On her recent trip to Istanbul, Turkey, Umami came across a simit vendor balancing a tall, neat pile of the circular bread on a board with one hand.
If only I could come across vendors bearing towering piles of bread on the streets here; I'd be so happy.
Find out answers to baking-related questions you didn't even know you had by reading British bread master Dan Lepard's Q&A with readers at Guardian Unlimited.
Want to bake fresh bread for Thanksgiving without expending much effort? Try this simple crusty bread recipe, which may be "the world's easiest yeast bread" according to The New York Times.
Sara Rosso of Ms. Adventures in Italy visited her favorite breadmaker in Puglia and took lots of mouthwatering photos of giant, perfectly formed dough balls to educate us on the art of baking. And to make us feel jealous.
This snap caught my eye in the Serious Eats group on Flickr. It's easy to imagine breaking off a hunk of this coppa di Parma–stuffed bread and devouring it.
This photo is from serious eater Sara - Piperita, and there's a recipe for it on her blog so you can make it yourself.
Stop right now! Throw that sandwich you're eating into the trash!
I mean it! Do it, and do it quick! Don't you know bread is dangerous?
Some quick but frightening facts: "More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread." and "Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!" [via kottke.org]
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Alex Witchel extolls the virtues of Wonder Bread, Kraft Singles, Snickers, and Hostess Sno Balls in today's New York Times:
I believe in God, organic produce, and sustainable foods. I believe that an apple purchased in a Greenmarket will always be better for me than one purchased at a supermarket, even though it may look like a potato with a skin condition.
I will also pay a fortune for almost anything called heirloom or artisanal, knowing that some dedicated soul devoted more attention to a Camembert in a week than most mothers do their own children.
Handmade. Individual. Nurtured. Can't beat it, right?
Well, sometimes I think you can. Into every life some Kraft Singles, Hostess Sno Balls and Snickers bars must fall.
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Deb of Smitten Kitchen on blasphemous bread, after Melissa Clark's recent inauthentic Irish soda bread recipe in the NYT:
I’ve never made Irish soda bread before and eaten it almost as rarely, so I can’t offer a review with any authority, but what I loved about this article is neither could Clark. She was told by a friend married to an Irishman and living in his country that though her version was rich and lovely, it neither looked nor tasted like the real deal. Apparently, nobody in Ireland serves real soda bread anymore, she said, and even if they did, it would have no raisins, eggs, butter or caraway seeds. After trying a version faithful to the original and finding it delicious when warm, but hard, dry and bland when cold, Clark decided being authentic was overrated, and went back to her old formula.
Deb made bread from Clark's recipe anyway and found it to be "both crusty and tender, and manages to lock in its moisture in a way that reminds me of a certain vaulted scone. Yup, we’re talking about that level of good." Should tastiness triumph over authenticity? My common sense says yes, but the little prescriptivist living in my brain is throwing a fit. What do you think?
Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks: "I called my dad yesterday and asked him about his garlic bread. Everyone loves these garlic-studded, golden-crusted masterpieces and he brings baskets brimming with slices to lots of 'events' - office parties, picnics, parades, bingo night (somehow he ended up being a caller?). My dad is a chronic volunteer, so there are lots of opportunities for him to display his garlic bread-making prowess. I've had it a thousand times, but never paid much attention to his technique, so today was the day." Lucky us! Garlic bread is simple to make and easy to take for granted but great garlic bread can make a good meal even better, so make sure and bookmark this recipe.
Focaccia's one of those breads that even people with the baking equivalent of a black thumb (me) can make successfully. Just Baking gives it a try...
Incidentally, another recipe that looks hard and isn't and makes a great loaf is Jim Lahey's no-knead bread, which has been posted on a million blogs but is worth posting again, because it's just that good.
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