#28 - Potato Rosemary Bread

What a delicious bread! The combination of the roasted garlic and the rosemary really added tremendous flavor to this delightful loaf. It is a winner; one that I will make again and again. And having the biga already in the fridge is a real help. Confession: sometimes I don't even take the chill of the starter. Ever since making the Pain l'Ancienne, with its cold everything, I figured using the cold starter would be okay, and it was.

Twin Beauties

The Finished Loaf

#27 - Portuguese Sweet Bread

I am 100% Portuguese. Family lore says that sometime in the 1860s, or thereabouts, my ancestors went from the Azores, off the coast of Portugal, to Hawaii with Captain James Cook's missionaries on their honeymoon - "on a lark." My

parents, brother and I were born in Hawaii and moved to San Diego in February of 1953.

And here we are - "Coming to America" - from left to right - my brother Al, me, my Dad Al, my mom Olga, and my Grandma Rocha. Look how dressed up we were! That's how people dressed to travel back in the day. This photo was taken at the Honolulu airport just before we left to move here permanently. Thanks to my bro for being the family historian and digging this treasure out.

There is also a large Portuguese population in San Diego, but I was not raised in or around that culture. It was the 50s - a time of assimilation - so I had very little exposure to my heritage - except for the occasional "Festa" (pronounced feshta). The year 2010 marked the 100th anniversary of the Festa, and so I decided to go. As I walked up to see the dancers - a huge draw for the day's festivities - they were dancing the "Chamarita," a Portuguese folk dance that is inherent in some of my fondest memories of my beloved Grandma Rocha. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I did both.

Coincidentally, the bread that came up for that week's rotation was the Portuguese sweet bread, which i had just made the night before. Something so comforting when the universe is in order like that.

My photo essay that follows is of the Festa experience as well as my journey to Poruguese sweet bread land.

Two of the dancers from Northern California who travel from Festa to Festa dancing the Chamarita and other traditional Portuguese folk dances. They have day jobs; they just do this for fun. Made me want to learn this dance from my childhood memories. And by the way, their arms are over their heads during the entire dance. No need to work out any more than this.

And here I am with two of the dancers. They were very friendly - and great dancers.

This troupe had the best costumes - by far. Their partners matched the colors with their own costumes. They looked great!

This group had traveled down from San Leandro, where there is a huge Portuguese population. The woman directly to my right was so friendly, and in true Portuguese style - loved to talk. We were a great pair!

And now onto the bread: Fresh out of the oven, this was a winner, but as soon as it cooled, it was pretty dry. I have had this experience before, and I am not quite sure why this happens, but no matter. I made bread pudding the next day with the leftovers, and it was outstanding! I imagine it would make fantastic French toast too, for the same reason.

The Finished Loaf

Kneaded, and Ready to Rise

Read for the Oven

In the Oven

Voila!

#26 - Poolish Baguettes

These poolish baguettes were okay - just okay. The original French baguettes were far and away superior. I even gave up my old recipe for baguettes, which I had been using for over 20 years for those baguettes - so these had a tough act to follow. In the future, when I want to make baguettes, I'll opt for the non-poolish ones.

The Finished Baguettes

Nice Action from the Poolish

Ready for the Oven

#25 - Pizza Napoletana

I have made homemade pizza before, but it was never as good as this one, nor was it as easy to make. Thank you, Peter for this wonderful recipe. I now keep the dough in the freezer, so I can have a much healthier, low-fat pizza whenever I want it.

My version of Hawaiian pizza - pineapple and turkey bacon.

I don't eat beef, so I make turkey meatballs, which I used for this wonderful version.

In the oven.

The finished pizza - cooling.

Hawaiian pizza ready for the oven.

#24 - Panettone

This bread was such a surprise to me. I didn't think I would like it - too much like fruitcake, I thought. Was I wrong! And it was our turn for breakfast the next day, so my lucky colleagues got to feast on this delectable bread. And the reviews were stellar - they gobbled it up in no time at all, which is always so gratifying.

I preferred the smaller shape; like cupcake, but better, because it was bread. : )

Here are the steps start to finish:

The dough being mixed.

The fruit mixture, consisting of dried cherries and raisins.

Combining the fruit with the dough.

Post kneading, first in the mixer, then by hand; ready to rise.

Ready for the oven.

In the oven - one large plus six smaller ones.

Out of the oven - the small ones.

The finished Panettone.

#23 - Pane Siciliano

The Finished Product

This was another of those interesting breads that I probably never would have made were it not for this challenge. And the truth is, I will most likely not make it again. It was all right, and it made great toast, but there are so many other breads in this challenge that are far superior. So this was fun, and the shape was not nearly as difficult as I though it would be, and I'm glad I had the experience, but if given a choice, I'd make the Pain L'Ancienne again and again over this one.

#22 - Pain de Campagne

Look at the Crackle on that Crust!

"Bread of the Country" - remininscent of good peasant bread they probably ate during medieval times. If that is the case, take me back in time - no wait - I would have had to bake this bread in a wood burning hearth. Perhaps it is the best of both worlds that we can bake in our thermostatically accurate ovens, and still have the flavor and experience of the chewy crumb and crunchy crust of this flavorful bread.