dressing," my business was born.

It was great fun! I baked twice a week, and while the paycheck was small, I derived a great deal of satisfaction from the act of the baking itself as well as knowing other people were enjoying these marvelous treats. My family was happy because there were always English muffins in the larder, and they got the added bonus of my homemade strawberry jam to spread on top.

The best story of all, though, involved our beloved Julia Child. Most of us who consider cooking and baking an avocation were inspired and influenced by Julia. During my English muffin phase, Julia's The Way to Cook was published. She came to town for a book signing. I could not believe my luck! I was going to get a chance to meet the icon herself! I arranged for a sitter for my son, by now, two years old, and took my older child, Cate, with me to meet her. Naturally, I tucked a box of English muffins under my arm. Included in the box was a note to Julia handwritten from me telling me how much I admired her style, how much she had inspired me, and that "I am the cook I am today because of you."

Meeting Julia was a kick! She was exactly as she appeared to be: affable, charming, and fun-loving. She patted the box of muffins not unlike I had seen her pat that awful monkfish on one of her PBS TV shows, saying, or should I say (her descriptor) warbling, "Oh boy! Goody- goody gumdrops. Homemade English muffins! I'm so glad to see a small cottage industry like this."

As you can imagine, I floated out of the bookstore and had to take a walk around the village of La Jolla for a while before I trusted myself to drive. Though only six at the time, my daughter, who had watched Julia with me since she could remember, was also very excited to meet this larger than life persona.

A few weeks later, I was stunned to find a letter from Julia herself in my mailbox. In it, she asked me how I got the muffins to be cooked all the way through without burning them. Can't you just see my jaw dropping? I answered her letter, explaining my procedure, and she answered that letter too! What a down-to-earth gracious woman. And, of course, I still have both letters.

Nearly 20 years later, when Julia died, it was my daughter, Cate, who called to tell me. It was as if a favorite aunt had died; we were both grief-stricken.

All of that is to say that I never would have tried my hand with this bread were it not for this challenge. I thought I had the perfect formula, but I was wrong. This one far surpasses it! The crust is better, the crumb superb, and the taste unparalleled. I think the breakthrough that Peter Reinhart discovered was the final baking in the oven after their preliminary dance on the griddle. Brilliant! That one little procedure eliminates the problem of the English muffin baking experience. Even if they are just a tad underdone, there is only one thing to do - deposit them directly into the trash and start over. If you try to cook them further, they become dry and tough. This method is foolproof, especially using the thermometer to test the interior temperature, as he also recommends.

I made two batches - one using white flour and the other using half whole wheat. While I liked the whole wheat, the muffins using white flour exclusively were superior in taste. This will be my go to formula for this bread from now on, and while I no longer bake these for profit, I still make them from time to time.

Whole Wheat Muffins Rising

Both Varieties Cooling on the Racks

#11 - Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread

Everything a Celebratory Bread Should Be

The name really says it all for this bread. Peter Reinhart's commentary in the opening remarks for this bread says that he was trying to celebrate all the great tastes of Thanksgiving. I'd say he succeeded. I am looking forward to making this bread again for our Thanksgiving table. I was thinking of making it into small dinner rolls, but presenting a big loaf at the table is so impressive on this holiday of grandeur, that I may end up with the original round loaf again.

When I made this bread, I made it for the express purpose of surprising my colleagues at our Friday morning meeting. We're all 7th grade teachers of language arts and social studies, so I thought it would be a welcome respite before the onslaught of pre-pubescent heaving bodies who would be crashing through our doors eager to see what fascinating learning would await them.

I showed up with this beautiful loaf, a cutting board, my Wusthof bread knife, good Irish butter, and Sarabeth's Kitchen peach-apricot jam. Were they happy! They loved the bread plain; they loved the bread with the butter; they loved the bread with the jam. And who could blame them? Studded with dried cranberries and walnuts, and laced with orange zest, this was a spectacular loaf, indeed worthy of the best of celebrations!

Studded with Cranberries and Walnuts